National Teams
2025 CHAN Qualifiers: Nigeria to rekindle rivalry with Ghana for qualification slot
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Nigeria’s home-based team will go head-to-head with Ghana in a highly anticipated second-round clash of the 2025 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) Qualifiers.
The two West African powerhouses will meet in the second round of the qualifiers, with the first leg scheduled to take place in Ghana from December 20 to 22, 2024. The return leg will be held in Nigeria from December 27 to 29, 2024.
The aggregate winner will secure a spot in the upcoming CHAN tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Ghana denied Nigeria a spot in the last edition of the CHAN, adding extra significance to this year’s fixture.
Since Nigeria’s home-based team reached the final in 2018—where they were defeated by Morocco—the team has struggled to qualify for the subsequent tournaments. They failed to advance to the last two editions of the competition.
Nigeria has made three CHAN appearances so far, securing a bronze medal in their debut tournament in 2014 under the guidance of late coach Stephen Keshi.
In their second appearance in 2016, they were eliminated in the group stage.
However, the team bounced back in 2018, reaching the final before losing to Morocco, who went on to retain their title in 2020, which was hosted by Cameroon in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
