In a captivating twist of fate, the Super Eagles of Nigeria find themselves on the cusp of a gripping showdown with neighbours Benin in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers but here’s the kicker – the battleground won’t be on Benin’s home soil. CAF’s ruling on Benin’s sub-standard stadiums has steered this clash to a neutral ground.
The encounter which boasts of a lot of interesting angles including former Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr now leading the charge for Benin, that in itself has injected an extra dose of intensity into this already fiery clash.
Before the monumental clash with Benin, the Super Eagles must first navigate a challenging encounter against South Africa on June 3. Currently trailing in third place in Group C, every moment on the field is pivotal for Nigeria as they strive to ascend to the top.
With Rwanda setting the pace, closely trailed by South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Benin, the competition is fierce. Yet, with Nigeria’s sights firmly set on victory, the journey to World Cup glory promises thrills, spills, and nail-biting moments.
The news from Benin republic was that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had failed to approve the Amitié Général Mathieu Kérékou (GMK) stadium to host international matches as it fails to meet the requirements of a modern facility and is definitely not in compliance with international standards after rehabilitation work.
The news was made public on March 24 2024, by the special advisor to the Minister of Sports. “Indeed, CAF has downgraded the stadium for issues of pitch and field equipment ,” informs Jean-Marie Adjovi-Boko while specifying that the notification was made to the competent authorities of Benin.
During a recent press conference, the national team coach Gernot Rohr had also warned of a possible downgrading of Benin ‘s largest stadium by the African football governing body by saying that the team could play their next qualifying matches outside their shores if nothing is done to improve the home facilities.
Renovated in 2021, the GMK stadium was the pride of an entire nation after its completion. It hosted several CAF international matches including the CAF Cup final and matches between the Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast teams.
After hosting the said fixtures successfully, the stadium fell back into the same failings following the deadly stampede during the match against Senegal at home. That sad occurrence meant that Benin could no longer host and a press release on October 18,2023 from the football federation clearly confirmed that,
“FIFA has effectively downgraded the stadium so that the security system can be reviewed ,” after the incidents that occurred during the Benin versus Senegal, a matchday 5 fixture in the qualifiers for the recently held AFCON in Ivory Coast.
“We are working to ensure that the work is done,” reassures Jean-Marie Adjovi-Boko , special advisor to the Minister of Sports who was unable to say whether the work could be done in June to accommodate the high level matches scheduled for June.
The Cheetahs of Benin recently forced African champions Ivory Coast to a 2-2 draw in a friendly played in France. They narrowly lost 1-0 to Senegal last month, and are now recently ranked 97th in the world according to the recent FIFA rankings.
Benin Republic have now been forced to go to Ivory Coast to play their first two matches as part of the qualifiers for the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
The Cheetahs could have hosted these matches at home if those responsible for football had done the needful. CAF particularly asked Benin to improve the quality of the pitch, to make adjustments to the locker rooms, to review the quality of the brightness of the floodlights and to strengthen the stadium security system.
According to remarks made by the Secretary General of the Beninese Football Federation, Claude Paqui, the two matches of Benin’s national team will be played at the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny stadium in Abidjan, nicknamed ‘La Felicia’.
“Our first two home matches scheduled for June 7 and 11, 2024 respectively against Rwanda and Nigeria will be played at the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny stadium in Ivory Coast,” he told Canal 3 TV.
“This CAF evaluation mission produced a report. Already, on July 3 (2023), we received a letter asking us to improve a certain number of things. Later, on August 30, 2023, we were officially notified by Caf of the decommissioning of our stadium,” he added.
The Super Eagles are no strangers to the newly refurbished Félix Houphouët Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, the edifice right within the city as they played three games at the venue during the recently concluded AFCON in Ivory Coast.
Nigeria defeated Guinea-Bissau 1-0 in their final Group A game before beating rivals Cameroon 2-0 thanks to a brace from Ademola Lookman in the Round of 16.
Nigeria then secured a place in the semi-finals of the competition following a hard-fought 1-0 win over Angola at the same venue.
Rotimi Akindele is a Sports Journalist with almost two decades’ experience. He is a TV and radio host, commentator and writer who has covered major sporting events across the globe. Akindele’s sports content has been listened to and read by a global audience. He is a well-known figure within Nigeria and the African football scene.
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