Akas promises Nigeria CHAN crown
Super Eagles skipper to the 2016 CHAN, Chima Akas, has promised to lead Nigeria to a first-ever trophy in Rwanda.
This year’s CHAN, which is reserved for players who feature in their respective home leagues, begins on January 16 and Nigeria are drawn in Group C along with Tunisia, Niger and Guinea.
They open their campaign on January 18 against next-door neighbours Niger, who they defeated 2-0 late last year in a friendly in Port Harcourt.
Akas, who has been capped at full international level by Nigeria, has assumed the CHAN Eagles captaincy in the absence of Gbolahan Salami, who has opted to stay out of the competition so as to finalise a move abroad.
“We want to go to Rwanda and win the cup. We have worked hard and hope our efforts are so crowned,” said Akas, who has recovered from a knee injury and a bout of malaria.
“We finished third at the 2014 CHAN and we now hope to win it. That is what Nigerians expect,” added midfielder Bartholomew Ibenegbu.
The Eagles will battle fellow CHAN-bound teams Angola and Cote d’Ivoire on Wednesday and January 11 respectively in friendlies, before they fly out to Kigali, Rwanda, on January 15.
