Also, former Indomitable Lions of Cameroon goalkeeper and skipper, Thomas Nkono, said the rebirth of African football has started with what he saw the Eagles play against a Catalonia selected on Wednesday in Barcelona
Browsing: African Cup of Nations
The list, made available to the Nigerian delegation on arrival in Barcelona, has Barcelona first choice in goal, Victor Valdes, Xavi Hernandez, Carlos Puyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Martin Montoya, Sergio Roberto, Christian Tello and Marc Bartra all listed from the Catalan giants
At the last count, nine foreign based players have arrived the Faro, Portugal camp of the team
Head Coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, led 12 players, his four assistants and backroom staff to the Faro camp after flying to Portugal from Accra, Ghana on Thursday night
Keshi also revealed that Kano Pillars’ Papa Idris and Enyimba’s Henry Uche have been offered the opportunity to hustle for shirts in the Faro camp and should be travelling with the team on Thursday
Ameobi, who scored the winner against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, is expected to play a key role in Newcastle from January when the club’s main striker, Demba Ba, is expected to leave
Shocked by his exclusion, the Edo State born striker vented his anger on Keshi, stressing that he was not surprised
Following a meeting with the NFF Technical Committee in Abuja on Friday, where he defended the list, Keshi rolled out a squad containing 14 home-based professionals and 18 overseas-based players
Speaking at the team’s Bolton White Apartment abode, Keshi said he was not averse to critics of the team but cautioned against those who are hell bent on distracting the team
There were fears that the two players, who have been part of the national team set up from the home front since Stephen Keshi took over about a year ago, may not be fit on time for the AFCON 2013 championship
The company granted the broadcast rights for the competition by the Confederation of African Football, LC2, has therefore warned Nigerian broadcast stations already soliciting for sponsorship for the matches of the Orange African Cup of nations to stop forthwith or face prosecution
Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, said on Sunday that the trio had different reasons for not being part of the game, but that should not bring fears to Nigerians as capable replacements have already been named for the encounter
Ekeji, who is a former national team skipper and coach, declared at the session that he was impressed by the modern day training techniques of the technical crew of the Super Eagles and wishes that all the sessions be recorded for review on a daily basis as that will help players and officials know areas that mistakes have been made
The Nigeria Football Federation has congratulated eminent Nigerians who have been appointed by the Confederation of African Football to help deliver a successful 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals
The game has been scheduled for November 14 and it is one of the friendlies that has been lined up to toughen the Nigerian side for the Nations Cup championship
Despite the unpredictability of football, it is not expected that Burkina Faso and Ethiopia will pose any threat to the qualification of Nigeria and Zambia for the quarter-final from the group
The draws billed for the International Conference Centre, Durban will kick off by 8.30pm local time while media representatives and other invited guests are expected to be at the venue by 6.30pm
Although preventable and treatable, malaria kills a child in Africa every 60 seconds and costs the continent an estimated minimum of $12 billion in lost productivity and healthcare costs each year