Stephen Keshi tells African radio station he has quit as Nigeria coach

Posted by admin National Politics, Soccer, Sports, Top Stories Monday, February 11th, 2013

Stephen Keshi has told a South African radio station that he has resigned as the Nigeria coach, less than 24 hours after leading his country to the Africa Cup of Nations title.

The Super Eagles edged out Burkina Faso 1-0 in Sunday’s final to become the African champions for the third time but it appears prior tensions between Keshi and the Nigerian Football Federation have led to his exit.

Keshi appeared on Metro FM, part of public broadcaster SABC, on Monday and said he had told the NFF of his decision after the match. The Metro FM presenter Robert Marawa tweeted: “Stephen Keshi has just announced that he handed over his resignation letter after the game exclusively on 083Sport@6 With Marawa on MetroFM”.

Keshi had revealed tensions between himself and the NFF before the semi-finals , saying he would “pack his bags and leave” if he felt unwanted.

According to reports, Nigerian officials had booked a flight home for the squad, due to depart immediately after their quarter-final against the tournament favourites Ivory Coast – seen by Keshi as a vote of no confidence. Nigeria won the match 2-1.

Keshi, only the second man to win the Africa Cup of Nations as a player and a coach, said after victory in the final that he wanted to see other African countries give local coaches a chance rather than continuing to import from abroad.

-the Guardian (UK)wp_posts