Nigeria, Egypt friendly in doubt as NFF shift camp to Morocco

Nigeria’s preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations have been thrown off balance after a late FIFA directive forced the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to redraw its pre-tournament plans, Soccernet.ng reports.

This new development could also potentially see Nigeria cancel the much-anticipated friendly with Egypt.

Originally, European clubs were obliged to release players on 8 December, giving national teams sufficient time to train and organise friendlies. Instead, a new FIFA circular issued this week now permits clubs to retain their African players until 15 December, seven days later than planned.

The Super Eagles were initially scheduled to open camp in Cairo on 10 December, four days before facing the Pharaohs in an international friendly at the Cairo International Stadium.

That match was planned as the first of two tune-up games ahead of the AFCON, with Nigeria expected to fly to Morocco immediately afterwards to settle into their tournament base.

But the entire arrangement has now been disrupted by FIFA’s unexpected decision to shift the mandatory release date for Africa-bound players.

Accordingly, a new training schedule has now been drawn up. Under the revised plan, the Super Eagles will open camp on 14 December, just one week before AFCON 2025 kicks off. The camp, originally set for Cairo, will also be relocated to Morocco, the tournament host nation.