Opposition to Keshie
THE TECHNICAL Committee of the Nigeria Football Association looks set to oppose the proposal by
Super Eagles technical adviser Bonfrere Jo to appoint Stephen Keshie as one of his assistants,
according to an NFA source.
The source revealed that the majority of committee members felt the inclusion of Keshi, a former
Super Eagles skipper, "would do more harm than good to the nation's soccer." They
particularly recalled his "antics" during the qualifying match against Algeria for the 1994
World Cup in the US, and the King Fahd championship in Saudi Arabi a earlier ths year.
The source further said that Keshi's "labour union" style of leadership was still very
fresh on members' minds. For instance they were aware of Keshie's "arm-twisting tactics" on
players which led the NFA to introduce its "unpopular" co de of conduct, designed to stem
the "insatiable cut-throat demands" made by players during championships.
A source close to previous coach Clemens Westerhof said, however, that Bonfrere needed Keshi to
help him out in administrative matters, "an area Bonfrere lacks knowledge, or experience or
both."
New coach for Cote d'Ivoire
FRENCHMAN Pierre Pleimelding was confirmed as the new coach of the Cote d'Ivoire national
football team. The president of the Ivorian Football Association, Dieng Oussenou, told a pr ess
conference in Abidjan that Pleimelding would spearhead the team's preparations for the 20th African
Nations Cup scheduled for South Africa next January.
Hearts sack coach
THE BOARD of directors of top Ghanaian football team Hearts of Oak sacked coach Sarpong and
replaced him with Alhaji Maikaino Musa as team manager/coach. It is part of a major shake-up of the
club's technical committee following Hearts' elimination from th e African Cup Winners Cup by J.S.
Kabyile of Algeria in the quarter final played in Accra on September 24. The north Africans won 4-3 on
aggregate.
Another move by the club is to place 13 players, including Ibrahim Musa, Anyetei Sowah, George
Alhassan, Aaron Ashitey, Santrofi Acquah, Sam Yeboah and Razak Musah, on the transfer list.
Azumah keeps top spot
ACCORDING to the latest World Boxing Council ratings, "Professor" Azumah Nelson, former
super-featherweight champion, remains the number one contender for the title, which he expects to
fight for against title holder Gabriel Ruelas in Las Vegas on December 2.
His compatriot, Nana Yaw Konadu, retained his third rank in the bantamweight divison headed by
Irishman Wayne McCullough. The ratings include seven other African boxers in the top ten of the
various categories.
The Nigerian David Izeqwire is ranked fifth in the cruiserweight division in which the champion is
the Congolese-born (now a French citizen) Anaclet Wamba. Two South Africans, Ginger Tshabalala and
Thulane "Sugar Boy" Malinga, are ranked fourth in the ligh t-heavyweight division and fifth
in the super-middleweight division respetively.
Uganda's Godfrey Nyakana is the fifth contender for the super-welterweight title. The number one
contender in the super-lightweight division is Piet Bergman of South Africa followed by the Kenyan
David Kamau. Another South African, Daniel Ward, is ranked fifth in the flyweight division.