The list of venues that have been accepted to host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches was published by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Monday.
The Godswill Akpabio Stadium, also known as the Nest of Champions in Uyo, is the only Nigerian stadium that is approved to host the qualifications, while the CAF rejected the Moshood Abiola stadium, where the Super Eagles had played their final home matches.
Remember that CAF had allowed the use of the Abuja stadium for the qualifications at the same time that FIFA sanctioned Nigeria over stadium invasions following crowd disturbances following the March 29 second leg World Cup 2022 playoff game between the Super Eagles and Black Stars of Ghana.
Despite the $1 million that billionaire industrialist and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote committed to restore the edifice that he adopted under the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare’s Adopt-a-Pitch initiative, there have been concerns regarding the Abuja stadium’s playing field.
The Super Eagles will be hoping to continue their successful home record from the 2018 World Cup and 2019 AFCON qualifiers with their return to the Uyo.
On June 18, the Super Eagles will travel to play Sierre Leone before welcoming Sao Tome and Principe to Uyo in September. Nigeria is in first place in Group A with 9 points, followed by Guinea-Bissau with 7 points after four games.
Next year’s AFCON is expected to be hosted by Cote d’Ivoire.
