AFCON
Afcon 2023 teams set up seven pre-tournament camps in the Middle East and Africa
With the clock ticking down to the 13 January kick-off date for the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the 24 teams have set up seven camps in the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa and West Africa as well as some remaining at home.
The camps are in Saudi Arabia, UAE, West Africa, South Africa, Tunisia, Algeria as well as some remaining in their home countries.
In the United Arab Emirates are six teams from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Cape Verde Angola and Guinea.
Fourth in the last edition, Burkina Faso chose to set up camp in Dubai on December 28, where the Stallions will play a mini-tournament with Nigeria and the DR Congo.
The Congolese and Burkinabes will face off on January 10.
It’s worth noting that Sébastien Desabre’s men are expected in Abu Dhabi at the end of December.
These two teams will be joined by Cape Verde, fine-tunning its preparation in Abu Dhabi before flying to Rades in Tunisia where they will face the Carthage Eagles on January 10.
Abu Dhabi is a carefully considered choice for Kaba Diawara: “Initially, we will meet in Conakry on December 28 and do everything related to flag presentation, celebration, receiving the head of state, and saying goodbye to families on our soil.
“We will be in Abu Dhabi on the 31st to start training. We will leave there for Cote d’Ivoire on January 11 or 12, 2024,” explained the Guinean coach.
Nigeria chose to set up in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates during their preparation. The Super Eagles will face the DR Congo and Burkina Faso during this period.
Nigerians will likely encounter Angola, who also chose Dubai for their training camp.
At the Saudi Arabia training camp are the quartet of Cameroon, Gambia, Zambia, and Cape Verde which also will partly be in UAE and later Tunisia.
Cameroon and Gambia, the two teams set to face each other on January 23 in Group B of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, will prepare in the same country of Saudi Arabia.
According to the Cameroonian press, a contingent of 23 Indomitable Lions will travel to Jeddah on December 27.
Gambia will stay in Saudi Arabia from December 27 to January 5 before heading to Morocco, where a match against the Atlas Lions is planned on January 7.
After a brief gathering with local players, Zambia will fly to Riyadh, with a friendly match scheduled around January 7.
South Africa is another training centre where Ghana and Mozambique will be. Ghanaians will spend New Year’s Eve together in South Africa. The Black Stars will undergo a 10-day training camp where the press and the public will not be able to attend their sessions.
A test match against Botswana is scheduled for Chris Hughton’s men on January 8 before flying to Abidjan.
Mozambicans will also travel to South Africa before the Africa Cup of Nations.
The trio of Algeria, Guinea Bossau and Namibia opted to set up camp in West Africa
Algeria heads to Togo. From January 1 to 10, the Fennecs will conduct their preparation stage in Lomé. The 2021 African champions will play against Togo on January 5 and Burundi on January 9.
Guinea Bissau will go to Mali. The Djurtus will face the Eagles on January 3 before heading to Ivory Coast on January 7. Namibia will be in Ghana.
Both Mauritania and Zambia opted to set up training camp in Tunisia. After Abu Dhabi, Cape Verde will go to Tunisia, where a match against the Carthage Eagles is scheduled.
Mauritania will start its preparation in Tabarka, a coastal city in northwest Tunisia. Amir Abdou and his team will be there until January 11 and will face Tunisia on January 6.
Tanzania will prepare on the side of Annaba in Algeria. Two friendly matches against nations participating in the AFCON are under discussion.
Eight nations have decided to carry out their preparation at home, including Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Tunisia, Mali, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, the host country of the competition.
What a turn-around! After four previous competitive matches without a win, the Super Eagles have regained their winning mentality after a 3-0 defeat of Benin Republic in their opening 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.
The win also put the Super Eagles at the top of the Group D after both Libya and Rwanda played 1-1 draw last Thursday.
It is also the biggest win by the Super Eagles since their 2023 6-0 win over Sao Tome & Principe last year September.
Great man Ademola Lookman, he put in two goals straightening the possibility of his emerging as 2024 African Footballer of the Year.
