The chances of the U23 of Nigeria qualifying for the U23 Africa Cup of Nations appears not to be over yet following a protest to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over the eligibility of six players from the Guinean team that knocked Nigeria out of the qualifiers, OGN can exclusively reveal.
Nigeria were beaten 2-0 on aggregate by Guinea in the qualifiers for the tournament, which is the qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic games that will take place in Paris. They are still pushing to qualify on technical ground.
We gathered that they have filed a protest to CAF on the eligibility of six players in the Guinean team with evidence to show that they are above the age limit, using their past documents in previous CAF tournaments.
Guinea have been made aware of the development and a player from the Nigerian team said when they met players of the team at the airport after the game in Morocco, they were sober and some were even in tears.
CAF is expected to rule on the case after studying all the documents and also getting a defence from Guinea. No time frame has been set for the proper hearing of the case but it will be done in time to allow for preparation for the tournament.
Osas Mahawi
