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Sporting Lagos and Bendel Insurance goalkeepers make AFCON 2023 provisional list as CAF finally reveals squads

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

With the Nigeria Football Association (NFF) non-disclosure of the Super Eagles’ list for the Africa Cup of Nations in January, CAF has same list along with those of the other participating teams.

Nigeria submitted a provisional list of 41 players from which 27 will be chosen by January 3, the deadline for the final list submission.

From the 41 list, three are from the domestic league. They are: Ojo Olorunleke of Enugu Rangers, Christian Nwoke of Sporting Lagos and Amas Obasgie of Bendel Insurance. They are all goalkeepers along with South Africa-based Stanley Bobo Nwabali expected to outperform widely criticised Francis Uzoho.

From the list of 41, equally vilified coach Peseiro is expected to prune the squad to 27 by January 3.

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In other words, he has to remove 14 names to compose the final squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

 

NIGERIA’S AFCON 2023 PROVISIONAL SQUAD

  # Full Name Birthdate Club Club Country
NIGERIA 1 Francis Odinaka Uzoho 10/28/1998 Omonia FC Cyprus
NIGERIA 2 Temitayo olufisayo Olaoluwa aina 10/8/1996 Nottingham Forest England
NIGERIA 3 Jamilu Collins 8/5/1994 Cardiff City FC England
NIGERIA 4 Ndidi Onyinye wilfred 12/16/1996 LEICESTER CITY FC England
NIGERIA 5 William paul Ekong 9/1/1993 Paok C Greece
NIGERIA 6 Ajayi Oluwasemilogo adesewo 11/9/1993 WEST BROMICH England
NIGERIA 7 Ahmed Musa 10/14/1992 Sivasspor k Turkey
NIGERIA 8 Ogochukwu frank Onyeka 1/1/1998 Brentford FC England
NIGERIA 9 Victor James osimhen 12/29/1998 SSC Napoli Italy
NIGERIA 10 Ayodele-aribo Temitope Joseph oluwaseyi 7/21/1996 SOUTHAMPTON FC England
NIGERIA 11 Samuel chimerenka Chukwueze 5/22/1999 AC MILAN Italy
NIGERIA 12 Ademola Olajide lookman 10/20/1997 Atlanta BC Italy
NIGERIA 13 Zaidu Sanusi 6/13/1997 FC PORTO Portugal
NIGERIA 14 Iheanacho Kelechi promise 10/3/1996 LEICESTER CITY FC England
NIGERIA 15 Moses daddy Simon 7/12/1995 FC NANTES France
NIGERIA 16 Adebayo Adeleye 5/17/2000 Hapoel Jerusalem Israel
NIGERIA 17 Calvin Chinedu ughelumba 12/31/1999 Fulham FC England
NIGERIA 18 Alexander Chuka iwobi 5/3/1996 Fulham FC England
NIGERIA 19 Sadiq Umar 2/2/1997 Real Sociedad Spain
NIGERIA 20 Awaziem Chidozie collins 1/1/1997 Boavista FC Portugal
NIGERIA 21 Tyronne Efe Ebuehi 12/16/1995 Empoli FC Italy
NIGERIA 22 Kenneth josiah Omeruo 10/17/1993 Kasimoasa FC Turkey
NIGERIA 23 Ojo Olorunleke oluwasegun 8/17/1995 Enyimba International FC Nigeria
NIGERIA 24 Akpoguma kevin John ufuoma 4/19/1995 TSG Hoffenhem Germany
NIGERIA 25 Victor Okoh boniface 12/23/2000 BAYER LEVERKUSEN Germany
NIGERIA 26 Onyemaechi Sopuruchukwu bruno 4/3/1999 Boavista FC Portugal
NIGERIA 27 Samuel Osayi bright 12/31/1997 FENERBACHCE S,K Turkey
NIGERIA 28 Bonaventure emmanuel Dennis 11/15/1997 Basaksehir Turkey
NIGERIA 29 Ebere paul Onuachu 5/28/1994 TRABSZONSPOR Turkey
NIGERIA 30 Terem Igobor moffi 5/25/1999 OGC NICE France
NIGERIA 31 Dessers cyriel Kolawale paul 12/8/1994 RANGERS FC Scotland
NIGERIA 32 Tella nathan Adewale temitayo 7/5/1999 Bayern Leverkusen Germany
NIGERIA 33 Nwadike raphael Onyedika 4/19/2001 Club Brugge Belgium
NIGERIA 34 Oluwafisayo Faruq Dele-bashiru 2/6/2001 HATAYSPOR Turkey
NIGERIA 35 Torunarigha Jordan 8/7/1997 KAA GENT Belgium
NIGERIA 36 Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi 7/20/2000 ROYAL ANTWERP Belgium
NIGERIA 37 Kelechi Nwakali 6/5/1998 GD Chaves Portugal
NIGERIA 38 Christain Nwoke 10/27/2000 Sporting Lagos FC Nigeria
NIGERIA 40 Stanley Bobo Nwabali 6/10/1996 Chippa United South Africa
NIGERIA 41 Obasogie Amas 12/27/1999 Bendel Insurance Nigeria

 

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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.

AFCON

Libya sacks coach ahead of AFCON qualifying back-to-back matches with Nigeria

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Milutin Sredojević

The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.

This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.

Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.

His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.

Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.

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The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while  the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.

According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach,  Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.

 He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience. 

According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.

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AFCON

CAF president blasts Ghana, others over stadium ban

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CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,

After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.

Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti,  Chad,  Niger,  Eritrea,  Gabon,  Sudan,  Zimbabwe,  Madagascar,  São Tomé and Burundi.

Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.

“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.

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He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”

Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.

“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.

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AFCON

Present and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen

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The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.

Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.

Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.

Peseiro left his position after the Africa Cup of Nations

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