Nigeria battle Niger as CHAN qualifiers get underway
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- Category: Sports
- Written by Orkula Shaagee
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Nigeria will this weekend try to regain her top ranking in West African football, by going for all maximum points as Eagles Team B faces Niger in one of the qualifying matches of the 2011 African Nations Championship (CHAN).
Both Nigeria and Niger missed out at the maiden edition of the championship which took place in Ivory Coast in 2009.
The Eagles were overwhelming in their warm up match against Congo Democratic Republic, hammering past their visitors 5-2 at the Abuja National Stadium last week Wednesday; and with the spirit of the new helmsman Lars Lagerback firing up the team, Nigeria is expected to go for the kill in the battle of Niamey.
Nigeria is in the West Africa Zone B, alongside Niger, Togo, Ivory Coast, Burkina Fasso and Ghana. In the other fixtures involving six teams Togo will face Ivory Coast, while Burkina Faso will square up against Ghana. From the West Africa Zone A, where four teams will fight for the two available spots, after Mauritania pulled out from the preliminary rounds, Sierra Leone will play Senegal and Guinea face Mali. Only the winners to be known on the last weekend of the month with go through.
Going by the experience of the last edition, it will not be
It is a tough weekend of sort as countries strive to stake their claim to the available slots to the second edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) that will take place in Sudan play one another in the eliminatory rounds.
Fifteen other nations will join the host Sudan to battle for honours at the finals of the competition which is meant for players playing in home countries’ domestic league.
The competition has witnessed some changes compared to the inaugural edition which held in 2009 in Ivory Coast. CAF the governing body of the sport decided to move to 16 the number of teams taking part in the final phase instead of the initial 8 during the maiden edition. New zones were also carved out for the qualifiers. From the North Zone, four teams will be vying for the two available spots from the zone. Just one round will be enough to determine who goes through. Algeria will face Libya while Tunisia plays Morocco in the other clash. The two winners will be known on the last weekend of March. In the Central Zone where four countries, four countries are fighting for the available three slots, they are Congo, Cameroon, Gabon and DR Congo. Equatorial Guinea, the fifth country in the group pulled out. The fixtures will see Congo against Cameroon, while Gabon square up against DR Congo.
Since the zone will need to produce three representatives, the losers will playoff to see who wins the last ticket from the zone.
Central East Zone will produce three qualifiers, host Sudan. Eight teams were at the start of the qualifiers from this zone. Somalia edged out Djibouti 1-0 in the preliminary round and four fixtures have been programmed beginning this weekend.
The fixtures are Burundi versus Uganda, Eritrea versus Rwanda, Ethiopia against Kenya and Somalia against Tanzania will be the main fixtures. A second round will be played in this zone where only the four winners will face off for the two remaining tickets.
The last group in the qualifying group is the Southern Zone where three qualifiers will emerge. It is the zone with the greatest number of teams, totalling eleven in all11l.
Zambia was exempted from the first round and the ten others will play as from this weekend to determine the five others who shall join Zambia in the last round qualifiers.
Fixtures
Algeria - Libya
Tunisia - Morocco
Guinea - Mali
Senegal - Sierra Leone
Togo – Ivory Coast
Burkina Faso - Ghana
Niger - Nigeria
Congo - Cameroon
Gabon - DR Congo
Burundi - Uganda
Botswana – South Africa
Seychelles - Namibia
Madagascar - Angola
Swaziland - Zimbabwe
Malawi – Mozambique
Articles
Nigeria battle Niger as CHAN qualifiers get underway
Category: Sports Written by Orkula Shaagee Hits: 770
Nigeria will this weekend try to regain her top ranking in West African football, by going for all maximum points as Eagles Team B faces Niger in one of the qualifying matches of the 2011 African Nations Championship (CHAN).
Both Nigeria and Niger missed out at the maiden edition of the championship which took place in Ivory Coast in 2009.
The Eagles were overwhelming in their warm up match against Congo Democratic Republic, hammering past their visitors 5-2 at the Abuja National Stadium last week Wednesday; and with the spirit of the new helmsman Lars Lagerback firing up the team, Nigeria is expected to go for the kill in the battle of Niamey.
Nigeria is in the West Africa Zone B, alongside Niger, Togo, Ivory Coast, Burkina Fasso and Ghana. In the other fixtures involving six teams Togo will face Ivory Coast, while Burkina Faso will square up against Ghana. From the West Africa Zone A, where four teams will fight for the two available spots, after Mauritania pulled out from the preliminary rounds, Sierra Leone will play Senegal and Guinea face Mali. Only the winners to be known on the last weekend of the month with go through.
Going by the experience of the last edition, it will not be
It is a tough weekend of sort as countries strive to stake their claim to the available slots to the second edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) that will take place in Sudan play one another in the eliminatory rounds.
Fifteen other nations will join the host Sudan to battle for honours at the finals of the competition which is meant for players playing in home countries’ domestic league.
The competition has witnessed some changes compared to the inaugural edition which held in 2009 in Ivory Coast. CAF the governing body of the sport decided to move to 16 the number of teams taking part in the final phase instead of the initial 8 during the maiden edition. New zones were also carved out for the qualifiers. From the North Zone, four teams will be vying for the two available spots from the zone. Just one round will be enough to determine who goes through. Algeria will face Libya while Tunisia plays Morocco in the other clash. The two winners will be known on the last weekend of March. In the Central Zone where four countries, four countries are fighting for the available three slots, they are Congo, Cameroon, Gabon and DR Congo. Equatorial Guinea, the fifth country in the group pulled out. The fixtures will see Congo against Cameroon, while Gabon square up against DR Congo.
Since the zone will need to produce three representatives, the losers will playoff to see who wins the last ticket from the zone.
Central East Zone will produce three qualifiers, host Sudan. Eight teams were at the start of the qualifiers from this zone. Somalia edged out Djibouti 1-0 in the preliminary round and four fixtures have been programmed beginning this weekend.
The fixtures are Burundi versus Uganda, Eritrea versus Rwanda, Ethiopia against Kenya and Somalia against Tanzania will be the main fixtures. A second round will be played in this zone where only the four winners will face off for the two remaining tickets.
The last group in the qualifying group is the Southern Zone where three qualifiers will emerge. It is the zone with the greatest number of teams, totalling eleven in all11l.
Zambia was exempted from the first round and the ten others will play as from this weekend to determine the five others who shall join Zambia in the last round qualifiers.
Fixtures
Algeria - Libya
Tunisia - Morocco
Guinea - Mali
Senegal - Sierra Leone
Togo – Ivory Coast
Burkina Faso - Ghana
Niger - Nigeria
Congo - Cameroon
Gabon - DR Congo
Burundi - Uganda
Botswana – South Africa
Seychelles - Namibia
Madagascar - Angola
Swaziland - Zimbabwe
Malawi – Mozambique