Football enthusiasts in Ebonyi say they have selected countries to support during the 2017 AFCON in Gabon to reduce the psychological effect of the Super Eagles absence from the competition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Eagles would be conspicuously absent from the competition which commences on Saturday with its last appearance being the tile win in South Africa in 2013.
The enthusiasts, who spoke to NAN in Abakaliki noted that they would not miss the fervour and thrills of the biennial African event due to Nigeria’s absence.
Godwin Ezeh, a FIFA-Graded Referee from Ebonyi, noted that he would support Egypt in spite of Nigeria’s eleimination from the competition.
“The Egyptians thought us how to prepare for a major competition by appointing an experienced foreign coach in Italian Hector Cuper, while Nigeria dilly-dallied with Sunday Oliseh and Samson Siasia.
“The Pharaohs also displayed utmost resurgent-spirit by qualifying for the competition with some games to spare after its last appearance in Angola 2010,” he said.
Daniel Asare, a Ghanaian living in said that he would support his home-country, Ghana to excel at the competition.
“I will be praying just as millions of Ghanaians, that the Black Stars win the competition and end an inglorious 35-year AFCON drought after near-misses in 1982 and 2015.
“Our situation is, however, made complex because we are in the same group with Egypt and Uganda, our World Cup qualifying foes who are making our ‘Russia 2018’ chances bleak,” he said.
Ikenna Odoh, Team Manager of Colombia FC of Abakaliki stated that he would support Cote D’Ivoire due to its consistency since winning the 2015 edition.
“The Ivorians have an endearing national team-building structure which allows for smooth transition of established and budding talents and still produce good results.
“They would be missing the Toure brothers- Kolo and Yaya, but they have created an avenue for budding stars such as Wilfred Zaha among others, to adequately fill the void,” he said.
Chief Edwin Nwosu, a businessman and soccer enthusiast, said he would support Guinea Bissau and Uganda would be making their debut and long-time appearance at the competition.
“Guinea Bissau is making its debut appearance, while Uganda is staging a comeback since the 1978 edition of the competition, all after several unsuccessful attempts.
“This reinforces our belief that there are no longer minnows in African football as Tanzania even contributed to the Super Eagles non-qualification woes,” he said.
Miss Chika Uguru, a female footballer in Afikpo, called on fans to ‘spare some thoughts’ for big names that would be missing from the competition.
“We should at this period, remember former champions such as Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia, which would be absent and meditate on the mysterious nature of football,” she said. (NAN)
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