The Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire to Nigeria, Kalilou Traore, says Nigeria versus Côte d’Ivoire meeting in the AFCON 2023 final on Sunday will be a blessing for the two countries.
Traore, who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said that hosting the AFCON tournament brought good ambiance to the country.
The envoy had while unveiling the ‘AFCON Village’, set up to enable football enthusiasts watch live-matches of the competition, prayed that both countries succeed in the tournament.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Africa Cup of Nations commonly referred to as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, or simply AFCON or CAN, is the the most prestigious men’s football competition in Africa.
AFCON, contested by national teams, is organised by the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) and was first held in February 1957 in Khartoum, Sudan.
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast ) is hosting the 2023 AFCON, holding in 2024, where the final sees the host Côte d’Ivoire taking on Nigeria in Abidjan on Sunday.
The tournament kicked off in Côte d’Ivoire on Jan. 13, to end on Feb. 11, with 24 countries seeking for the continent’s most coveted football trophy
According to Traore, the 2024 AFCON is one of the best organised tournaments and it is a testament to the remarkable example of African solidarity and unity.
“We will be facing Nigeria; we as the Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire in Nigeria, we are happy. It is a blessing for us.
“We are the two finalists and it gives us also lots of opportunities to make closer these two countries.
“No matter who will win the finals, the embassy will win for that because it is occasion for us to develop fraternity, friendship and business between our two countries.
“We, Côte d’Ivoire, have already won one of our major goals of the AFCON, which is to have a good organisation.
“If we can win the tournament Cup in addition, it will be fun for us. But in a game, one will win and the other will lose.”
He decried the practice by sports enthusiasts, whereby they take sides wishing their preferred team wins competition as “do or die affair”, to be wrong and advised people to always be ready for either a win or a loss.
He observed that the 2024 AFCON pulled surprises, saying “you cannot predict anything, you can just pray and then, God will answer you in a way or the other”.