Tag: AFCON

African football euphoria is in the air in Abidjan, the capital of Cote d’Ivoire, as Nigeria’s Super Eagles know their AFCON opponents when the anticipated draw holds today.

The draw which takes place at the Parc Des Exposition marks yet another exciting milestone to the build-up to the 34th  edition of the biggest event on African soil ahead of its official start from January 13 to February 11, 2024.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will join hosts – Cote d’Ivoire and 22 others which include Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo DR, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Zambia for the Africa’s biggest football fiesta next year.

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Meanwhile, Global music star, AKON, will host the draw at the breath-taking, brand-new Parc Des Expositions venue in Abidjan and be beamed live on CAF TV (YouTube).

The Senegalese hitmaker is a huge football fan and social activist whose ‘Akon Lighting Africa’ project seeks to use solar electricity to help African countries meet their basic electricity needs.

AKON’s hosting of the Final Draw, alongside Yaya Touré, adds even more star power to what is set to be a glitzy, glamorous, eagerly anticipated occasion, as the 24 qualified nations discover their group stage opponents.

This will be the second time CAF’s flagship competition is hosted in Cote d’Ivoire following the 1984 edition that concluded with the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon being crowned champions in a match played at the now refurbished Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny, which will be one of the host venues next year.

 Nigeria and Benin  joint bid  to host the  2027 Africa Cup of Nations  yesterday  lost  out as the Confederation of African  Football (CAF)  yesterday announced the  successful joint east African bid of  Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya .

 The joint bid of Nigeria and neighbouring  Benin Republic  as well as that of  Senegal  were  in the race  for the 2027 edition of the  continental showpiece  but it was the East Africans that got the nod.

CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe  confirmed Wednesday after the CAF Executive Committee Meeting, which was held in Cairo.

The  means the biggest event on African soil returns to East Africa after 51 years since it was last hosted by Ethiopia in 1976.  This will be the 36th  edition of the competition and will be the very first time it is hosted by three countries.

Earlier, the CAF Executive  also confirmed  Morocco  as  host of  the 35th   edition of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 after its  meeting   in Cairo.

Morocco replaced Guinea, who were stripped of the tournament in October last year because of concerns about infrastructure and facilities.

Zambia and a joint Nigeria-Benin bid were also in the running for 2025. But they agreed to withdraw in order to allow Morocco to prove its worth in the hope it will increase the chances of Africa hosting the World Cup.

Patrice Motsepe, president of organisers CAF, said all of the options for both tournaments would have made Africa “proud”.

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He added the decisions had been based on the level of infrastructure made available by bids, including facilities, accommodation and hospitals.

“The decision that was taken today was to focus on African unity, development and growth, in the context of those countries withdrawing,” Motsepe said of Morocco’s success, which also came after Algeria withdrew on the eve of the vote.

“A huge amount of money is being spent on Morocco for 2025. The bid from Morocco to host the World Cup is not just for Morocco, but for the whole of Africa.”

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania’s selection represents the first time nations from the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) will stage the tournament since Ethiopia in 1976.

“The three nations came together because our standards and requirements are very high,” added Motsepe, likening expectations for the organisation of tournaments to those held by European administrative body UEFA and the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol).

“Sometimes it requires hundreds of millions – sometimes billions – in infrastructure. It makes me proud when football brings countries together. AFCON 2027 is going to be a huge success.”

The next tournament will take place in Cote d’Ivoire from 13 January until 11 February 2024. The draw will take place in Abidjan on 12 October at 1900 GMT.

Morocco will be hosting Africa’s flagship event for the second time, 35 years after the North African country staged the competition in 1988.

• CAF picks host nations

The joint bid by Nigeria and neighbours Republic of Benin is on the forefront in the race for hosting of the 36th edition of Africa Cup of Nations in 2027, with the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) expected to vote on the bids for both 2025 and 2027 in Cairo today.

The meeting will take place at the Cairo Marriott Hotel in the Zamalek area of downtown Cairo.

