The Order of the Niger ( OON ) is the second highest national award in Nigeria. It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic , the highest order of merit in the country.
23-463: Stephen Okechukwu Keshi CON (23 January 1962 – 7 June 2016) was a Nigerian football player and manager . During his playing career, Keshi played as a defender and earned 60 caps for the Nigeria national team , making him the nation's second-most capped player at the time of his retirement. He represented the country at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations , captaining
46-668: A play-off . Keshi set a record in African football by being the first African coach to qualify two African nations (Nigeria and Togo) for the World Cup Finals in 2005 and in 2013 earning him the CAF Coach of the Year on both occasions. He also helped Nigeria to achieve an African Cup of Nations trophy and World Cup qualification, both in 2013 like in 1994. Nigeria progressed to the knockout stage of 2014 World Cup . They started
69-600: A friendly against Cameroon . He worked as manager of the Mali national team , after being appointed in April 2008 on a two-year deal. Keshi was sacked in January 2010, after Mali's early exit in the group stages of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations . Keshi became coach of the Nigeria national team in 2011. He led Nigeria to qualification for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations , which they went on to win, defeating Burkina Faso 1–0 in
92-661: A year, he left for rivals Africa Sports , where he won the domestic double of the league and the cup . After a playing career mostly with Belgian clubs, where he won the Belgian league championship with R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1991. Keshi went to the United States to be educated in coaching. In 1996, he was joined by Augustine Eguavoen , who once coached the Nigerian national team. They played together in California as
115-552: Is controlled by the Burkinabé Football Federation . They were known as the Upper Volta national football team until 1984, when Upper Volta became Burkina Faso. They finished fourth in the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations , when they hosted the tournament. Their best ever finish in the tournament was the 2013 edition , reaching the final . Their first international match was played on April 13, 1960, in
138-498: Is nicknamed Les Etalons , which means "The Stallions". It is in reference to the legendary horse of Princess Yennenga . Supporters of the team at times include a percussion band, which often mimics the sounds of galloping horses at matches. The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. Win Draw Loss Fixture The following players were called up for
161-489: The 1978 qualifying tournament , beating Mauritania in the preliminary round before losing 1–3 against Ivory Coast . They next entered World Cup qualifying in 1990 , losing in the first round to Libya 2–3. Burkina Faso withdrew from the 1994 competition but returned in 1998 , beating Mauritania again to make it to the final qualifying group stage, however they failed to obtain a single point, finishing bottom of their group. They beat Ethiopia in 2002 to again make it to
184-523: The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations , losing all three of their matches and subsequently firing coach Paulo Duarte . Belgian coach Paul Put was announced as new coach in March 2012. Burkina Faso finished first of their group, but lost to Nigeria in the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations . The team would earn third place at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations . Burkina Faso first entered the World Cup in
207-611: The Africa Cup of Nations as both a player and a coach. Keshi started with ACB Lagos in 1979, and joined New Nigerian Bank a year later, where over the course of four years he won 2 WAFU cups. However, in 1984, he was banned by the Nigeria Football Federation from all football activities in Nigeria, so he left for Ivorian Stade d'Abidjan . After helping them win two Coupe Houphouët-Boigny trophies in
230-518: The Jeux de la Communauté in Madagascar and ended with a 5–4 victory against Gabon . The country made their first appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations in 1978 , but it was not until 1996 that they returned to the biennial tournament. They subsequently qualified for five consecutive tournaments between 1996 and 2004, reaching the semi-finals under coach Philippe Troussier when the tournament
253-923: The Order of the Niger The two highest honours, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic and Grand Commander in the Order of the Niger, are awarded to the president and vice-president respectively. The presiding judge in the Supreme Court and the chairman of the Senate are qualitative and ex officio Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger. Nigeria followed the British example in
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#1732780592295276-656: The Super Eagles to victory in the latter. He also played club football in five countries, most notably Belgium, where he won the Belgian league championship with R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1991. As a manager, Keshi achieved success by qualifying Togo for the only FIFA World Cup appearance in its history in 2006 . However, he left the position prior to the 2006 tournament and was replaced by Otto Pfister . He later coached his native Nigeria , becoming one of only two people, along with Egypt 's Mahmoud El-Gohary , to have won
