Nigerians are beginning to believe that this team can make the country proud. Leading the praises is Karl Toriola, the chief executive officer MTN Nigeria, “We are backing the boys to make us proud in Cameroon.

“This team can go all the way and win the trophy. They have a proud nation brimming with passion behind them, and we are also behind them all the way. At the last tournament, we finished third, and we should be pushing on from there.

“The team is filled with talented boys with an opportunity to make history, and we want them to grab it”

Mercurial winger, Samuel Chuwkueze, gave the Super Eagles the lead in the third minute after scoring a fine volley.

FC Union Berlin striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, scored the second goal of the game through a well-placed header on the stroke of halftime. Nigeria took a well-deserved two goal lead into the halftime.

The Super Eagles began the second half how they ended the first, Moses Simon made it three for the Eagles after placing a well shot past the Sudanese goalie.

The Sudanese Falcons scored a consolation goal through a penalty after Ola Aina made a rash tackle in the box. Walieldin Khedr slotted the spot kick past Maduka Okoye.

Austin Eguavoen’s men will now proceed into the round of 16 with belief that they can go all the way to glory, “ The boys gave their all, we controlled the game from the first whistle. I am pleased with the way we played and we are glad that we have progressed from the group stage. We will be taking it one game at a time, hopefully we will win the cup”

Nigeria will face Guinea-Bissau in the penultimate game of Group D on the 19th of January by 8pm.

The AFCON meeting between Nigeria and Sudan is scheduled for 5pm kick-off on Saturday, January 15 at the Stade Omnisport Roumde Adjia in Yaounde.

Viewers at home can watch live on the StarTimes World Football channel in high definition picture quality.

Football fans can pay-per-day to enjoy the thrills at N200 for classic bouquet (antenna users) and N400 for super bouquet (dish users).

Super Eagles Fans can also watch online via the StarTimes-ON mobile app which costs just N400 weekly for sport VIP subscription.

Moses Simon, Joe Aribo and Kelechi Iheanacho were impressive in the game against Eqypt and a win against Sudan on Saturday would qualify Nigeria into the knockout stage, with a game to spare.

Sudan, meanwhile, were lucky against Guinea Bissau in their opening game after their opponents missed a penalty.

In head-to-head (h2h) history and results, both countries have met fourteen times, with Nigeria having eight wins, Sudan having two wins, and four draws.

The Super Eagles endured a dull build-up to the tournament. Following their dominant victory over Egypt’s Pharaohs, the Super Eagles have been installed as the overwhelming favourites to lift the Afcon title in Cameroon.

Two days later, Nigeria faced Egypt in the first game of Group D with the Super Eagles emerging triumphant after Kelechi Iheanacho scored the only goal of the game in the 30th minute.

As the official communications partner of the Nigeria Football Federation, Olutokun Toriola, MTN Nigeria’s chief executive officer, is effusive and confident in the ability of the players and staff to go all the way to the final, “We are committed to supporting the Super Eagles, we trust the team and we believe that our players will make the country proud in Cameroon. We are relentlessly backing them to bring home the trophy.”

He also restated his support for the Amaju Pinnick-led administration and the coaching crew, “We trust the knowledge and leadership qualities of the president of the Nigerian Football Federation and the coaching crew. They have shown incredible commitment to the team.

He has a clear vision, and we will support him in every way to bring his vision to fruition”.

MTN Nigeria signed a three-year multi-million naira partnership deal with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) On September 2, 2021.

The communication firm became the official communications partner for the Super Eagles and other National Teams.

However, MTN  has long supported the Super Eagles before the official documentation. They have been pushing the Super Eagles and voicing their support for the team.

Earlier last year, the mobile communication giant provided two 24-seater boats for the Super Eagles trip to Porto Novo to face the Republic of Benin.

A gesture which the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) President Amaju Pinnick thanked them for. MTN replied by reiterating their support and belief in the squad.

Augustine Eguavoen is the man currently leading the country’s charge as the interim head coach for the tournament. Former Venezuela manager Jose Peseiro has been announced as the head coach, but he will only take over after the tournament.

Late last year, Stanbic IBTC and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) announced a meaningful partnership that would see Stanbic IBTC, through its insurance subsidiary, Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited, provide Group Life Insurance cover worth N1.73 billion and Total Personal Accident insurance cover for each player of the national team, to the tune of N583 million annually for the next three years.

By this development, Stanbic IBTC becomes the official insurance sponsor of the Super Eagles as the MoU signed between the financial organisation and the NFF came into effect officially this year, 2022.

According to Dr Demola Sogunle, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, the partnership is predicated on youth empowerment, which is one of the pillars of the institution, and football development.

Amaju Pinnick, President of NFF, further explained that the partnership is in huge favour of the players.

The partnership also entails empowering female journalists by sponsoring them to cover matches played by the Super Eagles.

Stanbic IBTC, as a foremost gender-balanced zealot, has sponsored four female sports correspondents: Funmilayo Adeyemo, Justina Aniefiok, Janefrances Nweze, and Faith Meregbunam to AFCON 2021.

The 2022 AFCON tournament has 24 participating teams. Nigeria bringing home the cup is currently the most anticipated expectation.

Unlike previous years, the Super Eagles will go head-to-head with the Pharaohs of Egypt in the anticipated match, knowing that Stanbic IBTC Insurance fully covers them.

The 33rd Cup of Nations was postponed last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

StarTimes is broadcasting all 52 matches live and in full high-definition on its sports channels as well as streaming service StarTimes ON.

This will be the ninth encounter between Nigeria and Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Nigeria lead with three wins to Egypt’s two, although their last encounter in 2010 went to the Pharaohs (3-1 in the group phase).

