Sports

Morocco 2022: Falcons set to battle against Olympic champions in friendly matches

Published

5 years ago

April 6, 2022

Nine-time African champions Nigeria will clash with reigning Olympic champions Canada in two friendly matches that will hold over three days in the cities of Vancouver and Victoria City. Both matches take place Friday, 8^th April and Monday, 11^th April respectively.

Two players – defenders Onome Ebi and Glory Ogbonna – were among the contingent that flew out of Nigeria aboard a Lufthansa Airline plane on Tuesday night, and connected a flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver on Wednesday. The other players are to fly direct to Vancouver from their bases in Europe and the American continent.

Canada’s Women’s National Team are the reigning champions of Olympic women’s football, having won the gold medal at the Olympic Women’s Football Tournament in Tokyo in August 2021, after beating Sweden on penalties following a 1-1 draw after regulation and extra time.

The Super Falcons have won the African title nine times and recently qualified for the Women AFCON finals hold in Morocco this summer, after a 3-0 aggregate win over Cote d’Ivoire in February. Newcomers Ifeoma Onumonu (in Abuja) and Esther Okoronkwo (in Abidjan) accounted for the goals that avenged the Falcons’ elimination from the Tokyo Olympics race by the Ivorians. The Nigeria Football Federation has organized this two-match tour against the Olympic champions as part of the Super Falcons’ preparations for the 12^th Women Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Friday’s clash at the BC Place in Vancouver is another date for both teams after many years, following their epic 3-3 draw at the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Sweden.

Both will again clash at the Centennial Stadium in Victoria City on Monday, 11^th April. The two matches will kick off at 7.30 pm Nigeria time (3.30 am Vancouver time on 9^th April and 12^th April respectively.

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Sports

Drogba, Amuneke, Eguavoen Lead African Legends’ Arrival in Lagos

Published

19 hours ago

November 7, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

With just one day to the much-anticipated Legends of Africa Football Game, Ivorian football icon Didier Drogba has arrived in Lagos, joining an impressive assembly of former African internationals already in the city ahead of Sunday’s star-studded encounter.

Drogba’s arrival further heightens anticipation for the game, which will bring together some of the continent’s most celebrated football figures at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos.

Also in Lagos are Nigerian football greats Mobi Oparaku, Emmanuel Amuneke, Emmanuel Babayaro, Garba Lawal, Austin Eguavoen and Mutiu Adepoju, alongside other members of the legendary Super Eagles generations of 1994 and 1996.

The African contingent also features distinguished names including Togo’s Emmanuel Adebayor, Senegal’s El-Hadji Diouf, Ghana’s Stephen Appiah and Cameroon’s Rigobert Song, among other former international stars.

The excitement will extend beyond the legends’ reunion, with popular Nigerian entertainers and celebrities preparing for a special Celebrity Match as part of the event. Yhemolee, Sheggz, Jeriq, Teddy A and Charles Okocha are among the personalities set to feature in the celebrity fixture, scheduled to begin at 1:30pm.

The Celebrity Match will form part of a wider programme of activities designed to give fans a full day of football, entertainment and celebration before the main legends’ fixture, which kicks off at 5pm. Gates open at 1:30pm.

Organized by Toptier Sports Management in collaboration with Afreximbank and CANEX as part of CANEX WKND 2026, the game will feature 15 Nigerian legends taking on 13 African icons in a celebration of the players whose achievements helped shape the history of football on the continent.

Beyond the match, the programme includes a football clinic involving 500 young players, entertainment and special recognition for the heroes of African football.

The Legends of Africa Football Game promises a memorable gathering of football royalty, bringing together generations of fans to celebrate the enduring legacy of the continent’s finest players.

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