299-848: The actions and inaction of Stephen Keshi, in the performance of his duties as Super Eagles' Head Coach, which NFF found to lack the required commitment to achieve the Federation's objectives as set out in the Coach's employment contract. Keshi was born on 23 January 1962 in Azare , Bauchi State . He hailed from Illah in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State and was of Igbo descent. Keshi had his early education at Saint Paul's Catholic Nursery and Primary School, Apapa Road, Lagos State . He proceeded to Saint Finbarrs’ College, Akoka , Lagos in 1976. Keshi
322-642: The backbone of the defence for the short-lived Sacramento Scorpions . Keshi has been a part of the coaching staff for the Nigerian national team, most notably as head coach for the Junior Eagles at the 2001 African Youth Championship which also served as qualification for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship , without success. Between 2004 and 2006 Keshi coached the Togo national team , surprisingly bringing them to their first World Cup tournament, Germany 2006 . Having secured Togo's unlikely qualification, he
345-557: The decision after the Nigerian Football Federation renewed his contract. His team failed to win a single game in the Morocco 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifying series and he announced he would move to another job if pressure continues to mount because of certain people, whom he refused to name, were trying to "sabotage" him. However, he stated that he will continue to coach the Super Eagles because he loves
368-428: The final. The following day Keshi handed in his resignation, only to reverse his decision the day after. Keshi led Nigeria to the 2013 Confederations Cup , defeated Tahiti 6–1, and lost 2–1 to Uruguay in the second game, and also lost 3–0 to World Cup winners, Spain in their final group game. On 16 November 2013, Keshi's Nigeria secured qualification to the 2014 World Cup by beating Ethiopia 4–1 on aggregate in
391-507: The form and structure of the order. Similarly, there are post-nominal letters for members of the Order of the Niger. The order has a Civil Division and a Military Division. The ribbon of the latter division has a small red line in the middle. Notable recipients of the award include: Public Burkina Faso national football team The Burkina Faso national football team ( French : Équipe de football du Burkina Faso ) represents Burkina Faso in men's international football and
414-521: The qualifying group stage, but did not advance, only winning one game against Malawi . The team had a strong showing in the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign, reaching the final round of qualifying where it faced Algeria . It won 3–2 in Ouagadougou, but lost 1–0 in Blida . Despite the 3-3 aggregate, Burkina Faso narrowly missed out on the 2014 World Cup due to the away goals rule . The team
437-567: The team and he loves his country. In July 2014, following Nigeria's exit from the World Cup, Keshi's contract with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) expired and was not renewed. A statement by the NFF Executive Committee said the decision was made, having thoroughly reviewed the reports/findings of the NFF Disciplinary Committee and NFF Technical and Development Committee, as well as having reviewed
460-425: The tournament with a 0–0 draw against Iran , followed by a controversial 1–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina . They lost the final group stage match 3–2 against Argentina , but progressed to the knockout stage, courtesy of a 3–1 win by Bosnia and Herzegovina over Iran. The Super Eagles lost to France in the first knock-out round. After the match, Keshi announced his resignation as Super Eagles coach but later reversed
483-511: Was held on home soil in 1998. Burkina Faso played in Group B of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Ghana and Ivory Coast in a three-team group due to Togo's withdrawal. Although they drew their first match against Ivory Coast and needed just a draw against Ghana to progress, the Burkinabe lost 1–0 and failed to qualify for the knock-out stage of the tournament. Burkina Faso took part in
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#1732780592295506-625: Was married to Kate (née Aburime) for 30 years. She died on 10 December 2015, after battling cancer for three years. They had four children. Their oldest son Kos Keshi played football professionally. Keshi had a heart attack and died en route to hospital on 7 June 2016 in Benin City , aged 54. His wife had died the previous December. Keshi was honoured by Google with a doodle on what would have been his 56th birthday. New Nigeria Bank Stade d'Abidjan ' Africa Sports Anderlecht Nigeria Nigeria Orders Commander of
529-479: Was promptly replaced by German coach Otto Pfister prior to the World Cup finals, after Togo showed a dismal performance and failed to advance to the knock-out stage in 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. However, Pfister did not last beyond a controversial World Cup campaign that nearly resulted in a player's strike over pay and Togo remained without a manager until February 2007 when they re-engaged Keshi in time for
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