The highly anticipated international friendly between Ghana and Nigeria scheduled to take place in London this month has been called off.
World football governing body FIFA has cancelled the proposed duel as it contravenes a regulation which states that no country should play two games across two continents in three days; the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had earlier announced that the Super Eagles would play Bolivia on March 26 in Uyo, and then take on the Black Stars on 29 March in London.
This means that the Ghana Football Association can now consider proposals from other nations who are interested in playing the beaten Africa Cup of Nations finalists. Ghana have the option to play both matches during the upcoming FIFA international break in Europe or Asia.
Nigeria, who failed to even qualify for the recently concluded Nations Cup finals in Equatorial Guinea, were keen to restore lost pride by proving themselves against their fellow West African heavyweights. The cancelled fixture would also have served to kick-start their preparations for the 2017 Nations Cup qualifiers.
