Accra (Ghana), March 3 (IANS) The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is searching for teams to replace Nigeria for the proposed friendly on March 29 after FIFA cancelled the much-anticipated match last week.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had earlier announced that they would play Bolivia on March 26 in Uyo and then take on the ‘Black Stars’ on March 29 in London, reports Xinhua.
However, world football governing body FIFA last Friday ruled against the match citing a breach of regulation that bars teams from playing in two different continents in a travel time of more than five hours and five days.
The regulation has affected the high profile game which would have formed part of Ghana’s preparation for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, scheduled to start in June.
GFA spokesman Ibrahim Saanie Daara confirmed that they are working hard to arrange two friendlies against yet-to-be-named opponents on FIFA free-dates for Africa.
“We want to play two matches because the FIFA free window for Africa for this month allows for two matches to be played,” Daara said.
Ghana wants to play African opponents to strengthen their side before the start of the qualifiers and a decision will be made by the end of this week. The Black Stars finished second at the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.