AFCON Qualifiers 2025: Eagles kick off camp for Benin, Rwanda tie

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are set to kick off their preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers as players are expected to report to their Uyo camp on Monday according to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The squad will gear up for the crucial qualifying matches against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Nigeria’s journey to the 2025 AFCON, which will take place in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, begins with a match against the Benin Republic on Saturday, September 7.

The Super Eagles will then travel to Kigali to face Rwanda three days later, on September 10.

Following a strong performance and a second-place finish at the last AFCON tournament in Ivory Coast earlier this year, the Super Eagles aim to secure early qualification for the upcoming tournament.

Last Tuesday, the NFF announced a 23-man squad for the two qualifiers. Among the early arrivals expected at the Uyo camp are key players such as Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi from Fulham, Ademola Lookman, Wilfred Ndidi, Moses Simon, Victor Boniface, Samuel Chukwueze, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.

These players recently featured in league matches for their respective clubs over the weekend.

Others expected today are Nottingham Forest duo Taiwo Awoniyi, Ola Aina, South Africa-based goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, Olisa Ndah, Victor Osimhen, former Bendel Insurance goalkeeper Amas Obasogie, and Semilogo Ajayi.

Others, like goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, Raphael Onyedika, and Kelechi Iheanacho, are also expected as soon as possible, having featured for their clubs on Sunday.

The team will be led by NFF’s Technical Director, Augustine Eguavoen, after German coach Bruno Labbadia, who was announced as the team’s coach last Tuesday, turned down Nigeria’s offer.

According to the NFF, the arrangement with Labbadia was hampered by stringent German tax laws.

“We have been on the tax issue for the past three days, and I told him clearly that there was no way the NFF would agree to offset the concomitant tax percentage on his salary that will be demanded by German tax authorities. It is not possible for us to shoulder the responsibility of shelling out another money, between 32 per cent and 40 per cent of his salary, after paying the agreed monthly wage,” NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau said on Friday evening.

“The NFF and Mr. Labbadia reached an agreement in principle before we made the announcement that he would become the Head Coach of the Super Eagles. The tax details were never part of our discussions, and he had personally agreed to all terms before the tax issue came up. We were doing our best to be flexible in the discussions, but he was adamant that the NFF had to pay the full tax amount as well. We simply cannot do that.”