The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said it has been assured that coach Stephen Keshi will honour his two-year contract despite being named as a candidate to take charge of African champion Ivory Coast. According to NFF Keshi, who signed a new contract in April, is “very happy” with his job in Nigeria. Keshi was on a list of more than 50 candidates published recently by the Ivorian federation to take over from Frenchman Herve Renard. But in a weekend statement, NFF said Keshi’s manager, Emmanuel Addo, had given assurances that “as a professional, he (Keshi) will see out his contract.” Keshi, a former national-team captain, went through a long contract negotiation process before agreeing to a new deal two months ago. He had previously been critical of the NFF for the way it treated him but still agreed to return. Addo said Keshi was pleased to be considered as a candidate by Ivory Coast but would be staying with Nigeria, with the 2017 African Cup and 2018 World Cup qualifying competitions ahead. Addo didn’t say if Keshi had applied for the Ivorian job amid reports that the NFF was investigating if Keshi approached the Ivory Coast federation.
