Former Nigerian International and Togo’s ex-coach Stephen Keshi was Tuesday appointed the head coach of Mali’s national football team. Under a deal he signed with the Malian Football Association, Keshi will guide the team till August 2010, way past the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa, on a monthly salary of FCFA 7 million and phone communication charges of FCFA 500,000 a month, in addition to other allowances. If the Malian team qualifies for the African Cup of Nations (CAN) finals in Angola in 2010, Keshi will get a FCFA12-million allowance, according to the terms of the contract. He will also get a FCFA18 million-allowance should Mali qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The “Eagles” new coach told the press that coaching the Malian side was ”a challenge”. Keshi said his goal would be to win match after match to qualify for the CAN “and if possible, with God’s help and the Malian sports public”, qualify for the (2010) World Cup. Mali is in Group 10 alongside Congo, Sudan and Chad in the first round of the joint CAN and 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Panapress.
