The Confederation of African Football has appointed Moroccan referee Jalal Jayed to oversee Sunday’s Africa Under‑20 Cup of Nations Group A clash between seven‑time champions Nigeria and Senegal. The match will be played at Cairo International Stadium and will begin at 7 p.m. Egypt time (6 p.m. Nigeria time), three hours after the tournament’s opening game between hosts Egypt and Mozambique at the same venue. Jayed will be assisted by Tunisian Mohamed Bakir (assistant referee 1), Algerian Hamza Bouzit (assistant referee 2) and Ivorian Clement Kpan. Hussein Jenayah of Tunisia will serve as match commissioner, Burundian Jean Birumushahu as referee assessor, and Morocco’s Imade El Fahouss as general coordinator.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Nigerian team, the Flying Eagles, held their first official training session in Cairo on Friday. Director of Communications of the Nigeria Football Federation, Ademola Olajire, said the session took place on the Jewel Hotel training field and lasted 90 minutes. Head Coach Ladan Bosso and his technical staff supervised the training, which focused on player recovery after the squad’s travel from Casablanca to Cairo. A second session is scheduled for Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m. local time (7:30 p.m. Nigeria time).
Olajire also announced that Belgium‑based forward Ahmed Abdullahi has joined the Flying Eagles in Cairo. The KAA Gent player arrived early on Friday morning. Abdullahi was part of the team that won the WAFU B Under‑20 championship in Niger Republic in May, scoring once before a head injury against Burkina Faso forced him out of that tournament. He is expected to provide additional attacking options for Bosso.
Nigeria, two‑time FIFA World Cup silver‑medallists and one‑time bronze medallist, will be aiming for an eighth continental title at the finals in Egypt. In Group A they will also face hosts Egypt and Mozambique. The four top‑placed teams from the 12‑nation tournament will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA Under‑20 World Cup in Indonesia, scheduled for 20 May to 11 June.
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