Nigeria’s senior national team, the Nigeria national football team, will now participate in the upcoming international friendlies during the next FIFA International match window after organisers confirmed a change of venue for the proposed four-nation tournament.
Organisers initially scheduled the competition, dubbed the “Amman Mini-Series,” to take place in Amman, the capital of Jordan. However, rising tensions in the Middle East forced organisers to reconsider the original arrangement.
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Reports earlier suggested the tournament might either be cancelled entirely or go ahead without Iran national football team, but organisers have now secured a new host city. The organisers will stage the tournament in Antalya, Turkey, instead, and four nations still are expected to compete.
Matches will now be played at Antalya Stadium, the 32,537-capacity home ground of Antalyaspor. The venue will host Nigeria national football team, Jordan national football team, Costa Rica national football team, and Iran national football team in the friendly series.
A top official of the Nigeria Football Federation confirmed to Footy-Africa that the change of venue means Nigeria will now take part in the tournament after initially withdrawing because of security concerns.
“There has been a lot of speculation as to if the tournament will hold or not and from our end, since the crisis in the Middle East started, we elected not to participate,” the official said.
“However, there has been a change of venue, which is okay with us. The tournament will now be held in Turkey which is quite safe for the players. We have the assurances of the organisers, and we have started communicating with the players too.”
The NFF official also revealed that the games will provide an opportunity for the team to regroup following their last major outing at the Africa Cup of Nations.
“It will be a good time to see our boys again in action since the AFCON, but yes, I can confirm to you that we will now play in Turkey and every other arrangement remains the same except the venue. Very soon, the coach will release a list of players for the tournament, as we hope to also see some new boys brought into the team,” he added.
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According to the latest information from the organisers, the Nigeria national football team will face Iran national football team in their opening match of the series on March 27, before taking on Jordan national football team four days later in their second fixture of the tournament.
