CAF alters Nigeria’s Afcon 2023 qualifiers fixtures

Super Eagles of Nigeria will now face Mauritius and not Sao Tomé and Príncipe when the group stage of the 2023 qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations kick off next month.  The game will hold on 13 June in the Indian Ocean island.

This is sequel to Mauritius winning their appeal against Sao Tomé and Príncipe who had earlier eliminated the Indian Ocean island country.

The Director of Competitions of the Confederation of African Football (CAF),  Samson Adamu confirmed to thenff.com that Mauritius won a case it filed against Sao Tomé and Príncipe and will therefore join the combatants in Group A of the qualification series starting next month.

Victory for Mauritius at the CAF Disciplinary Committee means they now join Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau in Group A of the six-match phase that ends in March next year. Nigeria will play Sierra Leone in Abuja on Thursday 9^th June and then play Mauritius on Monday 13^th June.

Mauritius had filed a protest against São Tomé and Príncipe, who won their preliminary qualifying fixture, insisting that one São Tomé player had tested positive for covid-19. “The matter became somewhat more interesting because the player at the centre of the controversy is the one that scored the only goal of the match,” said our source at the time.

 When Nigeria face Mauritius in an away match on 13 June, it will be the first encounters of both teams.