AFCON
SUPER EAGLES OPEN 2019 AFCON ACCOUNT WITH BURUNDI
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
The Super Eagles will begin their quest for a fourth title in the Africa Cup of Nations with a match with Burundi at the Alexandria Stadium on June 22. It will be the first match of the two sides since the Super Eagles beat Itamba of Burundi 2-0 at the MKO Abiola Stadium on 23 January 1999.
The solitary encounter of both teams was a qualifying duel for the 2000 championship, which Nigeria later co-hosted with Ghana thus nullifying the encounter and making the return leg unnecessary.
The Burundi team is in the competition as debutants. Since Africa Cup of Nations’ matches are played as double headers at the group stage, Guinea will immediately after the Nigeria-Burundi clash, take on Madagascar, the second debutant of the tournament.
NIGERIA-BURUNDI HEAD-TO-HEAD
P W D L GF GA
Nigeria 1 1 0 0 2 0
Burundi 1 0 0 1 0 2
- 23 Jan. 1999 (Afconq) Nigeria 2-0 Burundi
Nigeria’s crunch game will be against Guinea on June 26. Previous clashes of both teams are almost even. Both had met 14 times and each won four and drew six.
This will be the second Africa Cup of Nations’ clash
of the two teams since they met at Ethiopia ’76. The score line then was 1-1
following Muda Lawal’s goal in the 52nd minute and Papa Camara’s
equaliser at the dot of 90 minutes.
Ali Bangoura at the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Both teams have however met on other instances outside the Africa Cup of Nations’ tournaments.
Significantly, it was Guinea that Nigeria eliminated to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 1963. Nigeria forced a 2-2 draw in Lagos in the qualifying match but lost the return leg 1-0.
The match was however awarded to Nigeria on technical ground as Guinean referees officiated the return leg.
It was also Guinea that Nigeria defeated to win first continental honours, the gold medal of the football event of the 2nd All Africa Games in Lagos in 1973.
Both Nigeria and Guinea maintained rivalries in the 1963 with the introduction of the Tafawa Balewa Cup, a trophy donated for bilateral competition by the first Nigerian Prime Minister.
In the first leg of the only edition of the competition, Guinea beat Nigeria 3-0 in Conakry while the return leg ended 1-1 in Lagos.
Both teams had also met in World Cup qualifiers, playing 1-1 in Conakry and Henry Nwosu snatching a 90th minute winner in the return leg in Lagos in 1981.
Nigeria similarly beat Guinea over tow legs in the
quest for France ’98 World Cup. Guinea however denied Nigeria qualification for
the 2012 Africa Cup of Nation after beating Nigeria 1-0 in Conakry and forcing
a 2-2 draw in Abuja.
Significantly, the October 8, 2011 match was Super Eagles’ last match at the Abuja National Stadium.
Nigeria last group match of Afcon 2019 will be against debutants, Madagascar. It is scheduled for June 30 at the Alexandria Stadium at the same time Burundi will be facing Guinea in Cairo.
NIGERIA-GUINEA HEAD-TO-HEAD
P W D L GF GA
Nigeria 14 4 6 4 17 14
Guinea 14 4 6 4 14 17
- 27 Jul. 1963 (Afconq) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea
- 6 Oct. 1963 (Afconq) Guinea 1-0 Nigeria * match awarded to Nigeria on technical ground
- 1 Dec. 1971(Balewa Cup) Guinea 3-0 Nigeria
- 30 Jan. 1972(Balewa Cup) Nigeria 1-1 Guinea
- 18 Jan. 1973 (2AAG) Nigeria 2-0 Guinea
- 9 March 1976 (Afcon) Guinea 1-1 Nigeria
- 12 Apr. 1981 (WCq) Guinea 1-1 Nigeria
- 25 Apr. 1981 (WCq) Nigeria 1-0 Guinea
- 9 Apr. 1989(Afconq) Guinea 1-1 Nigeria
- 22 Apr. 1989 (Afconq) Nigeria 3-0 Guinea
- 5 Apr. 1997 (WCq) Nigeria 2-1 Guinea
- 17 Aug. 1997 (WCq) Guinea 1-0 Nigeria
- 10 Oct. 2010 (Afconq) Guinea 1-0 Nigeria
- 8 Oct. 2011 (Afconq) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea
The game against Madagascar will be Super Eagles’ fifth encounter with the home country of CAF President, Ahmad.
Nigeria won three of the four previous clashes and drew only one. Their first clash was on October 7, 2001 in Antananarivo. The 2002 Afcon qualifier ended goalless.
