AFCON Draw: Mikel Obi arrives Abidjan
Former Super Eagles captain, Mikel John Obi, has arrived in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire ahead of Thursday’s official draw ceremony for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The legendary midfielder shared a video of himself on his Instagram account, with the caption: “Touch down Ivory Coast to Draw for the final phase of the 34th Africa Cup of Nations. Who wants to teach me some French ??”.
READ ALSOMeet the teams – Africa Cup of Nations draw
Mikel is one of the most decorated players in African football history, having won the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League, FA Cup and Africa Cup of Nations among many other silverware.
The former Chelsea star is also an Olympic medalist having led Nigeria to a bronze medal finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics which incidentally is the last time the country made it to the football event at the Olympic Games.
Mikel who played alongside two Ivorians, Didier Drogba and Salamon Kalou while at Chelsea revealed it was his first time ever in the West African country,
The draw for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will take place on Thursday, at the Parc Des Exposition in Abidjan with the creme-de-la-creme of African football expected to be in attendance.
While speaking on cafonline ahead of Thursday evening’s extravaganza, Vice-President of the Local Organising Committee, Yacine Idriss Diallo, said the Draw was an exciting platform for Cote d’Ivoire to demonstrate its state of readiness and excitement of hosting Africa next year.
“You can feel the excitement in the air – not just here in Abidjan but across the country. Everywhere you go, people are talking about Thursday evening’s Draw and who they want to see playing against each other. Thanks to our continued efforts, working with CAF and local Government, the country is fully behind this tournament and starting with the Draw on Thursday, Cote d’Ivoire will demonstrate to Africa and the rest of the world that it is indeed ready to host a successful AFCON”, said Diallo.
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Côte d’Ivoire is hosting the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time, after the 1984 tournament in which Cameroon won the title at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Three- time Nations cup winners Nigeria crashed out in the last of 16 at the last editon hosted by Cameroon after losing by a lone goal to Tunisia.