AFCON
VIDEOS: AS SUPER EAGLES CLOCK 70, NFF PARTNERS SOLAJA ON LANDMARK BOOK ON NIGERIAN FOOTBALL
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is the principal sponsor
of a landmark book on Nigerian Football titled ‘Super Eagles At 70: Soaring On
The Wings’, which was written by foremost football writer and analyst, Kunle
Solaja.
Described by the author as “a compendium on the Super Eagles, written in lucid and infographic style”, the book contains virtually every information that a researcher or reader may desire about the Nigerian’s Football Team since it was first constituted on 26th, 1949.
It traced the history of the team from the days of UK Tourists
through Red Devils, to Green Eagles and then to Super Eagles, and is a literary
celebration of 70 years of the Nigeria senior squad.
The book at the same time celebrates 60 years of the nation’s supreme football-governing body, NFF’s affiliation with the continental body, CAF and the world body, FIFA.
Sports Village Square reports that the NFF, then called the NFA was admitted provisionally to FIFA on April 24, 1959.
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, said: “Mr. Solaja is an oak tree in football journalism in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large, and the NFF as an institution is happy to partner with him on this memorable project.
“I have gone through the book; it is a reader’s delight. More than that, it will be a great arrival on the shelves in an industry that is suffering from paucity of well-written books.”
An erudite journalist and diarist extraordinaire who has laid down the marker for excellence in his discipline in several decades of practice, Kunle Solaja also has to his name two remarkable efforts on Nigerian Football: “Super Eagles…Through The Ages” and Going for Goals…Unfolding Nigerian Football’s Hidden Stories”.
Gifted with an eye for detail and lucid writing skill, Solaja has travelled the world in three decades of sterling service to football journalism, and his latest effort has also been applauded by NFF 1st Vice President Seyi Akinwunmi, 2nd Vice President Shehu Dikko, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and two former Nigerian internationals of note, Patrick Ekeji and Segun Odegbami. Dr. Larry Izamoje, Chairman of Brila Sports Radio, also applauded the contributions of Solaja to Sports Journalism.
The author has served time at some of the country’s leading media houses, including the now-defunct Concord newspapers, The Sun newspapers and The Guardian.
While at Concord, he also served as personal assistant on sports to the international business mogul and politician, Bashorun MKO Abiola, of blessed memory.
While the country Nigeria has been to the FIFA World Cup finals on six occasions, Russia 2018 was Solaja’s eighth appearance at the Mundial, alongside coverage of other FIFA events like the FIFA Confederation Cup, FIFA U20 World Cup and the FIFA U17 World Cup, as well as several Olympic Games and the Africa Cup of Nations.
He is easily the only sports journalist in Africa to have covered eight consecutive World Cup finals from 1990 to 2018.
The book will be launched in Lagos, days before the commencement of the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt.
Super Eagles and the other 23 finalist teams of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 will get to know the route they have to navigate to the final match of the competition.
This is one of the key points of the executive committee meeting of CAF held in Marrakech, Morocco ahead of the CAF Awards on Monday.
CAF President, Dr Motsepe announced that the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Final Draw will be held in Rabat, Morocco, on 27 January 2025.
The calendar for the year was also streamlined as the key dates were announced.
Key dates:
- CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025: Opening Match will be played Sunday, 30 March 2025; Final Match will be played Saturday, 19 April 2025
- CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2025:
Opening Match will be played Saturday, 26 April 2025; Final Match will be played Sunday, 18 May 2025
- CAF Confederation Cup 2024-25:
Final, First Leg will be played Saturday, 17 May 2025; Final, Second Leg will be played Sunday, 25 May 2025
- CAF Champions League 2024-25:
Final, First Leg will be played Saturday, 24 May 2025; Final, Second Leg will be played Sunday, 1 June 2025
- CAF Women’s Champions League 2025:
Opening Match will be played Saturday, 8 November 2025; Final Match will be played Sunday, 23 November 2025
- CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025:
Opening match will be played Sunday, 21 December 2025; Final Match will be played Sunday, 18 January 2026.
Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville may put up joint candidacy for the host of the 2029 Africa Cup of Nations.
If that happens, it would be the first collaboration between the two neighbouring countries for a sporting event.
No official announcement has yet been made, but speculations in the media have it that the Minister of Sports of DR Congo, Didier Budimbu, confirmed this ambition in a statement relayed by local media: “With my counterpart from Congo-Brazzaville, we are determined to organize the CAN 2029 together. “
Morocco will be hosting the 2025 edition while the trio of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania already have that of 2027.
At the 46th General Assembly of CAF in Addis Ababa in October,
Ethiopia’s president, Taye Astike Selassie, requested that CAF endorse the East African nation’s bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2029.
Ethiopia last hosted the Africa Cup of Nations in 1976. None of the two Congo republics has ever hosted.
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On Friday, Senegal appointed Pape Thiaw as national coach intending to reclaim the Africa Cup of Nations title and qualify for the next World Cup.
A Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) official confirmed 43-year-old Thiaw’s selection.
Thiaw had held the position on an interim basis since October following the dismissal of Aliou Cisse who took over in 2015 and led the country to their first Africa Cup of Nations triumph in 2022 and to the last two World Cup tournaments.
Former Senegal forward Thiaw, who played at French clubs St Etienne, Strasbourg and Metz, was on the team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup.
As a coach, he won the 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN) reserved for local players.
-AFP
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