Nigeria’s Super Eagles are making great strides in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, securing four wins and one draw in the tournament so far, reports Soccernet.ng.
Compared to the visit to the Olympique Ouattara Stadium for the opening ceremony of AFCON 2023 and Nigeria’s opening match against Equatorial Guinea, the Confederation of African Football rules at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium are becoming stricter by the day.
The morning before the match between Nigeria and Angola, members of the media covering the game received an email containing new rules restricting their coverage.
Some disciplinary rules were appropriate. These include avoiding conflicts with volunteers and other journalists, avoiding taking off your clothes, and not excessively celebrating the winning team, even if it’s from your own country.
They have used their shenanigans to pour sand in my garri , now we aren’t even allowed to record inside the stadium. .
CAF has published stricter rules for media outlets at #AFCON2023 Masu. pic.twitter.com/S1a6rvf4JL
– Latifat Adebayo-Ohio (@Phatill) 2. February 2024
As a journalist, it is essential to maintain emotional composure during and after the match in order to provide fair reporting.
What prompted these rules?
A few days before the match between Nigeria and Angola, an Ivorian journalist wearing the tag accredited journalist took off his shirt and danced to celebrate his country’s victory.
This is a very unprofessional conduct from an Ivorian journalist.
There’s nothing you can’t see at AFCON ♂️ pic.twitter.com/soGDB08B1a
– JOE (@gani_jonathan) 30. 2024 年 1 月
An example of Ghanaian journalist Sadiq Adams showing strong emotions and almost knocking over a chair in the stadium, and an unidentified journalist exchanging passionate words with former Ghana manager Chris Hughton after Ghana’s defeat. There were also cases like this.
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Absolutely nobody
Sadiq Adams, who plays Dede Ayew, scores the club’s third goal pic.twitter.com/MFti479c5y
– ⓘ ❤ (@ObiaaBewu) 28. 2024 年 1 月
These incidents have resulted in stricter rules for journalists, impacting their ability to use cell phones inside stadiums to record clips, take photos, and perform stand-up. It is possible that
Prior to these changes, CAF had accredited more than 5,000 media personnel, but the tournament has become a global topic and Africans’ attention has shifted from Major League Baseball to AFCON. That’s what I felt.
What happened during the Nigeria vs. Angola match?
The matchup between the Super Eagles and Angola was expected to be a difficult one as Angola had scored 9 goals before the match while Nigeria had scored 5 goals before the match .
However, Angola’s Palancas Negras was less of a threat than expected, taking just 10 shots in 90 minutes, two of which were on target.
Atalanta striker Ademola Lookman, who scored twice against Cameroon, continued his excellent form and scored his first goal for Nigeria with a goal from a pass from Simon Moses.
The victory was celebrated in the presence of dignitaries including Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Obi Cubana, Regina Daniels, Peter Obi and others who attended the event.
Nigeria secured their ticket to the semi-finals and gave their fans a reason to celebrate. Angola’s coach attributed the loss to the team’s fatigue from traveling long distances during the tournament.
On my way home, I found some Nigerian soccer fans painting their bodies in Nigerian colors and writing down scores to reflect the fan’s joy at the victory.
How do people perceive the Super Eagles in Abidjan?
The people of Abidjan have already seen Nigeria play in the final and consider them heavy favorites to win the AFCON tournament.
Ivory Coast will face the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the semi-finals, and is expected to face Nigeria in the final.
About 30% of people living in Abidjan hold Nigerian nationality even if they have never returned home and would like to see their hometown and country of origin compete for the AFCON trophy in the finals. I hope.
