Kaduna to host Nigeria/Egypt 2017 AFCON qualifier in March, Port Harcourt to host Falcons

The Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna will host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match between the Super Eagles and the Pharaohs of Egypt.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Wednesday on its website said the match is scheduled for Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

It however said officials have also confirmed that work would be undertaken on the stadium’s pitch, and a couple of other areas which need to be improved before the match.

Nigeria and Egypt share top spot on the Group G table of the qualifiers, with the Pharaohs ahead on a one-goal advantage.

They had whipped Tanzania’s Taifa Stars 3-0 in Cairo in penultimate weekend’s opening matches, a day after the Super Eagles beat Chad 2-0 in Kaduna.

The Eagles’ next match in the series is away to Tanzania in the first week of September, before the visit to the Pharaohs two weeks later.

Egypt have missed all last three AFCON finals, including the 2013 finals which Nigeria won in South Africa.

Meanwhile, the NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, has said the Federation would henceforth decide international match venues well in advance.

“This is in order to afford host cities enough time to work on the facilities to be used for such matches,’’ the website quoted him as saying.

In line with the new policy, the NFF has also announced the date for the first leg tie of the 2016 Olympic Games qualifying fixture between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.

The match against the Equatorial Guinean senior women national team will come up on July 18 in Port Harcourt.

Following the withdrawal of Mali in the second round, the Super Falcons now have two rounds of qualifying fixtures to prosecute before qualification.

Qualification will see them in the Women’s Football Tournament of next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Nigerian girls have played at three previous Olympics – 2000, 2004 and 2008.

Also, the African Under-23 Championship final round first leg match between the Nigerian under-23 male team and their Congolese counterparts will be played in Port Harcourt.

It will hold on July 19, a day after the Falcons/Equatorial Guinea clash.

The winner of the fixture qualifies for the African U-23 Championship coming up in Senegal in December.

The best three of the eight participating teams will be eligible to represent Africa at the Men’s Football Tournament of next year’s Olympics.