League Management Company (LMC)Orders a Minute Silence before Match Day 21 kick-off for Late Stephen Keshi
A minute silence was observed before the
kick-off of Match Day 21 fixtures of Nigeria Professional Football
League (NPFL) during which all players are to wear black armbands by all
players in honour of late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, the former Super
Eagles captain and Coach who passed on in the early hours of wednesday..
The directive was issued by the League
Management Company (LMC) which described the death of Keshi as a huge
loss to African football.
A statement by the LMC described Keshi
as “a pathfinder, courageous athlete who remains one of the
inspirational stories for young Nigerian and indeed African players’.
The LMC described the late Keshi as one
of the players that put the shine on the football league in Nigeria
while it was still in amateur stages.
“The exploits of Keshi and his team
mates at New Nigerian Bank in the 1980’s registered Nigeria as a club
football power house after the achievements of IICC Shooting Stars and
Rangers International in the 1970’s”.
“As a player and later, captain of the
national team for over a decade, Keshi demonstrated dedication and love
for father land. He was a team builder and leader whose influence on
younger players was the driving spirit behind the achievements at the
Nations Cup in Tunisia and a world cup outing that made the world take
notice of the Super Eagles”.
“As the Coach of the Super Eagles, Keshi
invested gave a boost to the Nigeria Professional Football League
(NPFL) by tremendous confidence in players from the league whom he took
to the Nations Cup in South Africa in 2013 which Nigeria won. His
decision showcased the abundant talents that are found in the NPFL and
it was one of the biggest endorsements for our players”.
The LMC said that there is no honour
that is too much to be done to Keshi considering also his achievements
as the coach of the Super Eagles during which he led Nigeria to a third
Nations Cup victory.
“We want to honour Keshi today as a
deserving hero of the league and Nigerian football during our Match Day
21 fixtures with a minute silence before kick-off and the wearing of
black armbands by all players”.
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