NIGERIA-MADAGASCAR HEAD-TO-HEAD
P W D L GF GA
Nigeria 4 3 1 0 5 0
Madagascar 4 0 1 3 0 5
- 7 Oct. 2000 (Afconq) Madagascar 0-0 Nigeria
- 2 June 2001 (Afconq) Nigeria 1-0 Madagascar
- 5 Sept. 2010(Afconq) Nigeria 2-0 Madagascar
- 3 Sept. 2011(Afconq) Madagascar 0-2 Nigeria
Ghana Black Stars lost 2-0 to Sudan Tuesday afternoon in matchday 4 of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series putting their prospects in great doubt.
The former three-time African champions are now third in Group F having accrued just two points from four matches. Sudan, with seven points, are second.
Angola, who still have a match to play later in the day with bottom-placed Niger, are on top with nine points.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
With CAF referring the case of the botched Libya-Nigeria match to its
Disciplinary Board, a nine-man panel has the task of deciding which party was at fault.
Possible decision could be forfeiture of the match by the offending party or rescheduling of the fixture. The latter seems unlikely considering the already congested international calendar.
Even if that were to be the decision, the match would likely be taken to a neutral ground.
On the other hand, the board may also take it that it was Nigeria that refused to play the match after having hosted the first leg.
In that case, Article 62 of the competition’s regulations will be enforced. It reads: “Any team that withdraws or refuses to play the return match after having played the first leg on its territory must refund the association of the visiting team a minimum sum of fifteen thousand (15,000) U.S. dollars in reparation for the damage suffered by the host country.”
If the NFF is adjudged as the culprit, the body will be fined $15,000. Chapter 19 of the regulations gives a window to appeal the fine. But judging from the CAF statement of the situation, and the condemnation of the treatment meted out to the Super Eagles, the fine is very unlikely as the weight of evidence tilts against the Libyans who in the x-handle admitted keeping the Super Eagles in captivity with an explanation that episode was largely due to an airport protocol mishap.
A decision lies firstly on the nine-man panel. With the possibility of the losing side not satisfied, another nine-man panel, the Appeals Board will take a possible final decision which can only be contested at the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS)
Here are the decision-makers:
Disciplinary Board
- Ousmane Kane, Senegal. – President.
- Jane Njeri Onyango, Kenya – Vice President.
- Norman Arendse, South Africa – member
- Mohamed Mostafa El-Mashta, Egypt. – member
- Djonfoune Golbassia Felix, Chad. – member
- Patrick Shale, Lesotho – member
- Douma Ibrahim Issaka – Niger. -member
- Ruth Kisaakye, Uganda. -member
- Drucil Taylor, Sierra Leone. – member
Appeal Board
Justice Roli Daibo Harriman, Nigeria
Faustino Varela Monteiro, Cape Verde
Moez Ben Tahar Nasri, Tunisia
Moses Ikanqa, Namibia
Hamoud T’feil Bowbe, Mauritania
Mohamed Robleh Djama, Djibouti
Asogbavi Komlan, Togo
Justice Masauko Timothy Msungama, Malawi
Lubamba Ngimbi Hector, DR Congo
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The Libya-Nigeria Group D tie of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled for this Tuesday has been put off owing to the refusal of the Libyan authorities to allow the Nigerian team to enter their territory for the match.
As a result, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has referred the case to its Disciplinary Board to make an appropriate decision. The immediate consequence of this is the delay of the Nigerian team picking an early qualification as has been done by Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Algeria who have all qualified after four matches.
A win by Nigeria on Tuesday would have taken their point haul to 10 while a draw would take their total to eight. That way, irrespective of the result of the Rwanda-Benin Republic corresponding match would have qualified the Super Eagles for Morocco 2025 as they would not have ended below second position in Group D.
They now await the decision of the CAF body. A possible outcome could be Libya’s forfeiture of the match. A case in point is that of USM Alger of Algeria versus Morocco’s RS Berkane in last year’s Confederation Cup semi-final duel when the Moroccans were unjustly delayed at the airport by the Algerians.
In the case of the Super Eagles, it was worse as theirs was not just delayed, they were locked up in a desolate airport in what was a psychologically draining and energy sapping tactics.
NFF Communication director unfolds 20 Points of a 20-hour ordeal on Libyan soil
African football legends, Adebayor and Aubameyang condemn Libya’s treatment of Super Eagles
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Players boycott Libyan national team
-
AFCON5 days ago
Billiat’s penalty seals Zimbabwe’s 1-0 win over Namibia
-
AFCON1 week ago
Eguavoen unfolds Super Eagles’ squad for back-to-back duel with Libya
-
AFCON7 days ago
Facts & Figures as AFCON 2025 qualifiers enter Matchday 3
-
AFCON6 days ago
AFCON 2025 in Morocco: Everything you need to know
-
AFCON5 days ago
Libya’s captain, Faisal Al-Badri alleges poor treatment in Nigeria
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
CAF compels Kwasi Appiah to step down from Ghana FA
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Fastest World Cup final scorer is dead!