BEVERLY HILLS, November 24, (THEWILL) – Benin Republic, the West African neighbours of Nigeria have picked up hosting rights for the Under-20 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) West African Football Union (WAFU) B Zonal qualifiers following the withdrawal of Togo as host country.
To this end, Nigeria’s youth team, the Flying Eagles, will now begin their campaign on Sunday, December 6 at the Stade de Gaulles in Cotonou, Benin, against Cote d’Ivoire with kickoff slated for 4PM, local time.
Also in Group B with the Flying Eagles is Nigeria’s perennial football rivals Ghana against whom the U-20s will trade tackles in their second qualifier on Wednesday, December 9.
Group A is composed of the new hosts, Benin Republic, Togo, Niger and Burkina Faso.
As initially scheduled, the U20 AFCON WAFU B Zonal qualifiers were billed to begin on Wednesday, November 18 in Lome, Togo. However, the West African State pulled out of hosting the qualifiers citing Coronavirus concerns.
The qualifiers will end on Saturday, December 19.
The Republic of Benin is also set to host the Under-17 AFCON qualifiers next year.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
