The Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed that the Super Eagles will leave the city of Fez for Marrakesh on Thursday (tomorrow) as preparations continue for their quarterfinal clash at the Africa cup of nations in Morocco, PUNCH Sports Extra reports
In a statement released on Wednesday, the federation said, “The three-time champions will on Thursday move to the city of Marrakech, where they will play the winner between Algeria’s Fennecs and DR Congo’s Leopards in Saturday’s quarter-final duel scheduled to kick off at 5pm.”
The update followed the team’s training session on Tuesday evening at the Sardienne Complex, where all 26 available players took part.
The federation added that defender Ryan Alebiosu remains sidelined as he continues his recovery from injury.
The move to Marrakesh is in line with a new arrangement introduced by CAF for this edition of the tournament.
According to CAF, each team has been assigned a designated camp, a policy being implemented for the first time at the Africa cup of nations.
As a result, the Super Eagles are expected to return to their base in Fez after the quarterfinal match and then travel to Rabat should they progress to the semifinals, where they could face either hosts Morocco or Cameroon on January 14.
Meanwhile, officials of the Nigerian camp have dismissed reports of unrest within the squad following Monday night’s emphatic 4-0 victory over Mozambique, a result that sealed the team’s passage into the last eight.
Speculation had emerged after striker Victor Osimhen was seen gesturing towards Ademola Lookman during the match.
The NFF said the team administrator Dayo Achor addressed the issue on Tuesday evening, saying, “There is no problem whatsoever in our camp. Whatever people saw as a crisis between two brothers was easily resolved a couple of hours later. All is good and we are presently at training.”
Achor also rejected claims that forward Jerome Akor Adams had left the team camp after the match. “He took permission to go and see his mother who was hospitalized here in Fes, and returned in less than an hour,” he said.
