Keshi sacked as Nigeria coach

The Super Eagles appear to have ended a turbulent relationship with the 53-year-old for good after he reportedly applied for the Cote d'Ivoire post

Stephen Keshi's turbulent spell as coach of Nigeria has come to an end after he was sacked by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) on Saturday.

The NFF made the announcement amid reports that Keshi, who led The Super Eagles to the round of 16 at the World Cup last summer, applied for the vacant Cote d'Ivoire coaching job.

"Having thoroughly reviewed the reports/findings of the NFF Disciplinary Committee and NFF Technical and Development Committee, as well as having reviewed the actions and inactions of Mr. Stephen Keshi, in the performance of his duties as Super Eagles' head coach, which we found to lack the required commitment to achieve the Federation's objectives as set out in the coach's employment contract. read a statement on the NFF's official website.

"To this end, the Nigeria Football Federation has decided to exercise its option to summarily terminate the employment contract of Mr.

Stephen Keshi with the Federation with immediate effect."

It is the latest split in a turbulent relationship shared by the NFF and Keshi, who was first appointed in 2011 but resigned two years later, only to quickly reverse his decision.

Keshi continued in his role on a match-by-match basis for the 2015 Afcon qualifying campaign following the expiry of his contract after the 2014 World Cup, though he was replaced by Shaibu Amodu last October - only to be reinstated two weeks later.

The 53-year-old was unable to lead Nigeria to the finals in Equatorial Guinea, though, with Daniel Amokachi taking over on an interim basis after that failure before Keshi again returned to the hot seat in April when he signed a two-year deal.

"In the interim, the Super Eagles' team affairs will be jointly managed by assistant coach Salisu Yusuf and the Technical Directorate of the NFF headed by Shaibu Amodu, until the Federation names a new head coach," said NFF vice-president Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi.