By Kunle Solaja, Casablanca enroute Tangier

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will this Tuesday discover the roadmap to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations when the Confederation of African Football conducts the draw for the qualifying series of the continent’s flagship tournament.

The draw marks the formal start of the qualification race for the 2027 finals, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It will be the first time three nations co-host the Africa Cup of Nations and also the last edition to be staged on a biennial cycle before the competition switches to a four-year format.

According to the Confederation of African Football, the qualification process will begin with preliminary rounds involving the lowest-ranked teams on the continent.

The six winners from those preliminary ties will advance to join 42 other nations already assured of a place in the main qualification phase.

Nigeria, ranked among Africa’s top sides, are expected to enter directly into the group stage of the qualifiers, avoiding the preliminary hurdle. Once the full list of 48 teams is confirmed, CAF is widely expected to place them into 12 groups, with each group producing two qualifiers.

That format would see 24 teams secure tickets to the finals, known as the “Pamoja” tournament — a Swahili word meaning “together”, symbolising the joint-hosting arrangement by the three East African nations.

For the Super Eagles, the draw will offer early clues about the difficulty of their qualification campaign, including potential long-haul travel challenges, regional rivalries and scheduling demands. Nigeria have qualified for 20 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and will be targeting a smooth passage to the 2027 finals as they continue rebuilding after recent continental campaigns.

CAF is yet to publish the full calendar and match windows for the qualifiers, but the process is expected to align with FIFA international windows, allowing European-based stars to feature regularly for their national teams.

As Nigeria await Tuesday’s draw, attention will be firmly fixed on which opponents stand between the Super Eagles and a place at what promises to be a historic Africa Cup of Nations in East Africa — and the closing chapter of AFCON’s long-running biennial era.

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A man who styled himself as a marabout on social media and boldly promised Mali victory at the Africa Cup of Nations has been arrested for fraud after collecting more than 22 million CFA francs (about €33,500), local sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The man, identified only as Sinayogo, had solicited donations online in exchange for spiritual assurances that the Eagles of Mali would lift the continental trophy. His claims collapsed dramatically on Friday night when Mali were knocked out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage by Senegal, losing 1–0.

According to one of his associates, Sinayogo had raised more than 22 million CFA francs during Mali’s run at the Africa Cup of Nations. But following the elimination, anger spilt onto the streets. An irate crowd reportedly gathered at his residence, forcing police to intervene and remove him for his own safety.

Sinayogo was arrested on Saturday and placed in detention at the cybercrime unit, according to two videographers who previously worked with him and later visited him in custody. Authorities confirmed he is being held on suspicion of fraud linked to online deception.

“Charlatanism is punishable by law in Mali,” an official from the cybercrime unit told AFP. The official added that taking action earlier would have been difficult while the national team remained in the competition, describing the period as “the heat of the Africa Cup of Nations.”

Further details have since emerged about Sinayogo’s rise. A social media content creator close to him said the man was previously known as a political activist before “proclaiming himself a marabout overnight and making a fortune.”

The case has ignited debate in Mali over superstition, social media influence and the emotional pull of football, as hopes of continental glory once again gave way to disappointment — and, this time, a police investigation.

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By Kunle Solaja, Casablanca enroute Tangier

Former Liverpool teammates Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah will face each other on opposing sides for the first time in three years on Wednesday when Senegal will meet Egypt in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The last-four clash, scheduled for the Moroccan city of Tangier, marks the first occasion Mané and Salah have shared the same pitch since Liverpool lost to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final in May 2022.

Soon after that defeat, Mané departed Liverpool for Bayern Munich, before moving on to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League a year later. Salah, meanwhile, has remained at Liverpool despite persistent links with a switch to Saudi Arabia and a challenging period under new coach Arne Slot before the Cup of Nations.

The Egypt captain has been in outstanding form in Morocco, scoring four goals in four matches to drive the Pharaohs’ run to the semi-finals. The tournament represents another chance for Salah to secure his first Africa Cup of Nations title, a prize that has so far eluded him.

With his 34th birthday approaching in June, time is becoming a factor for Salah, who has twice tasted final heartbreak.

He was part of the Egypt side beaten by Cameroon in the 2017 final in Gabon, and then captained the team that lost on penalties to Senegal in the 2022 final in Yaoundé.

Wednesday’s showdown adds another chapter to the Mané–Salah rivalry, with a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final at stake and both stars seeking to tilt the balance of recent history in their favour

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