Tag: Morocco 2025

The hopes of Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, advancing to the knockout stages of the ongoing FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco became slim on Wednesday night, following the team’s 0-1 reverse against France – its second loss in as many games.

Both teams played conservatively and created few chances in the first 45 minutes, defending robustly, with Nigeria making four attempts at goal, more than the French side who had three of their shots wide off the target.

Nigeria’s clear chance came from Chisom Nwachukwu’s delightful set-piece, but France’s goalkeeper, Chevray Lauryne was right on the spot to tip it over the bar for a corner kick.

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The Flamingos’ best chance came in the 50th minute of the game when Queen Joseph’s delivery from a corner kick fell unto the path of Nwachukwu whose close range left-footed shot was once again foiled by goalkeeper Chevray Lauryne.

Substitute Laboucarie Luna nearly put France in front in the 62nd minute after Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Elizabeth Boniface’s attempt to close down an attacker bearing on goal failed, but Jumai Adebayo’s goal-line clearance kept Nigeria on in the game.

France found the breakthrough late on as Maissa Fathallah’s low strike beat Boniface in the 81st minute for the only goal of the match.

The defeat leaves Nigeria with zero points from two games. The team will play Samoa Island in the last group game of the campaign.

Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, will today fly out of the country to South Africa for the first of their two-leg FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifying fixture against the U17 girls of South Africa, known as Bantwana.

The match, for which the Confederation of African Football has selected Kenyan officials to superintend, will kick off at 3pm South Africa time (2pm Nigeria) on Saturday, 8^th  March at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital.

Head Coach Bankole Olowookere has selected 19 players, with goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma, defenders Hannah Ibrahim and Jumai Adebayo, midfielders Shakirat Moshood and Muinat Rotimi, and forwards Harmony Chidi and Chisom Nwachukwu included.

While 2022 FIFA World Cup bronze medallists Nigeria drew bye to the second round, Bantwana crushed their counterparts from Gabon 21-2 on aggregate.

CAF has appointed Josephine Wanjiku as referee, with her compatriots Mary Njoroge, Elizabeth Njoroge and Juma Lucy Awino to serve as assistant 1, assistant 2 and fourth official respectively.

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Cindy Barbara Dludlu from eSwatini will be the commissioner, with Moroccan Khadija Rezzag to be in the role of referee assessor.

Both teams will battle things out in the return leg at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne-Remo on Saturday, 15^th  March, with the winner on aggregate progressing to the third round of the qualification campaign.    

This year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Morocco, 17 October – 8 November, with Africa to present 5 teams (including host nation Morocco) at the finals, which has been expanded to a 24-nation championship.

19 FLAMINGOS FOR SOUTH AFRICA:

Christiana Uzoma, Onyinyechi Opara, Hannah Ibrahim, Jumai Adebayo, Temilade Fafore, Shavih Istifanus, Taiwo Adegoke, Shakirat Moshood, Muinat Rotimi, Azeezat Oduntan, Philomena Ochanya, Aishat Animashaun, Elizabeth Boniface, Queen Joseph, Olamide Olanrewaju, Chisom Nwachukwu, Harmony Chidi, Favour Iheagwaram, Christiana Sunday

The Confederation of African Football has appointed Kenyan official, Josephine Wanjiku, as referee for next week’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifier between Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, and their South African counterparts, Bantwana, slated for Pretoria.

The Flamingos and Bantwana will clash starting 3pm South Africa time (2pm Nigeria) on Saturday, 8^th  March in the first leg of a second-round fixture, at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in South Africa’s administrative capital. While 2022 FIFA World Cup bronze medallists Nigeria drew bye to the second round, Bantwana crushed their counterparts from Gabon 21-2 on aggregate, winning 12-1 in Gabon and then running away 9-1 winners on home soil.

CAF has also appointed Wanjiku’s compatriots Mary Njoroge, Elizabeth Njoroge and Juma Lucy Awino as assistant 1, assistant 2 and fourth official respectively.

Cindy Barbara Dludlu from eSwatini will be the commissioner, with Moroccan Khadija Rezzag to be in the role of referee assessor.

Both teams will battle things out in the return leg at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne-Remo on Saturday, 15^th  March, with the winner on aggregate progressing to the third round of the qualification campaign.    

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This year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup (the competition becomes an annual event from this year) will be hosted by Morocco, 17 October – 8 November, with Africa to present 5 teams (including host nation Morocco) at the finals, which has also been expanded to a 24-nation championship.

The Flamingos, who reached the quarter-finals at last year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals in the Dominican Republic, have been in camp at the Remo Stars Institute, Ikenne-Remo for a couple of weeks in preparation for the clash with the Bantwana.

 Morocco has selected nine stadiums in six cities for the Africa Cup of Nations finals starting in December, the country’s local organising committee said  before the tournament’s  final draw was held last night.

Four stadiums will be in the capital Rabat and officials said the final will be played at Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, which has a 69,500 capacity.

It will also host the opening match and a semi-final, along with the renovated stadium in Tangier.

Casablanca’s Mohammed V stadium was the venue for the final when Morocco last hosted the tournament in 1988 but it is earmarked for a quarter-final only this time round, along with Agadir, Fes and Marrakech.

The 24-team tournament is being held from Dec. 21-Jan. 18, 2026.

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Morocco are World Cup co-hosts in 2030, along with Spain and Portugal, and plan to build a 115,000-seater stadium on the outskirts of Casablanca by 2027, which they hope could host the 2030 final.

The stadium, one of the largest in the world, will cost up to $500 million, the Moroccan government previously said.

Stadiums in Rabat and Tangier are being renovated ahead of the Cup of Nations and Morocco plans after the tournament to upgrade the stadiums in Agadir, Fes and Marrakech, which are candidates to be World Cup host cities.

Host City                              Stadium Name                                                                                  Capacity

Rabat                                    Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah                          69 500

Rabat                                    Stade Al Barid                                                                                   18 000

Rabat                                    Stade Olympique Annexe Complexe Sportif                      21 000

Rabat                                    Complexe Sportif Prince Héritier Moulay EL Hassan        22 000

Casablanca                         Complexe Sportif Mohammed V                                                              45 000

Agadir                                   Grand Stade d’Agadir                                                                     41 144

Marrakech                          Grand Stade de Marrakech                                                          41 245

Fes                                         Complexe Sportif de Fès                                                              35 468

Tangier                                 Grand Stade de Tanger                                                                  75 600

Gernot Rohr’s Benin secure AFCON ticket

Group winners Nigeria got a huge sucker punch when losing 1-2 to the Amavubi (Bees) of Rwanda right at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on the closing day of qualifiers for the 35^th  Africa Cup of Nations finals.

The Eagles, who were expected to go for a win to finish on a high in a pool they dominated, were unconvincing for large parts of the game, and it took substitute Samuel Chukwueze, on for Kelechi Iheanacho at the beginning of the second period, and with two-thirds of the match gone, to produce any real excitement for the sparse crowd in south-south Nigeria.

The Italy-based forward made himself available to receive a pass from midfielder Frank Onyeka, and then waltzed his way past three defenders before lashing the ball past the impressive goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari for Nigeria’s only goal.

The visitors were able to stifle Nigeria’s game with the disconnect between the midfield and attack of the Super Eagles, and Victor Boniface, with another opportunity to stake his claim to a starting shirt, could not provide any real threat to the Amavubi rear-guard.

Moses Simon, in his characteristic dashing run, located Boniface’s head in the 24^th  minute, but the Germany-based forward headed away from goal. Iheanacho, on to a good lift from Simon, saw his shot saved by Ntwari with minutes left in the first half.

