Nigeria’s under-23 male football team, the Olympic Eagles, will now host their Guinean counterparts at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, said on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the match scheduled for March 22 is the first leg fixture in the final round of qualifiers for this year’s Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations.
Ademola Olajire, NFF’s Director of Communications, while disclosing the new venue said the game was earlier scheduled for the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan for the same date.
NAN reports that, to reach this stage of the qualifying series, the 1996 Olympic champions defeated the Tanzanian under-23 team 3-1 on aggregate in October 2022.
They won 2-0 at the Lekan Salami Stadium after both teams had drawn 1-1 in the first leg match in Dar es Salaam.
The winners over two legs between Nigeria and Guinea will advance to the finals of the Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations scheduled for Morocco later in the year.
It is also at the tournament in Morocco that Africa’s flagbearers at next year’s Men’s Olympic Football Tournament in Paris will emerge.
The return leg against the Guineans will be in Morocco on March 27.
NAN