However, Egypt are unbeaten in each of their last 16 group matches at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with 12 wins and 4 draws. Their last defeat in the group phase dates back to the 2004 tournament (1-2 v Algeria).

Nigeria will face Sudan on January 15 and Guinea-Bissau on January 19.

Lazarus Ibeabuchi, StarTimes Nigeria PR manager, said: “Football lovers in Nigeria can look forward to this exciting showpiece on StarTimes at the most affordable rate in the market with an option to pay-per-day. Active subscribers can watch on the go by downloading StarTimes ON mobile app and linking it to their decoders, at no extra cost, to access the same content on up to three mobile devices. Also, non-subscribers can also watch live on the StarTimes-ON app at N400 weekly, with an option to subscribe with their MTN airtime.”

Here’s How Nigeria’s Super Eagles Prepared for Egypt Opener

Twenty-four (24) out of the 28 man Super Eagles squad arrived at the training camp set up at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja where Interim Manager, Austin Eguavoen, and his technical team put the players through some attacking and defensive drills.

The Super Eagles sported training bibs donated by MTN Nigeria, the official communications sponsor of the NFF.

The AFCON tournament commences on Sunday, January 9, 2022 in Cameroon.

Cheering the Super Eagles, Olutokun Toriola, the chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria, commended the players and coaching crew for qualifying for the biggest football tournament in Africa and reiterated the brand’s support.

“As a company, we are committed to supporting Nigerian’s passions and are confident that our Super Eagles will do the nation proud. We stand proudly with fellow Nigerians in full support of the team because ‘This is Naija Where Football Lives’,” said Toriola.

The CEO will join the Federal Government delegation to Cameroon led by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Others expected to be part of the special delegation include the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare among others.

The delegation is expected to leave for Cameroon on Monday, January 10, 2022, ahead of Nigeria’s first AFCON 2022 game against Egypt the next day in Garoua.

On September 2, 2021, MTN Nigeria signed a three-year multi-million naira partnership deal with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and was announced as the official communications partner for the Super Eagles and other National Teams.

According to Olukotun Toriola, at the signing ceremony, “Through this partnership, MTN is building a sustainable legacy of support, collaboration and exciting soccer experiences for Nigerians,” he said.

MTN Nigeria will be unveiling a series of activities in the coming days to thrill Nigerians during the AFCON.

African football fans will be able to see all the best action of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on StarTimes’ World Football channel as Africa’s leading digital-TV operator will be showing the games live and in HD.

Africa’s gain during that time is often Europe’s loss as clubs like Liverpool, Manchester City, PSG, AC Milan, and Bayern Munich will be without some of their star players as they do duty for their respective national teams.

As a result, the competition has not been without its controversy, but all of that will be forgotten when the matches get underway.

Although the tournament has been expanded to 24 teams for the first time in its long history, the pre-tournament favourites comprise the usual suspects.

Cameroon have already won the showpiece of African football five times and as hosts are certainly in the running to add another title.

Coached by former Portuguese international Toni Conceição, the Les Lions Indomptables squad blends veteran players like;

• goalkeeper André Onana,
• André-Frank Zambo Anguissa,
• Vincent Aboubakar, and
• Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting with youngsters like
• Bordeaux’s Jean Onana and
• Ignatius Ganago, who plays for Lens.

The hosts have been paired in Group A of the Africa Cup of Nations with Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Ethiopia. With the four best-placed third-ranked teams also advancing to the round of the last 16, it would be a huge surprise if the hosts do not make it into the knock-out stage.

The holders, Algeria, potentially have a much tougher task. They are in Group E, together with Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire, who have a formidable squad, headlined by:

• Franck Kessié,
• Nicolas Pépé,
• Wilfried Zaha and
• Sébastien Haller.

Three-time champions Nigeria’s preparations were thrown into disarray when German coach Gernot Rohr was dismissed shortly before the start of the tournament.

Jose Peseiro has been named as a replacement, but interim coach Augustine Eguavoen will be in charge at the Nations Cup, with the Portuguese coach acting as an observer.

The Super Eagles face Guinea Bissau, Sudan, and Egypt in Group D, with the Pharaohs undoubtedly being the biggest threat to Nigeria’s hopes of topping the group.

Nigeria will look to midfield general Wilfred Ndidi to step up and really lead this team. It is Samuel Chukwueze who will get star billing. Creative responsibility will probably fall to Joe Aribo. In Maduka Okoye, Nigeria has invested in a young goalkeeper with a great deal of upside.

Nigeria’s possible line-up:

Maduka Okoye; Ola Aina, William Troost-Ekong, Chidozie Awaziem, Zaidu Sanusi; Wilfred Ndidi, Joe Aribo; Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi, Moses Simon; Kelechi Iheanacho.

Other teams in the mix to land Africa’s greatest national team prize are Ghana and Senegal, who are coached by former national team player Aliou Cissé, who captained Les Lions de la Téranga to the runner-up position in 2002 and coached the side in 2019, when they lost 1-0 to Algeria in the final.

Cissé can call on the likes of

• Sadio Mané, who is one of three Liverpool stars doing duty in Cameroon.
• Mané and team-mate Mo Salah scored for Liverpool in their 2-2 draw against Chelsea on the weekend, before jetting off to AFCON.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has come to terms with missing three important players. “We knew three would be qualified and be there and we knew that at least two of them will go pretty far in the tournament. Can you be prepared for something like that, properly, perfectly? Like a one-for-one replacement for Sadio, a replacement for Mo, one replacement for Naby [Keita]? That’s tricky in each situation,” he said.