In the 50^th  minute, Boniface’s header from Simon’s corner kick was punched away. Boniface again missed a glorious opportunity in the 68^th  minute, after an excellent touch from Chukwueze and pass from Dele-Bashiru, and four minutes later, Rwanda were level when substitute Marie Gueulette headed past Maduka Okoye as Nigeria’s defenders ball-watched from a free-kick on the right.

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As the Eagles continued their casual game, the Amavubi sighted an opportunity to make history, and went for blood. Three minutes after the equalizer, they were back to raid the Nigeria defence again and profited when they got the ball past Okoye for their second and winning goal.

The victory however turned out to be sweet-sour, as the Amavubi found out they did not qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations following Benin Republic’s 0-0 draw with Libya in North Africa.

Meanwhile, former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr  has  qualified  Benin for their  first AFCON tournament since 2029 after their spirited  scoreless draw in Tripoli to finish second on a better goals difference ahead of Rwanda after both teams finished on eight points apiece.

Benin finished on zero  goals difference, while Rwanda recorded a  minus-two goals difference.

Libya finished bottom on five points. The 2025 AFCON will kick off in December 2025 in Morocco.

Iheanacho, Ejuke,  Osayi-Samuel swell Super Eagles

Head Coach Augustine Eguavoen has set as objective, the maximum six points from this month’s double header between the Super Eagles and Libya’s Mediterranean Knights in the teams’ group D attrition as the race to next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals hot-up.

Nigeria host the first game at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo tomorrow with the return at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium in Benina, 19 kilometres from Libya’s second city Benghazi, on Tuesday night.

 “We have to be practical about it: our best and surest route to the finals will be to pick up the six points in the matches with Libya, and be somewhat guaranteed of a place in Morocco even before Matchday 5. We don’t want to be in any anxiety in the run-in in this qualifying campaign,” he said. 

Twenty of the 23 invited players trained in Uyo on Tuesday evening, with defender Bright Osayi-Samuel and forwards Kelechi Iheanacho and Chidera Ejuke arriving on Wednesday morning.

Leaders Nigeria have four points from their two matches so far, one point ahead of Benin Republic and two ahead of Rwanda. The Eagles will go to 10 points with a double win over Libya, while both teams on Nigeria’s heels are in attrition and are bound to chop at each other’s advantage one way or the other.

Wins for Benin Republic in both matches will take them to nine points, still short of Nigeria’s probable tally of 10, but Rwanda will remain stuck at two and Libya one, with only two matches left in the campaign. Wins for Rwanda will leave Benin Republic stuck at three points and Rwanda at eight.

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 “There are possibilities and opportunities for us to sail home at the end of these two matches, and we will do our best to take our chances and have the ticket in hand before the final round of games,” Eguavoen reiterated.

The delegation of Libya’s Mediterranean Knights landed at the Port Harcourt International Airport around noon on Tuesday, before moving to Uyo by road.

Malawian referee Godfrey Philip Nkhakananga, who will be at the centre during Friday’s encounter, alongside the other match officials, are already in the Akwa Ibom State capital.

The Confederation of African Football has also appointed Nkhakananga’s compatriots, Clemence Kanduku and Joseph Nyauti as assistant referees 1 and 2 respectively, while Botswanan Keabetswe Dintwa will serve as fourth official.

Referee Godfrey Philip Nkhakananga, of Malawian nationality, will be at the centre during Friday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and the Mediterranean Knights of Libya, at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo.

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The Confederation of African Football has also appointed Nkhakananga’s compatriots, Clemence Kanduku and Joseph Nyauti as assistant referees 1 and 2 respectively, while Botswanan Keabetswe Dintwa will serve as fourth official for the Matchday 3 clash starting at 5pm.

Munkaila Nassam Adam from Ghana will be the commissioner, while Issaka Boubacar from Niger and Mayowa Akingbemisilu will be in the roles of referee assessor and broadcast venue manager respectively.