Glory-seeking Super Eagles Land in Morocco in Style from Egypt 

*Mikel describes Nigeria’s preparation for AFCON as ‘shameless’

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Three-time champions, the Super Eagles of Nigeria, arrived in Morocco on Thursday evening to begin their quest for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title.

The delegation made up of all the 28 players and coaching crew led by Eric Chelle, flew into Fez, Morocco by a chartered flight from Cairo, Egypt where Eagles played an international friendly with the Pharaohs on Tuesday.

Media Officer of the team, Promise Efoghe, confirmed last night that the training session scheduled for yesterday evening had to be put off due to the time of arrival of the team to Fez.

Full training will however begin this morning ahead of Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 opening game against the Taifa Stars of Tanzania on Tuesday in Fez.

One of the standout highlight of Super Eagles arrival in Morocco was their well-styled, green Nigerian uniforms with caps to match. The players looked resplendent in the attires made for the team.

Most of them posed for selfie with the image of the AFCON trophy in the background.

Meanwhile, a former Super Eagles Captain, John  Mikel Obi, has described as “shameless” Nigeria’s preparations leading up to the 2025 AFCON.

“I’m not impressed at all with the preparation. After everything that happened with the World Cup qualifiers, you would expect things to be better,” said Mikel, who has demanded for the resignation of the NFF board after failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

“How do you owe a coach money at this stage? It’s shameless! This is not how serious football nations operate.

“When issues like this are in the public space, it affects everyone – the coach, the players and even the fans.”

Mikel added: “This was supposed to be the time to save face and show that lessons were learned. Instead, it’s the same story again.

“You can’t go into the AFCON with unresolved problems. Everything must be sorted now.

“Nigeria deserves better. Our football deserves better.”

Administrative issues have often affected the country’s team leading to disgraceful pay strikes overseas.