Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Ghana’s Black Stars may come head to head in an international friendly match in September, if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) gets a positive response from the Ghana Football Association (GFA).
Ghana fell at the last hurdle in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), losing to Cote D’Ivoire in the final by virtue of a penalty shootout. Former AFCON champions Nigeria did not qualify for the 2015 Nations Cup, having lost out in their qualification group to South Africa and Congo, who progressed instead.
According to AfricanFootball, the NFF have proposed that the two teams clash in a friendly encounter in London, following Nigeria’s 2017 AFCON qualifier away against Tanzania, and Ghana’s fixture in Rwanda.
Earlier in the year the two nations agreed terms for a similar fixtures, but FIFA stepped in to cancel the game due to a world football governing body directive which will not allow countries to play two games across two continents in a three day period.
This is exactly what the Super Eagles were set to do, as a March 26 game against Bolivia in Uyo, Nigeria, was to be followed by the Black Stars fixture on Match 29 in London, and so, the match was cancelled and fans of both teams were left disappointed.
But now it seems that the match may be back on the cards depending on the response from Ghanaian authorities.
According to the AfricanFootball source: “There is a proposal for Nigeria to play against arch-rivals Ghana in London after they would have played the AFCON qualifier in Tanzania. Discussions are on-going and we will just have to wait and see if this comes through.”
A great rivalry exists between the two West African nations, who have been important protagonists in recent AFCON tournaments.
Ghana’s last encounter with Nigeria took place in 2011 at the Vicarage Road, with the match ending in a goalless draw.
Sunday Oliseh was recently confirmed as the new Super Eagles coach following the sacking of Stephen Keshi, while Avram Grant continues to manage the Black Stars.
Both teams are looking to fine tune their sides and prepare for the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers beginning in October, as well as sharpen their skills for the current 2017 Nations Cup qualifying campaign.
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