After four failed attempts, Nigeria’s Davis Cup team, will this Saturday, seek to break a 30-year-old jinx against host Morocco in the 2026 Davis Cup World Group II tie.

The encounter in Rabat is historic, having lost all four previous Davis Cup encounters against Morocco. Nigeria secured promotion to the World Cup Group 11 for the first time in 30 years after the win over Uzbekistan in February this year in Lagos.

Team Nigeria, left for Rabat on Monday ahead of the highly anticipated Davis Cup World Group II tie against the host nation. The two-day clash scheduled for September 19-20 will hold at the Union Sportive des Cheminots de Tennis du Maroc.

Prior to the draw, on Friday, a meet-and-greet was held where players, coaches and officials of both countries interacted in a cordial atmosphere. The session, which was witnessed by International Tennis Federation (ITF) representatives, set the tone for the formal ceremony.

Nigeria’s No.1, Canice Abua, will open proceedings against Morocco’s Karim Bennani in the first singles rubber this Saturday morning. In the second singles of Day One, Nigeria’s Daniel Adeleye will take on Morocco’s Yassine Dlimi.

Action resumes on Sunday with the crucial doubles rubber. Morocco will present the pair of Younes Lalami and Yassine Dlimi against Nigeria’s Michael Emmanuel and Yusuf Abubakar.

The reverse singles will follow. Karim Bennani will face Daniel Adeleye, while the potentially decisive fifth rubber will pit Yassine Dlimi against Canice Abua.

All five rubbers will be best-of-three tiebreak sets on clay.

The tie holds huge significance for Nigeria, who are seeking to break a 50-year winless run against Morocco. Nigeria has lost all four previous Davis Cup meetings between the two nations since 1973.

The Nigerian contingent, which arrived in Rabat on Monday after an intensive training camp in Lagos, is led by Head Coach Benson Ishicheli and was ably represented at the draw ceremony by NTF Vice President Datti Yusuf.

Nigeria secured promotion to World Group II for the first time in three decades after a 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan in February, while Morocco dropped from World Group I after losing to Colombia.

The winner of the tie will advance to the 2027 World Group I Play-offs, while the loser remains in World Group II.

The team, led by the Secretary General of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, Shammah Aliyu Makpa, believes the early arrival is a deliberate strategy to allow the players to acclimatise to the weather, adjust to the court surface and get into the right frame of mind for the showdown.

Speaking on the team’s readiness, Aliyu expressed confidence in the players’ mental and physical state ahead of the tie, while also appreciating the support from the National Sports Commission (NSC) and other partners.

“I want to first of all, on behalf of the Tennis Federation, appreciate the leadership of the National Sports Commission, Chairman, Malam Shehu Dikko and Director General, Bukola Olopade, for making this possible. They have been supporting us since day one. Their financial and moral support has been one of our motivating factors. I must admit that they are the main source of the improvement we are experiencing in our federation today.

“I want to also appreciate the Country Club of Lagos for allowing us use their facilities for over three weeks camping in Lagos,” he said.

Speaking further, Aliyu said: “We know it won’t be an easy task but we are also equal to the challenge. This is another opportunity for us to break the jinx because we have never defeated Morocco in the Davis Cup before.

“If we can qualify for this stage after over 30 years of waiting, then I will say it is still possible to defeat Morocco and qualify for the Davis Cup World Group I,” he stated.

The tie carries huge significance for Nigerian tennis. Having lost all four previous Davis Cup encounters against Morocco, the current squad sees this as a golden chance to rewrite history as they eye a historic first win over the Moroccans and a ticket to the Davis Cup World Group I. Nigeria booked this World Group II playoff spot after a hard-fought victory over Uzbekistan back in February, ending over three decades of waiting to reach this stage.

President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, Victor Ochei, is optimistic about Nigeria’s chances of progressing past Morocco, just as he described the future of Nigerian tennis as “very bright”.

“We are very optimistic about our chances,” Ochei said. “This team has shown resilience and growth, and qualifying for World Group II is proof that Nigerian tennis is moving in the right direction.”

Ochei acknowledged that this encounter against Morocco will not be easy, especially playing on foreign soil, but insisted that Nigeria has the quality and mental strength to overcome the challenge.

“Morocco is a strong side, especially at home, but we are not in Rabat to admire them,” he said. “We are here to compete and win.”