AFCON 2021: Beat Tunisia To Honour Keshi, Sports Minister Charges Eagles

OKAFOR MOSES CHINEDU

Youth and Sports Development Minister Sunday Dare has called on the Super Eagles to win their AFCON round of 16 game against Tunisia on Sunday as a mark of honour for a former captain and coach of the team, Stephen Keshi.

Keshi won the Africa Cup of Nations as a player in 1994 and as a head coach in 2013, one of only two people to achieve the feat. The other was Mohammed El Gohary of Egypt.

Big Boss, as the late Keshi was fondly called, also won silver at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1984 and 1988 as well as a bronze medal in 1992.

The Minister in a message to the Eagles ahead of the crucial clash against Tunisia tasked them to honour the departed former captain and coach posthumously with another good performance and a win.

“Keshi was one of the greatest icons of the Africa Cup of Nations as a player and coach in Nigeria. He would have been 60 on Sunday if he was still around with us. We can celebrate him posthumously with another good performance and a sweet victory in our round of 16 game against Tunisia in Garoua, Cameroon on Sunday,” Dare said.

The present Eagles coach, Augustine Eguavoen, was team mates with Keshi in 1988, 1992 and was his assistant captain in 1994 while the goalkeeper coach, Alloy Agu, was in the 1990, 1992 and 1994 teams.

Captain of the current Eagles Ahmed Musa and defender Kenneth Omeruo were in the 2013 squad that won the tournament in South Africa while Joseph Yobo who was the captain of that team is an assistant coach in the present set up.

Keshi was born in Azare, Bauchi State in 1962 and passed on in Benin City, Edo State in June 2016.