Under-23 AFCON Qualifiers: Amapakabo picks 18 players for Sudan game

Imama Amapakabo, the Head Coach of Nigeria’s under-23 male football team, has picked 18 players for Thursday’s 2019 Under-23 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final qualifying round first leg fixture.

Ademola Olajire, Head of Communications Department at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), said in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday that the players included team captain Azubuike Okechukwu.

He disclosed that the team’s delegation of 18 players and 12 officials departed Nigeria from Abuja aboard an Ethiopian Airline flight on Tuesday afternoon.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the match against Sudan is scheduled for the Al Merriekh Stadium in Omdurman.

The pairing’s return leg is slated for the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on Sept. 10.

Amapakabo and his lieutenants have been taking the team through training sessions and general build-up programmes for several weeks in Abuja.

Already, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has picked officials from Djibouti to take charge of proceedings on Thursday, with Souleiman Ahmad Djama as the referee.

Compatriots Farhan Bogoreh Salime, Rachid Waiss Bouraleh, and Saddam Houssein Mansour will serve as assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and fourth official respectively.

Meanwhile, Herbert Mwachiro from Kenya will be the match commissioner.

THE FULL LIST:
Abubakar Adamu, Agbor Ekoi, Nda Olisa, Stephen Manyo, John Lazarus, Ebube Duru, Collins Ogbodo, Azubuike Okechukwu, Fatai Gbadamosi, Sunday Adetunji, Blessing Muyiwa, Ndifreke Effiong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Onyeka Ogochukwu, Sunusi Ibrahim, Sunday Faleye, Stephen Odey, Etboy Akpan (NAN)