2019 WAFU Cup of Nations: Nigeria Draw Togo in New Tournament Format

Super Eagles of Nigeria will open their 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations campaign when they face Togo in Senegal this September.

Following Wednesday’s draw at the Radisson Blu Sea Plaza Hotel in Dakar, the tournament will run from September 28 till October 13 with all matches played at the Stade Lat Dior in the beautiful city of Thies.

This year’s tournament will have no groups as part of the new format introduced into the regional tournament, instead, it will be separated into a Cup and Plate competition, with each participating team playing a minimum of two matches. Two matches will be played each day, while a rest day will be observed on October 2.

Nigeria lost 4-1 to Ghana in the final of the 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.

The draw on Wednesday decided the first eight fixtures for the first phase of knockout matches with the winners of those matches progressing into the Cup phase of the competition while the losers will go into the Plate phase.

The opening fixture of the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations sees hosts Senegal take on Guinea Bissau on September 28, followed by the defending 2017 winners Ghana taking on The Gambia on the same day.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will take on Togo on September 29, followed by Morocco against Liberia.

The Following day, September 30, Mali will battle next door neighbours Niger while the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire will face the minnows of Cape Verde.

The final first-round knockout matches take place on October 1 with Burkina Faso squaring up against Mauritania while Guinea will take on Benin.

The quarter-finals of the Cup and Plate competition is scheduled to take place from October 3-6 with the semi-finals played on October 8 and 9.

The Plate final holds on 12 October while the Cup final will conclude the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations on October 13.