Izuchukwu OkosiThe Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Thursday unveiled the calendar for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire which begins in January 2024, reports Prime Business Africa.
The tournament was billed for the summer of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations but later moved back for a number of reasons comprising weather conditions and the country’s ongoing works on facilities.
After the just concluded round of fixtures in the AFCON qualifiers, hosts Cote d’Ivoire and four other teams have already qualified for the tournament- Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, and Senegal.
Nigeria failed to seal their automatic spot in Cote D’Ivoire with the available six points from their double-header against Guinea-Bissau but would have to wait until the next round of matches in the qualification campaign.
The Eagles won one and lost the other on two-legged fixtures against the ‘Wild Dogs’
Nonetheless, the Super Eagles are still favourites to qualify from group A as they sit atop with nine points and two games left.
Nigeria play Sierra Leone next in June, and a draw would seal their spot at the 2023 AFCON.
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Ahead of the competition, CAF has revealed the schedule for the tournament. The group stage draw will take place in September after the final round of qualifying games.
The Super Eagles could be one of the top seeds because of they are the 5th best team in Africa according to FIFA. As such, they could get an easy draw in the first round.
The competition will kick off on the 13th of January at the Alassane Ouattara stadium in Abidjan. Then the final will be played just 29 days later.
The last time Cote D’Ivoire hosted the AFCON was in 1984, and Nigeria finished second. But Coach Jose Peseiro has stated that he wants to win the competition next year. The Super Eagles boast of a lot of quality, but if Peseiro wants to achieve his aim, he would have to improve on the team.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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