Sports

Godswill Akpabio Stadium Likely To Host Super Eagles Training Camp Ahead Of AFCON, World Cup Playoff

The Super Eagles will most likely open training camp for the delayed 2021 AFCON in Cameroon either on December 28 as earlier designated or by the first week of January 2022 in Uyo, Prime Business Africa reports.

Uyo in Akwa Ibom state played host to the Super Eagles successful qualifying campaign to the 2018 World Cup and was always the preferred choice of Gernot Rohr, who was sacked on Sunday after five years on the saddle.

The Godwsill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo inside sources in the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, hint may most likely also serve as a home ground for Nigeria in the 2022 World Cup playoffs in March after the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos was banned by CAF.

Rohr had submitted a 40-man provisional squad for the tournament, but it is left to be seen whether Eguavoen will be given an allowance to make some changes based on the circumstances he took up this job.

Plans are already underway for the Eagles to play at least three warm-up matches before their opening group game against seven-time champions Egypt on January 11 in Garoua.

The number of expected friendlies however may be a mirage owing to the fact that most European clubs are not willing to release their players for the tournament citing health reasons due to the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus.

Izuchukwu Okosi

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.