AFCON 2025 Diary Day 5: Fed Govt. Motivates Super Eagles, Tanzania Memories, Chelle’s Calm And Eagles’ Mission In Fez

Day 5 (Monday, 22 December, 2025)

FG Fires Up Eagles, Redeems National Honours And Housing Rewards Pledge After AFCON 2023 Silver Feat

THE Federal Government gave the Super Eagles AFCON 2025 chase a major boost when NSC boss Shehu Dikko led other government functionaries including Nigeria Football Federation President, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, to present certificates of National Honours and documents for houses in Lagos and Abuja in fulfilment of a promise made to the players after their runner-up finish at the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast.

Striker Victor Osimhen and midfielder Alex Iwobi led other players who were in the 2023 squad to collect their national honours as Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) as well as documents to their landed properties.

Also Read: AFCON 2025 Diary, Day 4: Mr. Chef Partnership, Super Eagles’ Spirit And Morocco’s Opening Night Win

Dikko said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu decided to fulfil the 2023 AFCON promise before the 2025 tournament got under way.

From Lagos 1980 To Fez 2025 — Tanzania Again

I WAS in my final year at Iganmode Grammar School, Ota in Ogun State when Nigeria played against Tanzania in the opening match of the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations in Lagos. It was precisely on 8 March, 1980, three months to my West African School Certificate examination.

We all know how that tournament ended for Nigeria. After beating the Taifa Stars 3-1 in that opening game, the “Green Eagles,” (they weren’t ‘Super’ then, or weren’t they?!) went on to become African champions for the first time, comprehensively beating Algeria 3-0 in the final match at the National Stadium in Surulere. ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu was the team captain but ‘Mathematical’ Segun Odegbami was the superstar and arrowhead of that triumph.

Also Read: Super Eagles Vs Taifa Stars: AFCON 2025 Group C Clash Rekindles Historic Good Omen For Nigeria

I have recalled that happy occasion in my diary today because I’m praying for a repeat as the Super Eagles open their AFCON 2025 campaign against the Taifa Stars here in Fez, Morocco. If playing against Tanzania in our opening match will lead ultimately to a fourth African title for Nigeria, I say ‘bring them on!’ Like I wrote in my preview for Completesports.com and Naijasuperfans.com, this fixture bodes well for the Super Eagles.

Ndidi Sets The Tone As Super Eagles Talk Focus, Not Fear

In the pre-match press conference held at the Fez stadium, Eagles new captain Wilfred Ndidi was calm and collected as he sat beside his coach, Eric Chelle to take questions from the battery of journalists. “The spirit in camp is very high,” he said. “The guys are ready, everyone is focused on the game,” he assured. I could to attest to that having been at their training session the previous evening.

On his part, Coach Eric Chelle had to swat away from ‘nosy’ journalists, probing questions about the security of his job. Following his ‘failure’ to win a 2026 FIFA World Cup ticket for Nigeria, there had been calls in a section of the media back home for his removal and he was asked whether he was still feeling threatened by those calls. “After the AFCON, for sure we will have a meeting with my FA and we will talk about everything,” said the Malian. “But now, this is not the moment to answer the question. We stay focused on the first game (against Tanzania) because this is the most important game right now.” Brilliant.

Why Chelle Deserves Time — And Trust

Talking of Chelle, I always felt that the Nigeria Football Federation took the right decision by resisting the pressure to sack him. We were already in a precarious position in the World Cup race when he took over and it would have been wrong to fire him for the failure to get the ticket when, actually, he steadied the ship toward the end of the qualifying race. Besides, sacking coaches and replacing them on the eve of a major tournament had always turned out badly for Nigeria in the past. (Most recently, Coach Gernot Rohr’s wrongful removal before the 2021 AFCON on my mind). It would have been stupid to repeat that mistake ahead of this 2025 AFCON.

Anyway, we’re here now in Morocco with Chelle and, in my opinion, the questions about his job security were just a mere distraction. The focus, as he and Ndidi emphasized, is on how to beat Tanzania in order to start the tournament on a winning note.

Tactical Lockdown At Sardienne As Rain Hits Fez

That was the team’s focus when the Eagles gathered for training later in the evening at the Sardienne Complex in Fez. Unlike the previous day when the Nigerian press corps had a field day with one-on-one interviews with the players, this session was closed off to the media after only 15 minutes so that the team could finalize their tactics for Tanzania. Besides, it was a wet day as intermittent rainfall and very cold breeze sent quite a number of “content creators and influencers” scrambling for cover. Many more of them have arrived in Fez.

NSC Chairman Dikko Watches On As Eagles Fine-Tune

A notable attendee at the Eagles training this time was the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, who led an entourage of officials. Dikko was quite ecstatic when Nigeria’s Super Falcons won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) here in Morocco last July to register a first major triumph of his tenure as Nigeria’s chief sports officer. He would be hoping that the Super Eagles can equal that feat by the ladies. A convincing victory against Tanzania would set them on the way.

Tanzania Arrive With A New Coach — And Big Dreams

TANZANIA arrived in Fez today from their base in Rabat ahead of the match against the Super Eagles. While Eric Chelle escaped the sack in Nigeria, Tanzania’s former coach Hemed Suleiman wasn’t as lucky. He was fired by the FA just a month to the AFCON and replaced on an interim basis by Miguel Gamondi, former coach of local club side, Young Africans.

At the pre-match press conference, Gamondi was full of respect for the Nigerian team, but said he was “dreaming” of a good result. “Nigeria has big players in Europe like Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, but I am a dreamer and we’re allowed to dream. A win for Tanzania will be like we have won the AFCON itself and even a draw will be nice for us. We will come up with a plan to neutralize the opponents, especially Osimhen. But it’s not only him…. there’s also Chukwueze and Lookman. We will try our best. In football, anything is possible.”

Also Read: AFCON 2025 Diary, Day 3: Morocco’s Arab Cup Glory, Eagles’ Camp In Fez And CAF’s Historic Decision

Gamondi talks like the underdog, but I’m sure that the Eagles are not falling for that. They must go out with gun blazing to underline their intent to be African Champions, just like the Green Eagles of 1980.

Moroccan Fans Catch AFCON Fever Ahead Of Super Eagles’ Opener

MOROCCAN fans are gearing up for the Super Eagles opening game against Tunisia. An elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Abdul, who have been playing the nice hosts to me here in Fez were very excited as they showed off their tickets for the match. The tickets cost 200 Dirhams each (about $22 US Dollars). I leave you to do the calculations in Naira.

AFCON Day’s Action — Egypt Rally, Mali Hold Zambia

ACTION reports at the AFCON today saw Mali and Zambia playing out a 1-1 draw in Group A; an impressive South Africa outclassed Angola 2-1 in Group B, while Egypt came from behind to beat Zimbabwe 2-1 also in Group B.

Actually, Zimbabwe made Egypt sweat for the win by taking a shock lead in the first half through Prince Dube in the 20th minute. But two second half goals from Egypt’s two superstars did the damage for the Pharaohs. Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush hammered a fierce shot into the roof of the net in the 64th minute, while Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah grabbed a late winner in the 91st minute to show their class.

By Mumini Alao, in Fez