Day 22 (Thursday, 8 January, 2026)
Welcome to Marrakech….
From Fez to Marrakech: Eagles Touch Down Ahead of Quarterfinal Clash
JUST LIKE I predicted in my diary yesterday, the Super Eagles have landed in Marrakech ahead of their much anticipated AFCON 2025 quarterfinal clash with Algeria on Saturday. I’m not claiming any prize for the ‘prediction.’ We have travelled this road several times before, and the outcome of their so-called threat not to report in Marrakech for the Algeria game was easy to forecast without consulting any crystal ball.
In fact, the team arrived in Marrakech before me! I was halfway in my seven-hour train journey between Fez and Marrakech when the Eagles left their hotel in Fez at 1.45pm for the Fez airport. Departure formalities took some time, but flight time itself was just 55 minutes. By 4.00pm they had landed at the Marrakech Menara airport. I arrived at the Marrakech Central train station 30 minutes later.
Inside The Bonus Delay: Dollars, Naira And Government Bottlenecks
Just for posterity, let me place on record just how the latest Super Eagles drama played out. I can confirm authoritatively that the delay in paying the players their bonuses resulted from their own request to be paid in foreign currency.
Also Read: AFCON 2025 Diary Day 21: Super Eagles Strike Scare, Farewell To Fez And Morocco’s Algeria Obsession
“In recent times, we have been paying the Super Eagles bonuses in Naira according to government’s new financial regulations,” my source reveals. “After government officials visited the team in Morocco just before the AFCON began, their bonuses per match was agreed upon, approval for payment in Naira was secured and the money had been set aside. But then, the players requested that they wanted to be paid in US Dollars. The Naira had to be returned to the Central Bank, and a fresh approval secured for the payment to be made in US Dollars. These processes take time because of the way government works, but the players were impatient. There was no need for them to have boycotted training or threatened not to play. Payment was made directly into their respective bank accounts, so any story that someone was sitting on their bonuses is not true.”
Indeed, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite corroborated the foregoing narrative in a statement before the players left their hotel in Fez. She confirmed that “all administrative hurdles and foreign exchange bottlenecks had been resolved with the Central Bank of Nigeria, and that the final transfers to the players’ domiciliary accounts were in progress and expected to reflect today or tomorrow (that is Thursday or Friday).” The Minister emphasized that the players’ welfare remains a top priority of government in order to support their focus on winning the AFCON trophy.
End of discussion!
Eagles Nest In Marrakech
THE Nigerian team are staying at the Savoy Le Grand Hotel on Prince Moulay Rachid Avenue in Central Marrakech, near the legendary Djemaa El-Fnaa square. The square is one of the main cultural spaces and symbol of the Marrakech city since its foundation in the eleventh century, precisely 1070 AD, by Abu Bakr Ibn Umar. Marrakech is the fourth largest city in Morocco and also has its own sprawling medieval medina, just like Fez.
On average, one night’s stay at the Eagles’ 5-star Savoy Le Grand Hotel will set you back by between $333 and $144 US Dollars, depending on the season. The hotel is in the same upscale Hivernage district as Cristiano Ronaldo’s hotel, the Pestana CR7 Marrakech (There’s another Pestana CR7 Gran Via Hotel in Madrid owned by Ronaldo that I visited in 2020). Sports, media and entertainment celebrities such as David Beckham, Oprah Winfrey and the Kardashians are on record as having visited and stayed in various hotels in Marrakech for tourism and leisure, but the Super Eagles are here for business.
Training Plans And Pre-Match Media Schedule
Soon after their arrival on Thursday, Coach Eric Chelle was scheduled to take the players out for their first training session at 6.00pm at the Grande Stade Annex 2. But when the team’s media officer, Promise Efoghe, informed the Nigerian press corps that “interactions with the players earlier scheduled had been called off in the wake of recent developments including late time of arrival in Marrakech,” I decided also to skip the training session. I was tired from my long travel anyway.
Instead, I decided to settle for the mandatory pre-match conference on Friday at the Grand Stade de Marrakech, venue of the AFCON matches where the Nigerian and Algerian coaches plus one player from each team would be responding to questions from journalists. Coach Eric Chelle and winger Moses Simon have been shortlisted to speak for the Super Eagles while Algeria’s Bosnian coach, Vladimir Petkovic, will attend with one of his players. I am hoping that the presser would not be dominated by questions on a better-forgotten bonus protest by the Eagles, and we can get back to talking about the football. But then, journalists would not be journalists, would we?!
