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FLYING EAGLES BEGIN QUEST FOR FIRST AFRICAN GAMES GOLD MEDAL IN 46 YEARS

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA

Even though the African Games was Nigeria’s first continental honour in football, the country has failed to replicate the victory since that of January 1973.

The country’s best outing in the preceding 11 editions of the African Games was the runners-up finishing 41 years ago in Algeria and in the Abuja 2003 games. 

Sports Village Square recalls that at the time Nigeria won in 1973 and losing in the 1978 final match,  the football event was opened to the full national team until it was made age-graded at the Nairobi 1987 games.

Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon in a group photograph with the Nigerian football team that won the gold medal of the football event of the 2nd All Africa Games in Lagos in 1973

Nigeria did not qualify for the 1987 games after been eliminated by Cote d’Ivoire in an encounter in which Samson Siasia made his debut for Nigeria.

Rabat 2019 will be Nigeria’s seventh participation in 21 editions of the football event.  Nigeria did not qualify for the first edition in Congo, having been edged out by Togo in a West African qualifying series in Lagos.

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Nigeria also missed out in 1987 in Nairobi, 2007 in Algiers and 2011 in Maputo. The positive is that the Nigerian team has always been in the medals’ zone in all the editions that the football team qualified.

Nigeria won gold in 1973, silver in 1978 and 2003, and bronze medals in 1991,1995 and 2015.

Nigeria also missed out in 1987in Nairobi, 2007 in Algiers and 2011 in Maputo.

The Nigerian U-20 team who are scheduled to leave for Rabat on Tuesday along with the first batch of the Nigerian contingent will begin a redemption quest on Friday when they face Burkina Faso in a Group A encounter at the Stade Hassan Moulay in Rabat.

The team will face South Africa next week Tuesday  before their final group match  with hosts, Morocco next week Friday. All the Group A matches are slated for  Stade Hassan Moulay in Rabat

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Nigeria’s fixtures at the All-Africa Games

16/08/2019- Nigeria v Burkina Faso, Stade Hassan Moulay, Rabat

20/08/2019- South Africa v Nigeria, Stade Hassan Moulay, Rabat

23/08/2019 Nigeria v Morocco, Stade Hassan Moulay, Rabat

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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