The Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC) has hinted at plans to embark on seven days of fasting and prayers ahead of the Super Eagles 2022 Fifa World Cup playoff games against the Black Stars of Ghana.
The Super Eagles will be hosted in the first tie at the Cape Coast Stadium on March 25 before welcoming the Black Stars to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja for the return fixture.
Ahead of the much-anticipated game, the Chairman of Nigeria’s national supporters’ club, Samuel Ikpea, called on all Nigerians to take part in the fasting and prayer.
“Furthermore, we charge Nigerians to join members of the NFSC for a 7day fasting and prayer session, starting from Thursday 17th to Wednesday 23rd of March 2022 ahead of the match,” he said, as quoted by Blueprint.ng.
“We are all aware of how important the World Cup Qualifiers mean to both countries, and Africa Football as a whole, we, therefore, use this medium to call for calmness among Fans before and after the matches.”
He continued: “As the ultimate face and father of Nigeria’s football supporter ship, the NFSC want the corporate world, sports philanthropists and other genuine stakeholders to rally around the Super Eagles through ensuring massive support.
“The Supporters Club needs adequate moral and financial support to enable thousands of our members to be at the Cape Coast Stadium on March, 25. There is a need for adequate travel arrangements from those who truly love Nigerian football. We have the pedigree to make Super Eagles feel at home before, during and after the match in Cape Coast.”
Ikpea also noted that, in an effort to promote sportsmanship, a friendly game between Nigerian supporters and their Ghanaian counterparts will be played in Accra on March 22, 2022.
The winner of the tie will book a slot in the 2022 World Cup scheduled to be hosted in Qatar later this year.
Nigeria has played against Ghana more than any other country in the world in football, with a total of 57 senior matches between both countries in 71 years.
Ghana has won 19 of those clashes with Nigeria winning 16, with 19 of the games ending in a draw.
The two teams most recent encounter ended in a 0-0 in Accra with the Eagles winning 3-0 in Port Harcourt to qualify for the 2002 finals in Korea/Japan.
Ghana and Nigeria have clashed in qualifying campaigns for the 1962, 1970, 1974, and 2002 World Cup finals.