Home Advantage
THE Super Eagles have had their ‘home advantage’ of playing all their AFCON matches so far in Fez cut short by being dragged to Marrakech for the quarterfinal against Algeria who will also play outside of Rabat for the first time. But Morocco (in Rabat), Egypt (in Agadir) and Senegal (in Tanger) will continue to enjoy this advantage even in the quarterfinals. And if they continue winning, Morocco actually will enjoy it all the way to the final, while Senegal will benefit from it up till the semifinals.
Former Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr who took Benin Republic to AFCON 2025 reportedly pointed to this ‘unfair advantage’ by some teams who enjoyed the luxury of staying put in one place, while others were being moved from one center to another. Rohr, who also criticized the quality of refereeing and VAR at the competition after his team was eliminated, demanded that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) should scrutinize its match scheduling in future to ensure fairness and equal treatment for all the teams.
Meanwhile, the first set of quarterfinals actually get under way on Friday with Senegal taking on Mail in Tanger at 5.00pm, and hosts Morocco facing Cameroun in Rabat at 8.00pm local time, same time as Nigeria. I have already previewed these games in a previous diary post and I’m sticking to my Mr.ChefNigeria prediction that Senegal and Morocco will triumph.
Algeria Edges Head-To-Head With Nigeria, Just!
Historically, the two national teams have faced off 22 times. Algeria have claimed 10 wins, Nigeria have 9 victories and 3 matches have ended in a draw.
Below is the full head-to-head record…..
• 10/01/1973: Nigeria 2–2 Algeria – African Games
• 28/07/1978: Algeria 1–0 Nigeria – African Games
• 22/03/1980: Nigeria 3–0 Algeria – Africa Cup of Nations
• 10/10/1981: Nigeria 0–2 Algeria – World Cup Qualifiers
• 30/10/1981: Algeria 2–1 Nigeria – World Cup Qualifiers
• 10/03/1982: Nigeria 1–2 Algeria – Africa Cup of Nations
• 11/03/1984: Nigeria 0–0 Algeria – Africa Cup of Nations
• 23/03/1988: Nigeria 1–1 Algeria – Africa Cup of Nations
• 02/03/1990: Algeria 5–1 Nigeria – Africa Cup of Nations
• 16/03/1990: Algeria 1–0 Nigeria – Africa Cup of Nations
• 03/07/1993: Nigeria 4–1 Algeria – World Cup Qualifiers
• 08/10/1993: Algeria 1–1 Nigeria – World Cup Qualifiers
• 14/09/1995: Nigeria 2–0 Algeria – African Games
• 21/01/2002: Algeria 0–1 Nigeria – Africa Cup of Nations
• 03/07/2004: Nigeria 1–0 Algeria – World Cup Qualifiers
• 04/09/2005: Algeria 2–5 Nigeria – World Cup Qualifiers
• 30/01/2010: Nigeria 1–0 Algeria – Africa Cup of Nations
• 12/11/2016: Nigeria 3–1 Algeria – World Cup Qualifiers
• 10/11/2017: Algeria 1–1 Nigeria – World Cup Qualifiers
• 14/07/2019: Algeria 2–1 Nigeria – Africa Cup of Nations
• 09/10/2020: Nigeria 0–1 Algeria – Friendly match
• 27/09/2022: Algeria 2–1 Nigeria – Friendly match
Summary: 22 matches, Algeria 10 wins, Nigeria 9 wins, 3 draws.
SOURCE: https://onefootball.com/en/news/afcon-2025-history-of-encounters-between-algeria-and-nigeria-42191620
Join Me On Social Media…..
Aside from my Daily Dairy, I have been uploading some videos on social media since the start of the AFCON 2025. Please subscribe and watch on the following channels and/or handles……
• YouTube: @mrchefnigeria6045; @OfficialMuminiAlao
• Instagram: @mrchefnigeria; @muminialao2002
• TikTok: Mrchefnigeria; @official.mumini.alao
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By Mumini Alao, in Marrakech
Photos by Ganiyu Yusuf
1 Comment
Super Eagles need full concentration. Given the previous heads out, Algeria aren’t a push over side. Wishing them (Eagles) and Nigeria a resounding success in the final-final like cracker.