Eagles, Black Stars renew rivalry in WAFU Nations Cup

Nigeria has been drawn in the same group with archrivals, Ghana, in the WAFU Cup of Nations tournament scheduled to hold from September 9 to 24.

In the draw held at the Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra yesterday, Nigeria and Ghana were placed in Group A of the competition made solely for home-based professionals.

Other teams in the group are Mali and Guinea. The competition has a unique format that will see teams play single games before proceeding to the quarterfinals.

Ghana and Nigeria have seven African titles between them, with the Super Eagles and the Black Stars featuring in the last two FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa (2010) and Brazil (2014).

All the teams in Group A will play in Takoradi, the twin city of Sekondi that also hosted matches during the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.

Other teams in Group A are The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Mauritania and Guinea Bissau.

The Super Eagles are drawn to play Sierra Leone.

Group B will compete in Cape Coast. 2015 African champions, Cote d’Ivoire headline the pool that also has Senegal, Burkina Faso and Benin Republic, with Liberia, Niger Republic, Togo and Cape Verde also involved.

NFF’s Director of Competitions, Ayobola Oyeyode, represented Nigeria at the Draw Ceremony.

According to the draw, Ghana will face The Gambia, Nigeria will meet Sierra Leone, Mali tackles Mauritania, while Guinea and Guinea Bissau will slug it out, all in Group A.

In Group B, Senegal will meet Liberia, Burkina Faso will tango with Niger Republic, Cote d’Ivoire battles Togo, while
Benin Republic will entertain Cape Verde.