The president of the Confederation of African Football Federations, CAF, Patrice Motsepe, has stated that Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, will be attending the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final.
Nigeria and hosts Cote d’Ivoire will clash in the final of the competition at the Alassanne Ouattara Stadium, Ebimpe, Abidjan, on Sunday.
During his press conference on Friday at the Palace de la Culture in Trechville, Abidjan, Motsepe was asked when Africa could host the World Cup again.
The South African business mogul replied: “Nigeria must put in a bid. The Nigerian president (Bola Tinubu) is coming to watch the final on Sunday. I will have a conversation with him about it.”
Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima was in attendance when the Super Eagles defeated South Africa 4-2 on penalties in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
The encounter will kick off at 9 pm Nigerian time.
SaharaReporters had on February 2 reported that Tinubu from his “resting place” in France put across a video call to the Super Eagles ahead of their match against Angola.
The video of the moment was shared by the president’s son, Seyi Tinubu, who noted that the president called to motivate the team ahead of their quarter-final encounter in the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023.
The video was shared by the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu on his Instagram stories and captioned, “Mr President #officialasiwajubat encouraging the team ahead of the AFCON quarter-final match with Angola.”
In the video, Tinubu was seen having a video call with the Super Eagles players in Cote d’Ivoire ahead of their clash with the Palancas Negras of Angola on Friday.
SaharaReporters had on January 25 reported that Tinubu also urged the Super Eagles to improve their performance and do better in the final stages of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, saying he was not impressed with the group matches.
Tinubu’s message had been delivered through the Minister of Sports, John Enoh, who spoke to the players from Abuja via Zoom in Abidjan.
According to Enoh, the President said he was not too impressed with the showing of the team during the group stage.