AFCON
Crisis Riders; Despite Challenges, Super Eagles Can Do It Again –
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off this Saturday in Cote d’Ivoire. It is Nigeria’s 20th appearance at the African premier sports competition.
As in most of the 19 previous editions involving the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, based on their pedigree should be favourites having had podium finish in 15 out of 19 appearances.
Their last success was just 10 years ago, hence their clarion call: ‘Let’s do it again.’ It is one thing to declare intention. It is a different thing to deliver.
Pooled in Group A along with hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau, it should have been considered a favourable draw for the Nigerian side as two of the teams will certainly go into the next round and a third may also advance as possible one of the four best second runners-up among six third finishers.
But there are worrisome signs emanating from the Nigerian squad. Lately, the squad had been depleted with the injuries to some first choice players.
Even, another one, Kelechi Ikeanacho is still a big doubt. But above all, the results of their last five matches, against medium rated sides of which they won just one, pose dangerous signals.
The matches were against Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Guinea. Save for the 3-2 defeat of Mozambique in which penalty kick played the decisive role, the remaining three matches were drawn against the lowly ranked teams.
Worse still, of the eight goals conceded in the five matches, six came from goalkeeping errors.
Goalkeeping howler has been the albatross the Super Eagles have had to contend with since 2015 when Vincent Enyeama was eased out of the team.
Enyeama was a dominant figure in the national team for 13 years, rising from an ordinary member in 2002 to become not just the captain, but a goalkeeper that even the renowned Lionel Messi had tremendous respect for having encountered him in two World Cup matches in 2010 and 2014.
Sadly, after Enyeama’s 13 year-tenure, the Super Eagles have in the past eight years tried eight goalkeepers. None moved close to being his equivalent.
Goalkeeping error caused Nigeria’s inability to get to the championship match of the 2019 Afcon.
Similar goalkeeping error terminated their progress at the 2021 edition at the Round of 16 stage when a routine long range kick caught Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye napping.
It was for the same reason that the Super Eagles did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Thus, goalkeeping is the most daunting problem the Super Eagles face as they begin their quest to do it again on Sunday.
On the offensive, they certainly posses the most potent strike force in the continent at the moment. Like ESPN journalist, Colin Udoh once remarked, having the firepower is only part of the equation, however; supplying the ammunition is another, and keeping the rearguard safe and secure is a different conversation entirely.
If the Super Eagles are able to tighten their defence line and ensure that the goalkeeper is well protected, the midfield and the attacking line will have to the impetus to operate.
Another worrying sign is the planning ahead of the tournament. The Super Eagles are currently training in Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates. January is the coldest month in that region while the AFCON will hold in humid condition in West Africa. Save for two of the 25 invited players who are South Africa and Nigeria based, the rest played under winter conditions in Europe. Training in Abu Dhabi and coming to West Africa barely five days to their opening match will most likely have effect on the Nigerian team.
Similar basic errors have been committed in the past when weather conditions in the theatre of competitions were not taken into consideration while camping.
First, in the lead to the final qualifying match for 1982 World Cup, Nigeria embarked on training tour in Norway and Iceland in winters for a qualifying match against Algeria in Lagos. The 2-0 home loss attested to the faulty choice of camping.
Similarly, with World Cup 2010 holding under extreme winter condition in South Africa, Nigeria camped in summer condition in the UK. Worse still, the team chose Durban – an all year summer city – as base camp from where they travel to cold Johannesburg for their opening match and the bitterly freezing and mountainous city of Bloemfontein for the next match before their last group match in the warn Durban.
Had they survived the last match, they would had had to return to the cold Johannesburg/Pretoria for subsequent matches. The inability of the team to win a single match is the result of poor planning. It is hoped the humid weather in Abidjan will not negatively affect the Super Eagles.
The self-destructive tendencies and problematic areas not withstanding, the Super Eagles can still soar on the wings and scale the heights. The Super Eagles have always scaled through turbulent waters. That is where their strength lies.
They may be bogged down once again by a myriad of problems, they have always thrived in crisis. As crisis riders, they were able to surmount favourites, Cote d’Ivoire in their march to victory in 2013.
As it has turned out to be, the three instances the Super Eagles won the Africa Cup of Nations were when they avoided defeat to Cote d’Ivoire. In 1980, they played goalless with Cote d’Ivoire en-route winning the trophy.
In 1994, they drew and then won an ensuing penalty shoot-out on their way eventual victory. The same happened in 2013 as the tournament favourites, were eliminated by Nigeria in the quarter finals.
Nigeria are again pitched to face Cote d’Ivoire. Avoiding a defeat may be an harbinger of fortune. The Super Eagles can still excel only if they believe they can.
We encourage them to have the strong desire to compete, the skills to excel, the courage to overcome and strength to believe which are the qualities of true Olympians.
They can do it, if they truly believe they can.
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s senior national team, the Super Eagles, will discover their route to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations when the Confederation of African Football (Confederation of African Football) conducts the qualifying draw on May 19, 2026.
This is an exercise that will define the country’s pathway to the historic PAMOJA 2027 tournament.
The draw, coming after the conclusion of the preliminary round, will feature 48 teams, including co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. They will be pooled into 12 groups of four teams each. Only the top two teams from each group will progress to the final tournament, setting up what promises to be a fiercely competitive qualification series.
For Nigeria, a three-time African champion and podium finisher in three of the last four editions, the qualification format is familiar, but the stakes are evolving. They will need a good head start to avert the type of tragedy that defined their World Cup 2026 qualification campaign.
The Super Eagles have maintained a strong record in AFCON qualifying campaigns in recent years, yet inconsistency at the tournament proper has raised expectations for not just qualification, but a deeper continental impact.
The six-match qualification series will be spread across three FIFA international windows:
- * September–October 2026 (Matchdays 1 & 2)
- * November 2026 (Matchdays 3 & 4)
- * March 2027 (Matchdays 5 & 6)
This staggered schedule will test squad depth, technical stability, and administrative efficiency, which are areas that have historically influenced Nigeria’s performance as much as on-field quality.
East Africa Return and Logistical Implications
The 2027 tournament will mark AFCON’s return to the East African region for the first time since the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations.
For Nigeria, this introduces a different competitive environment—altitude variations, travel logistics across three host nations, and potentially unfamiliar playing conditions.
The tri-nation hosting model also means that teams must prepare for a geographically dispersed tournament, requiring early planning in scouting, acclimatisation, and logistics—areas where Nigeria has previously faced challenges in major competitions.
CAF is banking on the momentum generated by recent tournaments such as the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, both of which recorded significant commercial growth, increased sponsorship value, and expanded global broadcast audiences.
For Nigeria, one of Africa’s most marketable football brands, this growth presents both opportunity and pressure. Strong performances by the Super Eagles not only boost national pride but also reinforce Nigeria’s commercial relevance in African football’s evolving ecosystem.
While the May 19 draw will simply allocate opponents on paper, its implications run deeper. A favourable group could ease Nigeria’s passage, but recent AFCON qualifiers have shown that traditional hierarchies are narrowing, with emerging teams increasingly competitive.
For the Super Eagles, the road to PAMOJA 2027 is not just about qualification—it is about reasserting continental dominance in an era where African football is becoming more competitive, more commercial, and more globally visible.
The journey begins with the draw, but for Nigeria, expectations will stretch far beyond simply making the trip to East Africa.
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By Kunle Solaja.
The Confederation of African Football (Confederation of African Football) has formally unveiled the competition window for the landmark Africa Cup of Nations, tagged PAMOJA 2027, setting the stage for what is shaping up to be one of the most politically and structurally significant tournaments in the competition’s history.
Scheduled to kick off on Saturday, 19 June 2027, with the final fixed for Saturday, 17 July 2027, the tournament marks only the second time the AFCON will be staged in the June–July window. The first was the expanded 24-team edition in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, a shift originally designed to align African football with the European off-season calendar and improve player availability.
A Return to June–July: Progress or Persistent Constraint?
While the timing suggests continuity with the 2019 precedent, it also underscores a deeper tension within African football governance. CAF’s confirmation that the dates required approval from the FIFA Council, following a meeting in Vancouver, raises renewed questions about the confederation’s operational autonomy.
