FORMER Super Eagles captain and head coach Sunday Oliseh has emphasised the importance of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The tournament has been in the spotlight across the sporting world in recent weeks, with European clubs and their media calling for its cancellation because of its timing in the middle of the football season and the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
However, the Confederation of African Football stood its ground and insisted that the 2021 edition, which has already been postponed by a year due to the coronavirus, will go ahead in Cameroon from 9 January to 6 February, 2022.
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira, who is of Senegalese stock despite playing for France in his active days, berated those calling for the cancellation of AFCON and equated the tournament to the European Championship, which was held in June in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In support of Vieira’s statement, former Juventus, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Oliseh has insisted on AFCON’s importance, calling it ‘Africa’s own World Cup’.
“It is high time “SOME” people realize that Africans have equal rights to existence and total enjoyment like every other race on earth,” Oliseh, who won the tournament with Nigeria in 1994, tweeted.
“AFCON is Africa’s own World Cup to the people and players, don’t spoil it for us…”
The tournament will be held in five cities in Cameroon, with 24 teams in attendance, including the Super Eagles.
Nigeria are in Group D along with Egypt, Guinea Bissau and Sudan.
