The first leg of the final playoff round for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations double-legged fixture between Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles and their Guinean counterparts has been moved to the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja from its initial venue in Ibadan, Oyo state.

Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan, which had last year hosted the second leg of Nigeria’s qualifying match against Tanzania as Olympic Eagles won 2-0 and advanced to the playoff 3-1 on aggregate, was already billed to host the first leg game against Guinea on Wednesday, 22nd March.

However, multiple local reports have confirmed that the crucial fixture will now be played at the National Stadium in the country’s capital city on the same date before the team travels to Morocco for the second leg five days later.

The winner of the doubleheader will advance to the finals of the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations scheduled to be hosted by Morocco sometime in June this year, a tournament that will produce Africa’s representatives in the men’s Olympic football tournament event in 2024 in Paris, France.

The top three teams of the tournament at the U-23 AFCON will automatically qualify for the Olympic Games while the fourth-placed team will go into the intercontinental playoffs to decide the final slot.

Nigeria has a rich history in the men’s football event at the Olympics. At the Atlanta 1996 Olympics in the United States, the Olympic Eagles shocked the world when they won gold in the men’s football event, beating the likes of Argentina and Brazil to become the first African nation to achieve the feat.

They also won Silver and Bronze at the Olympic men’s football event during the 2008 and 2016 editions in Beijing, China and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, respectively.