Following the Super Eagles’ disastrous outing in Bissau, where the team lost 0-3 to Guinea-Bissau in their second game of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series, the Nigeria Football Federation has started preparations to ensure that the team does not suffer such a fate again in the series.

The NFF is considering hosting the first leg of the tie in Uyo on November 11, while the return leg has been tentatively fixed for November 15 in Zanzibar.

But there have also been reports that the NFF is considering the newly renovated Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, pending CAF’s approval, for the Nigerian leg of the tie.

However, a top official of the NFF, who pleaded anonymity, told The Guardian yesterday that the federation is not in a hurry to take the Eagles to Lagos or any other venue for the qualifiers.

He said that taking the players away from Uyo now could be counter-productive as the team would be forced to adjust to any venue in a competitive game, “which could backfire.”

He said: “Lagos is under consideration, but Uyo remains the venue for our games. Before we take any match to Teslim Balogun Stadium, we must first of all sound out the players and know how they feel about that.

After that, we may start with friendly games to feel the vibes from fans and test other parameters before taking any qualifier to Lagos.

“The players have been playing in Uyo for up to a decade, and it would be unwise for us to move them to Lagos just like that. Besides, Teslim Balogun Stadium is not yet ready to host any game. When Lagos State completes the work on the stadium, our inspectors will go to see it and advise the NFF on what to do.

“That would take some time, and the match is less than a month away.”

The Godswill Akpabio Stadium hosted Nigeria’s first match in a 2–2 draw against South Africa in an AFCON qualifier on November 19, 2014, and has since staged numerous important fixtures involving the national team.

However, the Super Eagles have also played competitive home matches elsewhere, including in Lagos and Abuja, demonstrating that alternative venues remain possible.

The source said that the NFF and the Super Eagles’ technical crew have started monitoring the players in Coach Eric Chelle’s pool to decide who among them are available for the game before sending out invitations to the chosen ones.

He also said that the specific programme for the matches would be determined by the FIFA window for the games.

“The date for players to start arriving in camp would be determined by the date approved for the first leg of the game by CAF. We will release the names of players for the back-to-back matches five days after learning of the date and also depending on the availability of players.”