World
football governing body, FIFA, has cancelled the proposed friendly
match between Nigeria and Ghana scheduled to hold on March 29 in London.
The Eagles were scheduled to play Bolivia on March 26 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and then take on the Black Stars three days later.
But according to the FIFA regulations, no
country should play two games across two continents in three days, so a
directive from FIFA on Saturday nullified the proposed meeting.
NFF media officer, Ademola Olajire,
confirmed that Nigeria had received the directive and were working on
getting a replacement for the Eagles.
“We’re aware of the directive and have written to FIFA,” Olajire told our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday.
“It’s a FIFA-free day that we can’t
afford to waste. There are other African teams we’re considering as
replacement for Ghana. Hopefully, we’ll get that done before next week.”
The Ghana Football Association are
already considering other teams including Australia as replacement for
Nigeria. The Black Stars have the option to play the two matches either
in Europe or Asia.
While Ghana finished second at the last
Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea after losing 9-8 on penalties
to Ivory Coast, Nigeria failed to be part of the continental showpiece
and need to have quality friendlies before 2017 AFCON qualifiers start
in June.
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