Five players are no longer eligible to play for Nigeria’s home-based Super Eagles in this year’s Africa Nations Championship, which will be held in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. The affected players include Abubakar Sadiq (Plateau United), Philip Adejo (Abia Warriors), Saviour Isaac (Rangers), Papa Daniels Mustapha (Niger Tornadoes), and Waliu Ojetoye (Ikorodu City). Promise Efoghe, the team’s media officer, stated that these players have signed contracts with clubs outside of Nigeria. Additionally, Ifeanyi Onyebuchi from Rangers and Ebenezer Harcourt will also be absent from the squad. Onyebuchi is sidelined due to injury, while Harcourt is occupied with the Flying Eagles competing in the U-20 WAFU B tournament in Ghana. Related content: CHAN 2024: Super Eagles B player Nduka Junior mentions intense training. CHAN is a biennial football tournament for African national teams, organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since its inception in 2009, which was announced in September 2007. Teams must consist of players active in their respective national leagues. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Morocco have been the most successful, each winning the tournament twice, while Tunisia, Libya, and current champions Senegal have each secured a title once. The first CHAN tournament featured eight teams, a number that increased to 16 for the second to sixth editions, and has grown to 18 teams since the 2022 tournament. Since 2014, all matches from the tournament, including qualification games, contribute to the FIFA World Rankings, a significant development acknowledged by CAF. Under coach Stephen Keshi, Nigeria’s home-based Super Eagles achieved third place in their first tournament in 2014. They reached the final in the 2018 edition but lost 4-0 to hosts Morocco. Currently, the Super Eagles have 28 players in their training camp in Ikenne, including the recently added Abia Warriors duo, Anthony Ijeoma and Sunday Megwo. By James Agberebi.
