Super Eagles Head Coach Stephen Keshi has assured the minister of Sports and Nigeria Football Association (NFA) that he will lead Nigeria to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Keshi gave the assurance after a three-hour closed door meeting with the Minister, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, in Abuja on Tuesday, according to a statement.
The statement, issued by the NFA Assistant Director of Media, Mr Ademola Olajire, said Keshi promised to work with NFA to realise the goal.
“I am happy to be back and fully ready and focused on the big challenge of qualifying the Super Eagles for the 2014 FIFA world cup finals,” Keshi said.
On his part, Abdullahi advised the NFA leadership to re-strategise and work very hard with Keshi in the task of steering the Super Eagles to next year’s showpiece in Brazil.
“The triumph in South Africa was truly a delight and made Nigerians happy but that feat will pale into insignificance if we fail to qualify for the 2014 FIFA world cup finals.
“The principle behind this meeting is that the country is bigger than all of us, we must forget the little things that might have transpired which we did not like.
“We must forget personal injuries and be prepared to forge ahead,” the statement quoted the minister as saying.
The NFA President, Aminu Maigari, commended the minister for all he had been doing for Nigerian football.
“We are all focused on the important task of qualifying Nigeria for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.
We are also to ensure that we do well at the FIFA Confederations Cup because we are representing the whole of the African continent,” Maigari said.
At the meeting were the Chairman of NFA Technical Committee Chris Green and NFA’s Director of Competitions Mohammed Sanusi.