The current title holder, Victor Osimhen proved his mettle coming off the bench in the second half to double Nigeria’s lead after Lookman’s late first half goal.
The Super Eagles will now honour their next fixture against Rwanda on Tuesday with the hope of consolidating their lead.
Benin Republic with no points and a deficit of three goals are rooted at the bottom of the log.
BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
The National Chairman of the Nigerian Football Supporters Club (NFSC), Rev. Samuel Ikpea has called on all Nigerians to rally round and pray for the Super Eagles ahead of Saturday’s Morocco 2025 AFCON qualifier against Benin Republic in Uyo.
Ikpea who is mobilizing support for the Super Eagles ahead of the clash in Uyo said that whatever Benin Republic come with both spiritually and physically in the game, we will surely overcome them.
“In the NFSC we have Christians, Muslims as well as those who believe in traditional worship and we respect the rights of freedom of worship of every member and all Nigerians.
“When we are faced with this kind of crucial game, we call on everyone to pray through their various believes because we foresee that Benin Republic are most likely coming to fall back on ‘black magic’ to enable them perfect a back-to-back victory over our Super Eagles after beating us 2-1 in our last meeting in a World Cup qualifier”
“We cannot underestimate the efficacy of the black magic” Ikpea further stressed, “but we believe that when we come together we can neutralize it’s efficacy.
“This is no time to sleep, we all have to rally round and do our best to support our Super Eagles because they cannot do it alone without the prayers and support of all Nigerians.
“While charging Nigerians to be positive with the team, we at the NFSC have done everything positive to overturn whatever plans they are coming with and we enjoin everyone to toe that path through prayers”.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles camp is bubbling with training in Uyo, as team Coach Austin Eguavoen, has been working hard to perfect tactics with the boys and ensure the Super Eagles soar on Saturday.
The Super Eagles have not won a qualifying match for any competition since their 6-0 defeat of Principe & Sao Tome on 10th September 2023 in Uyo. That was their last qualifying match for Cote d’Ivoire 2023 played in 2024.
Since then, they have played four World Cup qualifying matches without a win despite being the overwhelming favourites at those matches.
A forensic analysis of their World Cup qualifying since that of Qatar 2022 will reveal they had played seven consecutive matches without a win starting from their 1-1 home draw with Cape Verde in Lagos which qualified them for the play off. In the play off with Ghana, the Super Eagles drew the two matches.
In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, they have gone four matches, getting three draws and a loss. The prospect of their getting a straight qualification from the group is doubtful as they have a mountain to climb by winning the remaining six matches, three of which are away duels of which are most likely to be played in South Africa, the home ground of their main rivals.
Zimbabwe and Lesotho play their home matches in South Africa and Nigeria also still have an away duel with Bafana Bafana.
The qualification series of AFCON 2025 presents the Super Eagles a new beginning. Starting from the semi-finals of the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, the team has won none of their four competitive matches in regulation time. The players have a date with destiny in Uyo this Saturday to wipe off the sagging image they have had in recent time.
A win will give the team the confidence expected in anticipation for future fixtures.
What a goal-laden day for Nigeria; Falconets also win with wide margin!
Hurray, Super Eagles back to winning ways!
‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful!’, Rev Ikpea calls on football fans to rally round Super Eagles
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
-
TRANSFER MARKET3 days agoPoints of Interest as Napoli’s coach apologises to Victor Osimhen
-
Badminton1 week agoAmerican beats Nigeria’s Segun Obasanjo
-
TRANSFER MARKET1 week agoTransfer market still bubbling as Chelsea agents lands in Napoli for Osimhen
-
TRANSFER MARKET1 week agoBREAKING! Osimhen is left stranded! Future remains uncertain
-
TRANSFER MARKET5 days agoLukaku pays respect to Osimhen
-
Nigerian Football1 week agoAs in 1974 , 1995 and 2005 another coach, Labbadia disappears from Nigeria’s national team job
-
PARALYMPICS5 days agoHow Mikano powered Eniola to Nigeria’s first medal at Paris 2024
-
AFCON1 week agoInterim Commander, Eguavoen opens up on his plans for Super Eagles