Another shift in date is set to hit the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Nigeria and Libya, as feelers indicate that the government of Kaduna State has proposed that the first leg should hold on October 12, according to reports reaching footballlive.ng.
With the first leg between both countries having been confirmed by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, the host state has now proposed that the best way of having a large crowd turn out is to hold the match on a Friday.
Libya lead the way in Group E of the AFCON qualifying series with four points from their opening two games, same as South Africa, while Nigeria are third with three points from the same number of matches.
The first leg in Kaduna, therefore, provides the Super Eagles with a golden opportunity to overtake both Libya and South Africa, then seek a decent result from the reverse fixture and stay top of the table, heading into their home game with Seychelles.
Dramatically, Confederation of African Football (CAF) appears to be in the know about the development already, as the continental soccer body stated on Wednesday that the first leg will hold on Friday, October 12.
Being a Friday, work is always bound to end early in Kaduna, and the NFF have scheduled kick-off for 5:30pm, which would be some three hours after the week’s Jumat service.
Consequently, the first leg is now set to be staged under floodlights at Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna on October 12, not October 10 as had been bandied all along, but is also means the second leg in Tunisia would also have to be shifted again.
After the first leg in Kaduna on October 12, the reverse fixture, which had already been shifted from October 13 to 14, will now hold on Monday, October 15 in Tunisia.
CAF are yet to name match officials for the game, which will be the second time the two countries will meet this year, after the home-based Eagles defeated Libya 1-0 at the 2018 Championship of African Nations (CHAN) in January.
