Afcon: Peseiro gets January 2 deadline to prune Eagles 41-man list

 Most of the players in the Super Eagles’ 41-man provisional list recently released by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) ahead of the 2024 African Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, will not train together before the final squad of 27 is decided and sent to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on January 3.

Peseiro submitted a provisional list of 41 players to CAF as required by the African football governing body last week and many thought that the Portuguese would pick the best from the lot after their training camp in Abu Dhabi UAE, which will last from January 2nd to 9th.

However, an official of the federation said it would not be possible for the team to come together before the final list is released to CAF, adding that the coach already knows the people he wants to use in Cote d’Ivoire.

The top management source, who pleaded anonymity, said the players, “especially the England-based stars, will arrive in camp on January 2. Members of the team based in Nigeria will leave for the camp on the same day to meet with the others.

“The team will play two friendly games while in Abu Dhabi and return to Nigeria on January 9. The whole delegation will then move to Cote d’Ivoire from Lagos on January 10,” he said.

The source said that CAF required each country in the 2024 African Cup of Nations to submit a list of not more than 55 players before December 14 from which they would select their final 27-man squad. He added that in case of injury, the teams are expected to select substitutes for the injured players from the provisional list.

He revealed that Peseiro has already notified the chosen players of the need to arrive in camp early as the Super Eagles have just a few days to prepare for their opening game on January 14.

In the 41-man list are three home-based goalkeepers, Ojo Olorunleke, Amas Obasogie,

and Christian Nwoke, as well as former Golden Eaglets’ captain, Kelechi Nwakali. Also in the team are some other players, who have never trained with the whole squad, lending credence to the suggestion that Peseiro had already decided his team before coming up with the 41-man squad.

CAF confirmed that it has received the Nigerian list as expected from every qualified team.

According to CAF, it decided to allow teams to register 27 players instead of the previous 23, adding, “the registration of the four additional players on the final list of is only an option and not an obligation.”

CAF said: “In case a team submits a final squad of between 24 and 27 players, only 23 of them will be available for selection for each match during the tournament.

“In addition, the deadline for the submission of the final squads for the tournament is January 3, 2024, exactly 10 days before the opening match.

“Meanwhile, a player in the final squad can only be replaced after a serious injury no less than 24 hours before the team’s first match following the approval of the medical certificate by the CAF Medical Committee.”

Cote d’Ivoire 2024 will hold from January 13 to February 11, 2024 in the Ivorian cities of Abidjan, Bouake, Korhogo, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro.