Africa Cup of Nations: NFF announces new date for Nigeria, Seychelles match

The Super Eagles will meet Seychelles National team, known as Pirates on Saturday, Sept. 8, as against the early date of Sept. 7.

In a statement by Ademola Olajire, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Media Officer, the federation said this on Tuesday in Abuja, that the match would be played at the Stade Linite on the Mahe Island.

“The Seychelles Football Federation has confirmed that the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, Match day two encounter between the Super Eagles and the Seychelles National Team will take place on Saturday, Sept. 8.

“This is against the widely circulated date of Friday, Sept. 7.

“Georges Bibi, the Chief Executive Officer/General Secretary of the Seychelles Football Federation, in a mail to NFF’s Director of Competitions, Ayobola Oyeyode, said the match would be played at the Stade Linite on the Mahe Island.

“The match will commence from 4.30p.m Seychelles time (1.30pm Nigeria time),’’ he said.

According to Olajire, Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands on the western Indian Ocean, off East Africa and home to about 100,000 people.

“Next week clash is crucial to both the Eagles and the Pirates, both teams having lost their opening games in the series.

“The Eagles lost 0-2 to South Africa in Uyo on June 10, 2017. A day earlier, the Pirates were poleaxed 5-1 by Libya’s Mediterranean Knights at the Stade Chedly Zouiten in Tunisia’s capital.’’

Olajire said presently, Libya’s Knights top the Group E, followed by South Africa’s Bafana Bafana with the Eagles in third place and the Pirates, bottom.

He said that the NFF Executive Committee at its meeting on Monday in Abuja resolved that players and team officials not based in Nigeria would fly directly to Seychelles from their base.

The NFF media officer said players from Nigeria and their match officials would fly from Nigeria aboard commercial aircraft.

Olajire said this was for ease of logistics and convenience.