Historically, AFCON scheduling has been vulnerable to external pressures, particularly from European clubs and leagues reluctant to release African players mid-season. The June–July calendar was initially seen as a strategic compromise. However, the necessity of FIFA ratification in 2027 signals that CAF’s flagship tournament still operates within a framework heavily influenced by global football politics.
This development may reignite debate about whether CAF is charting an independent course or increasingly aligning its decisions with FIFA’s broader international calendar priorities.
Beyond scheduling, AFCON 2027 represents a structural leap. For the first time, three nations—Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda—will jointly host the tournament.
This tri-nation model, branded “PAMOJA” (Swahili for togetherness), is more than symbolic. It reflects CAF’s attempt to decentralise hosting rights, reduce infrastructural pressure on single nations, and expand the tournament’s commercial and cultural footprint.
With a projected reach of over 400 million people across East Africa, the tournament offers significant opportunities:
- Market expansion: Opening new commercial corridors in a region historically underrepresented in hosting major football events.
- Infrastructure development: Accelerated investment in stadiums, transport, and tourism across three countries.
- Regional integration: Football as a tool for political and economic cooperation within East Africa.
Yet, the model is not without risks. Multi-country hosting introduces logistical complexities—border coordination, security harmonisation, and infrastructure parity—that CAF has not previously managed at this scale.
Waiting for Key Decisions
CAF has deferred the announcement of which cities or countries will host the opening match and final, decisions that will carry both symbolic and economic weight. These choices could influence regional balance and perceptions of equity among the co-hosts.
AFCON 2027 sits at the intersection of ambition and dependency. On one hand, it embodies innovation—a new hosting model and a reaffirmed global calendar alignment. On the other, it highlights lingering structural challenges, particularly CAF’s reliance on FIFA’s approval mechanisms.
As preparations unfold, the success of PAMOJA 2027 will likely be judged not just by the quality of football on display, but by how effectively CAF navigates these competing forces—continental aspiration versus global integration.
In many ways, AFCON 2027 will be a test of whether African football can expand its horizons without compromising its independence.
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By Kunle Solaja.
Defending champions Morocco will take the first formal step in their title defence when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducts the draw for the AFCON PAMOJA 2027 qualifiers on May 19, 2026, two days before the 122nd anniversary of the founding of FIFA.
Fresh from their triumph at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the Atlas Lions now face the challenge of sustaining continental dominance as they begin the journey toward the historic East African finals, to be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
As reigning champions, Morocco enter the qualifiers with a target on their back. Their recent rise, bolstered by strong World Cup performances and a deep pool of Europe-based talents, has elevated expectations both at home and across the continent.
But history suggests that defending an AFCON title is rarely straightforward. The qualifying format, which includes 48 teams drawn into 12 groups of four, leaves little margin for complacency. Only the top two teams in each group will progress, meaning even established powers must navigate a potentially tricky six-match campaign.
The qualifiers will unfold across three FIFA international windows:
- * September–October 2026 (Matchdays 1 & 2)
- * November 2026 (Matchdays 3 & 4)
- * March 2027 (Matchdays 5 & 6)
For Morocco, maintaining squad cohesion across these windows will be crucial. With players spread across Europe’s top leagues, managing fatigue, travel, and club-country balance will test the technical crew’s planning and depth.
AFCON 2027 will mark the tournament’s return to East Africa for the first time since the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations. The unique three-country hosting model introduces new logistical variables—ranging from climate and altitude differences to travel across multiple venues.
For Morocco, whose recent success has been built on tactical discipline and structured preparation, early adaptation to these conditions could prove decisive in their title defence.
CAF’s recent tournaments—including the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and Morocco 2025—have recorded unprecedented commercial success, expanding the global reach of African football.
As defending champions, Morocco stand at the centre of this growth. Their performances will not only shape the competitive narrative of AFCON 2027 but also influence the tournament’s commercial appeal and global visibility.
While the May 19 draw will determine Morocco’s immediate opponents, the broader mission is clear: retain continental supremacy in an increasingly competitive African football landscape.
For the Atlas Lions, the road to PAMOJA 2027 is not merely about securing qualification—it is about proving that their recent triumph was not a peak, but the beginning of sustained dominance.
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