The CHAN Eagles will today observe the New Year break as they join other millions of Nigerians in celebration of the festive period. The players are also expected to be in the camp, as they get set for next year’s African Championship of Nations (CHAN), holding in
Morocco from January 12 to February 4 National Daily learnt.
Eagles’ Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye, told National Daily that coach Salisu Yusuf-tutored team is in high spirit to challenge any opposition that comes their way in Morocco, owing to the technical input given to them in training.
He revealed that the CHAN Eagles manager would on Wednesday release the list of the final 23-man squad that would be among the party to Morocco.Ibitoye said the team would depart for the North African country on either January 4 or 5, to enable the team to acclamatise to the weather in Morocco, adding that the players have been training hard to overcome any odd that might affect their performance in the championship.
Ibitoye also noted that the federation is totally backing the CHAN Eagles to come out victorious in the tournament. “CHAN Eagles will not train on Monday (tomorrow) which is New Year day. This is because the coaches want the players to join Nigerians to celebrate the New Year. There will not be break in camp activities. All the players would remain in camp on that day.
Toyin concluded that “The coach will release his final list on Wednesday. Based on the information I have now, I think the team will depart Nigeria for Morocco, while there the players will play friendly games with top clubs in the country to instill more confidence in them before the tournament kicks off. “They may also play tune-up matches with countries that are not in Nigeria’s group at the CHAN. All the players in camp are focused to make the nation proud”.