Sports

Make or Mar: Super Eagles, Black Stars in Winner Takes All Battle in Abuja

Published

4 years ago

March 29, 2022

Eric

Today’s encounter between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Ghana’s Black Stars at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja will not be any different from their previous clashes as they vie for one of the five African tickets for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Super Eagles host the Black Stars in the second leg of the final play-off for the World Cup, after the first leg ended 0-0 at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Friday, leaving this fixture evenly poised as both West African archrivals battle for a place at the biggest football showpiece in the world.

A tough challenge awaits Austin Eguavoen’s side, as they hope to qualify for a seventh appearance at the Mundial.

The 60,000-capacity Abuja stadium will be filled up for the mouth-watering clash after the Confederation of African Football gave approval to the Nigeria Football Federation to have full capacity.

The Eagles will hope to replicate the 2001 feat, when they held Ghana 0-0 in Accra before beating the Black Stars 3-0 in Port Harcourt courtesy of a first-half brace from Tijani Babangida plus a strike from Victor Agali to reach the 2002 edition in Korea/Japan.

However, there are growing concerns among some Nigerians, as the Eagles take on their long-time rivals in Abuja.

The three-time African champions have home support in Abuja, but arguably not the advantage, with Ghana knowing how valuable an away goal could be. They’ll also be emboldened by their performance in the midfield, where a trio of Thomas Partey, Iddrisu Baba and Mohammed Kudus impressed against Nigeria’s pair.

Without injured Wilfred Ndidi, the Super Eagles are missing arguably their most influential player, and, despite his promise, FC Lorient’s Innocent Bonke is a far inferior version of the Leicester City man. A combination of Ndidi’s absence and Ghana’s extra man in midfield completed ceded initiative to the Black Stars, and if Augustine Eguavoen doesn’t correct his errors in the return leg, then Nigeria could be Africa’s most high-profile World Cup absentees.

Speaking with The PUNCH, a fan, Seun Popoola, expressed fear ahead of the highly anticipated clash.

“I am a little bit panicky ahead of the game because it seems when much is expected of our guys, that’s when they seem to disappoint,” he said.

“I really hope we can get the win and qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.”

Ekene Igwebuike added, “I watched the first leg in Kumasi and I believe we should be able to beat the Ghanaians, but I’m just afraid. We have the quality, but I don’t know where the problem is. We are not playing very well and that’s why I’m worried because the Ghanaians may just score first and make us panic.”

Tope Adekunle also expressed fear ahead of the game, believing the Black Stars might adopt the same style the Tunisians used, when they beat the Eagles 1-0 at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

“Ghana will want to get the early goals and sit back, knowing that Tunisia did it and it worked at the AFCON. I just hope our boys have learnt from their mistakes and hopefully we can beat Ghana to qualify for the World Cup.”

A Twitter user with the name Soulaymane wrote, “Please, I have invested too much time, energy, resources just for the passion I have for the Super Eagles. Please let my effort be rewarded with a WC ticket. I beg you guys please.”

“They better win, they can’t break our hearts in AFCON and now again,” another Twitter user with the username Prince Music said.

Also expressing anxiety on Twitter is Iamdx2, who hopes the Eagles can put smiles on the faces of Nigerians.

“Nothing good comes easy, and in Nigeria, all we must do is win. Over 200million Nigerians want to be happy on Tuesday since Buhari has brought hunger, worries and frustration to the land. The only thing that makes us one Nigeria now is our football. Please put smiles on our faces on Tuesday,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian authorities have begun moves to mobilize support for the Eagles, with sports ministry and the Nigeria Football Federation on Monday announcing the purchase of 20,000 tickets for fans to storm the stadium and support the Eagles.

Sunday Dare, the sports minister, stated, “We will buy 20,000 of the tickets and give them to fans at designated centres on Monday and Tuesday morning. We want to ensure maximum support for the Super Eagles by filling up the stands.

“The NFF have done well to secure maximum capacity of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium for the match. This move will guarantee us a full house, if you also consider the efforts that the ticket rights holder, Africa Independent Television, has been making on their own.”

The Eagles are winless in their last six meetings with Ghana across (D3, L3) since a 1-0 victory in the AFCON back in 2006 – although each of the last three meetings ended goalless.

They have lost just one of their last 43 World Cup qualifiers (W28 D14), with that defeat coming against Central African Republic in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.

Ghana on their part are winless in their last five games across all competitions (D2 L3) since a 1-0 victory against South Africa in the current World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Black Stars have also lost just one of their last 11 World Cup qualifiers (W5 D5), conceding just six goals in total during this period and never more than once in a game.

The Punch

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

3 days ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP

Sports

AFCON 2025: CAS Overturns CAF Verdict

Published

3 weeks ago

March 25, 2026

Eric

African football has been plunged into fresh uncertainty after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) provisionally suspended a controversial ruling that stripped Senegal of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarded it to Morocco.

In an interim decision issued on Monday, CAS accepted Senegal’s appeal against the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeals Board and ordered a “freeze” on the implementation of its verdict.

The move effectively places the 2025 AFCON title in legal limbo pending a full hearing.

The dispute stems from a chaotic final played in January 2026, where the Teranga Lions of Senegal defeated the hosts, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, 1–0 after extra time. The match took a dramatic turn late on when a contentious penalty was awarded to Morocco.

Although the spot kick was missed, Senegal’s players briefly walked off the pitch in protest, prompting confusion before play eventually resumed, and the match was concluded. Weeks later, Morocco’s federation challenged the outcome, citing provisions within AFCON regulations relating to match forfeiture.

On March 17, CAF’s Appeals Board ruled in Morocco’s favour, declaring that Senegal’s walk-off constituted a breach severe enough to forfeit the match. The result was overturned to a 3–0 victory for Morocco, with Senegal stripped of the title.

Senegal swiftly condemned the decision as unjust and escalated the matter to CAS, arguing that the sanction was disproportionate and undermined the integrity of the on-field result.

CAS has now sided, at least temporarily, with Senegal’s request for urgent intervention.

By granting provisional measures, the tribunal signalled that enforcing CAF’s ruling before a full hearing could cause irreparable harm, particularly in a case involving the revocation of a major continental title.

The immediate consequence is that AFCON 2025 currently has no officially recognised champion. The trophy remains unassigned while legal proceedings continue.

Sports

AFCON 2025: George Weah Urges CAS to Overrule CAF’s Verdict

Published

3 weeks ago

March 21, 2026

Eric

African football legend George Weah has criticised the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for stripping Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarding it to Morocco.

CAF’s Appeal Board overturned Senegal’s 1–0 victory in the Rabat final after ruling that the team’s walk-off during a late penalty incident constituted a forfeit. The result was subsequently recorded as a 3–0 win in favour of Morocco, crowning the hosts as champions.

Reacting to the decision, Weah, a former Ballon d’Or winner and three-time African Player of the Year, argued that match outcomes should be determined on the pitch, not in post-match rulings.

“In football, the referee on the pitch is the final authority. Once a match is completed, the result obtained on the field must stand,” he said.

Weah warned that overturning completed matches sets a dangerous precedent for the sport.

“There is no sporting justification to nullify a match completed under the referee’s authority.

Otherwise, we risk a slippery slope where committee decisions override on-field calls,” he added.

The former AC Milan forward further stated that the ruling undermines the integrity and credibility of African football, raising concerns over fairness and consistency.