By Victor Kanayo
Nigeria is stepping up preparations for the upcoming African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier and tournament participation after missing out on two consecutive editions.
The senior men’s national team B, known as the Super Eagles B, are training harder ahead of the CHAN qualifier slated for later in December 2024.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), a total of 30 players were assembled last week at an impressive facility as the Eagles prepare for a potentially explosive home-and-away qualifying fixture against Ghana’s Black Galaxies.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2009, 2011, 2021, and 2023 editions of the competition, which is exclusively reserved for players plying their trade in the domestic leagues of their countries and possessing permanent contracts.
However, Nigeria appeared in the 2014 (South Africa) and 2018 (Morocco) editions, where the Super Eagles earned bronze medals in the former and silver medals in the latter. The 2016 campaign in Rwanda ended at the group stage.
The team’s coaches, Daniel Ogunmodede and Fidelis Ikechukwu, have been working overtime with the players as the countdown begins to the first leg, scheduled for the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, December 22.
In two of the four previous instances when the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the competition, popularly called CHAN, Ghana was the bogey team. In the qualifiers for the inaugural edition in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria took a 2-0 first-half lead in Accra, only to eventually lose the match 2-3. The return leg at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar ended scoreless.
In the qualifiers for the last edition hosted by Algeria, Ghana won 2-0 at home and lost by the same margin in Abuja, only to snatch the ticket after a penalty shootout.
Togo also ensured Nigeria’s absence from the 2021 finals, with the Hawks securing a 4-1 win in Togo. A 2-0 win in Lagos by Nigeria was not enough to overturn the advantage.
Beyond the intense rivalry with Ghana on the field, the Super Eagles B see this month’s qualifying fixture as an opportunity to regain their pride and win back the hearts of Nigerian football fans after missing two consecutive editions of CHAN.
