Nigeria, Egypt Shift AFCON Warm-Up After New FIFA Ruling

By Ernest Victor | 2 min read | Completesports | 31 min ago | 5 views

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has confirmed the new date for the pre-tournament friendly between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Pharaohs of Egypt.

The friendly was pushed back by two days following FIFA’s decision allowing clubs to keep their players until Monday, 15 December, before releasing them for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

Naija News reports that Nigeria and Egypt had planned to meet in Cairo on Sunday, 14 December, based on the previous regulation that required an earlier release date for national team players. The match will now take place on Tuesday, 16 December.

In addition to the change in date, the fixture has been reclassified as a practice match so the two coaches can field more than five substitutes. The game will be played at Cairo Stadium, kicking off at 8pm local time, which is 7pm in Nigeria.

Nigeria, who have won the title three times, are drawn in Group C with Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania. The Super Eagles open their campaign on Tuesday, 23 December against Tanzania at the Complexe Sportif de Fes.

They will face Tunisia on Saturday, 27 December, before completing their group fixtures against Uganda on Tuesday, 30 December.

Egypt, the tournament’s most successful side with seven titles, will play their Group B matches at the Stade d’Agadir. They are grouped with South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe for the 35th edition of the competition.

Source: Naijanews