Nigeria’s Super Eagles are set to play their March international fixtures in Europe rather than the Middle East, with a source saying that the tournament originally planned for Amman, Jordan has been thrown into serious doubt following the outbreak of war between the United States, Israel and Iran last weekend, Footynaija.com reports.
The tournament, organised to give Eric Chelle valuable preparation time ahead of the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign, was scheduled to take place in Amman between March 27 and March 31.
Nigeria were set to open against Iran at the 17,000-capacity Amman International Stadium before facing Jordan four days later. Costa Rica were the fourth team.
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That plan is now in pieces, with Iran’s participation practically impossible given the ongoing military conflict, and Jordan’s own airspace having been closed during the worst of the retaliatory strikes last week.
Relocation or a single game
A recent report has said that the tournament will be relocated, possibly to Europe, and that Iran will no longer participate. In the event that a full tournament cannot be arranged, organisers are working on a single game between Nigeria and Jordan, also in Europe.
“We are monitoring the situation for now. We still have three weeks,” NFF President Ibrahim Gusau reportedly clarified, when asked about the situation.
Three weeks is not a lot of time to find a new host country, confirm venues, arrange travel and notify the clubs who employ Nigeria’s players.
The March window was already carrying extra weight for the NFF. Nigeria’s unresolved DR Congo eligibility protest means the Super Eagles’ own path to the 2026 World Cup remains unclear, and the concern inside the NFF is that while FIFA manages the geopolitical fallout from Iran’s potential World Cup withdrawal, Nigeria’s eligibility case risks being deprioritised at the worst possible time.
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