The home-based Super Eagles will now face Equatorial Guinea in Group D of the 2024 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) instead of Congo.
Nigeria had been grouped alongside Congo, Senegal and Sudan for the Championship billed to hold coming August.
Bit it is no longer so as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has disqualified Congo Brazzaville for fielding an ineligible player during the qualifiers.
Congo’s disqualification was confirmed after CAF Disciplinary Board released a verdict on Thursday.
The decision follows a formal complaint lodged by the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation (FEGUIFUT) and a subsequent investigation by the disciplinary board.
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CAF said in a statement: “The CAF Disciplinary Board has released a verdict on the matters involving the Federación Ecuatoguineana de Fútbol (“FEGUIFUT”) and the Fédération Congolaise de Football (“FECOFOOT”) following the complaint filed by Equatorial Guinea on their TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024 Qualifier home and away matches.
“The matches were played as follows on 21 December (match no 1: Equatorial Guinea vs Congo) and 29 December (match no 2: Congo vs Equatorial Guinea).
“The CAF Disciplinary Board found the Fédération Congolaise de Football (FECOFOOT) guilty of fielding an ineligible player (Mr Mankou Nguembete Japhet Eloi) in both matches.
“The CAF Disciplinary Board has made the following decisions:
“Matches No. 1 Equatorial Guinea vs Congo and No. 2 Congo vs Equatorial Guinea of the 2024 African Nations Championship qualifiers were declared forfeited by Congo (with a score of 3-0).
“The Congo Football Federation was also fined USD 10,000.”
Congo had initially secured qualification for CHAN after a two-legged tie with Equatorial Guinea.
The first leg, played on December 21, 2024, ended in a goalless draw, while Congo secured a 2-1 win in the second leg on December 29.
Equatorial Guinea will now face Nigeria, Sudan and defending champions Senegal in Group D.