CHAN
Twenty five home boys resume camping in Abuja for Mexico friendly
Super Eagles’ goalkeepers John Noble and Ikechukwu Ezenwa, as well as forward Anayo Iwuala top the list of 25 players invited to camp for next month’s international friendly match between Nigeria and Mexico at the famous Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the State of California, United States of America.
Three –time African champions Nigeria will clash with the CONCACAF Gold Cup holders on Saturday, 3rd July in what is part of the Mexican’s MexTour Series that will see them play three matches before clashing with Nigeria.
Also invited are Rivers’ United ace defender Ifeanyi Anaemena, Enyimba FC midfielder Ekundayo Ojo and forwards Ibrahim Olawoyin (Rangers International) and Stephen Jude (Kwara United).
The players are expected to report at the Serob Legacy Hotel, Wuye, Abuja on Tuesday, 22nd June with their travel documents. Only 22 of them will travel to the United States of America for the glamour friendly.
The match, which kicks off at 7.30pm LA time will be the sixth confrontation between the senior teams of both countries, four of which have ended in draws. The only win in the series has gone to Mexico, when they trumped a US Gold Cup encounter in Dallas (State of Texas) 2-1 on 24th June 1995.
Close-fought confrontations include a 1-1 draw at the FIFA
Intercontinental Tournament for the King Fahd Cup (now FIFA Confederations Cup) in Saudi Arabia on 13th January 1995 (Mexico prevailed 5-4 on penalties in the quarter final match), and 0-0 draws in friendly matches in Houston and Atlanta the previous decade.
A friendly game in Mexico also ended 2-2. It is expected that the LA Coliseum, a 77,500 –capacity facility that
has hosted major international championships of all all grades, will be at full capacity for the friendly match.
NFF’s FIFA Match Agent, Jairo Pachon of Eurodata Sport, said while announcing the encounter last month: “We are happy to be able to announce this match, which is a clash between two very big teams from two different continents. Mexico against Nigeria is a big match any day and the venue is class.”
Goalkeepers: Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Heartland FC); John Noble (Enyimba FC)
Defenders: Olisa Ndah (Akwa United); Adekunle Adeleke (Abia Warriors); Tope Olusesi (Rangers International); Ifeanyi Anaemena (Rivers United); Christopher Nwaeze (Kwara United); Enyinnaya Kazie (Rivers United); Mohammed Zirkiflu (Plateau United); Imoh Ubot (Enyimba FC); Tebo Franklin Degaulle (Nasarawa United); Lawal Oriyomi Murtala (Kwara United)
Midfielders: Anthony Shimaga (Rangers International); Seth Mayi (Akwa United); Uche Nwasonaya (Plateau United); Samuel Nnoshiri (Katsina United); Ekundayo Ojo (Enyimba FC)
Forwards: Anayo Iwuala (Enyimba FC); Stephen Jude (Kwara United); Ibrahim Olawoyin (Rangers International); Charles Ashimene (Akwa United); Chinonso Ezekwe (Rangers International); Auwalu Ali Malam
(Kano Pillars); Neurot Emmanuel (Plateau United); Abdulmutalif Sanusi (Katsina United).
The road to the African Nations Championship (CHAN) holding in East Africa will be mapped out next Wednesday. According to CAF, the 2024 Qualifiers draw will be conducted at 14h00 Cairo time (11h00 GMT).
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will host the tournament between 01 – 28 February 2025.
Ahead of the finals, two rounds of qualifiers will take place on a home and away basis.
The first round of qualifiers will be played on the weekend of 25 – 27 October and 01 – 03 November 2024, with the second round confirmed for 20 – 22 December and 27 – 29 December 2024.
Since its 2009 inception, the CHAN tournament has been an exceptional platform of showcasing the world-class talent and quality of African football as well as its ever-evoling landscape.
Algeria played host to the last edition of the tournament which drew thousands of supporters, millions of global audiences and digital engagement as a result of the rising popularity and quality of the tournament.
In line with CAF’s key objective of increasing the commercial strength of its competitions, the CHAN competition has also seen an increased rise in commercial value.
This has also been supported by CAF’s 60% increase in the tournament’s prize money that sees the winners walking away with $2 Million.
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania’s hosting of the competition also serves as an opportunity for the three nations to fine-tune their preparations for the hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations 2027.
CAF will soon communicate details and procedures for the draw.
African Nations Championship Previous Winners:
- 2009 – DR Congo
- 2011 – Tunisia
- 2014 – Libya
- 2016 – DR Congo
- 2018 – Morocco
- 2020 – Morocco
- 2022 – Senegal
The Confédération of African Football, CAF has confirmed that Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania as co-host Nations of the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN). It will run from February 1 to 28 next year.
However, the host stadiums and training venues are yet to be confirmed. The qualifying series will begin on the weekend of 25-27 October 2024 and continue on November 1 to 13.
The Second Round of the Qualifiers will be played on 20-22 December and 27-27 December 2024.
The qualification slots for the tournament have been allocated as follows:
Zones WAFU A, WAFU B, UNAF, UNIFFAC, and COSAFA will each have three qualifying teams.
The CECAFA zone, which includes the three host countries, will receive an additional slot due to their automatic qualification as hosts. As a result, the total number of teams qualifying for the final tournament will be increased to 19 teams.
Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania will participate in the Qualifiers and in addition to their automatic qualification as hosts, the team achieving the best result in the CECAFA qualifiers will also advance to the final tournament. Senegal won the last edition held in Algeria last year.
Following the meeting of the Confédération Africaine de Football, CAF Executive Committee in Nairobi, Kenya on Monday, 16 September 2024, the CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe confirmed the dates of the African Nations Championship CHAN 2024 final tournament.
The African Nations Championship CHAN 2024 will be played between 01 – 28 February 2025.
The first round of Qualifiers will be played on the weekend of 25-27 October 2024.
CHAN is scheduled to be hosted in East Africa. CAF will communicate in due course stadiums and other venues to be used for the competition.
On Sunday, CAF President Dr Motsepe visited some of the venues in Kenya that are being prepared for CHAN.
While noting the progress made and the commitment of the Government of Kenya, Dr Motsepe said there was a need for everyone to work together with speed to ensure that all venues and facilities are ready for the Competition.
Senegal are the current champions of CHAN after they defeated hosts, Algeria two years ago in Algiers.
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