With Morocco virtually guaranteed the honour for the 2025 finals, the joint bid by Nigeria and Republic of Benin is in contest with Senegal, Egypt, Botswana and a tripartite arrangement of Uganda/Kenya/Tanzania for the 2027 event.

Algeria was a strong candidate for the 2027 event until the North African country withdrew from the race yesterday.

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Guinea was originally selected to host the 2025 finals, on the same day that Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire were given the mandates for the 2021 and 2023 editions respectively.

But the Guineans fell behind badly in the preparations with infrastructure and other facilities unattended to. A new military government in place has not helped the country’s case, and CAF simply withdrew the hosting right from them.

Nigeria has put forward the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja; Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt; Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo; Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos; Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna; Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba; Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City and; Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano. In the Republic of Benin, the Stade Mathieu Kerekou in Cotonou and the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo are listed.

Nigeria hosted and won the 12th edition of the AFCON in 1980 and then co-hosted the 22nd finals with Ghana in 2000.

Former Super Eagles star Daniel Amokachi, has defended coach Jose Peseiro for calling up foreign players for Super Eagles last 2023 AFCON qualifier against Sao Tome and Principe.

Peseiro invited 22 foreign players and only home-based Enyimba goalkeeper Olorunleke Ojo for Nigeria’s final 2023 AFCON qualifier against Sao Tome and Principe.

Amokachi said Peseiro’s action was justified as he did not want to gamble with the match due to the short period of time to assemble the players.

“If I were in Peseiro’s shoes, I would do the same because they had just little time to blend the players together,” he said.

“Football crazy Nigerians always want a result, they don’t care how it would come and we have the players across the world ready to give us what we really wanted.” he said.

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Amokachi, a fan of home-based players, said he would have invited some local players for the match so as to encourage the system where most of them emerged from.

“We have talents in the local league, and we should also invite some for such matches for future preparations. In the days of my late boss Stephen Keshi, we always gave home players the opportunity to express themselves in the national team,” he said.

The Super Eagles were knocked out by Tunisia in the Round of 16 at the 2021 AFCON hosted in Cameroon but Peseiro believes his team can go all the way this time around.

The Super Eagles will begin their 2026 World Cup qualification matches with a home tie against Lesotho in November.

The Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh will be attending the Confederation of African Football Executive Committee meeting in Cairo, Egypt, as the nation solidifies its bid to host the African Cup of Nation (AFCON) for the first time since 1980.

The Minister will be attending the meeting as the representative of the Federal Government of Nigeria, as the country will be making a presentation in Cairo. He is attending the meeting alongside top executive members of the Nigerian Football Federation.

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All countries that submitted bids to host the AFCON in 2025 and 2027 are expected to attend the meeting, where the independent assessment committees of CAF will submit their reports for assessments and discussions by CAF EXCO.

The Nigerian delegation includes President of the NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary, Dr, Mohammed Sanusi and bud coordinator, Mallam Mainasara Ilo.

Nigeria will make a ten (10) minute presentation to the CAF EXCO, and will thereafter have time to answer questions.

The meeting will hold  tomorrow.

Three more countries sealed their places at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Saturday as Mozambique secured qualification with a dramatic 95th-minute winner.

Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of Congo also booked a spot at next year’s finals but there was disappointment for striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as his Gabon side missed out on a place in Ivory Coast.

Three spots remain for AFCON which kicks off in Cote d’Ivoire on 13 January.

Mozambique sealed their return to the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2010 thanks to a late 3-2 win over Benin in Maputo in Group L.

Read Also:AFCON qualifiers: Sofyan Amrabat withdraws from Morocco squad

The Mambas knew a draw would be enough against a Benin side who needed a victory to qualify.

Benin started the better, taking a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes thanks to a Steve Mounie penalty.

The hosts quickly fought back with goals from Witi and Ricardo Guimaraes to go 2-1 up but Benin made it a nervous end for the home fans, finding an equaliser through Jodel Dossou.

As the visitors searched for a winner, Mozambique made sure of their place with a 95th-minute goal from Clesio Bauque to complete a 3-2 victory. Mozambique join holders Senegal as qualifiers from Group L.