6th African Youth Championships: Ghana, Nigeria Clash Again

Only a week after the big clash in Accra, Nigeria and Ghana square up again the sixth African Youth Championship rolls on in the Ethiopia capital, Addis Ababa tomorrow.

The Nigerian Flying Eagles and the Black Satellites are favorites to proceed from group B into the semi finals of the competition which will determine the African flag bearers for this year's World Youth Championship, billed for June 17 - July 7 in Argentina.

The match between the two West African giants and the continent's leaders in youth football is the competition's showpiece fixture, and a re-match of their 1999 final which the Ghanaians won controversially in Accra.

Nigeria, Ghana, Mali and Angola are in group B, while host Ethiopia, Cameroon, South Africa and Egypt will fight it out in group A.

As for that group, the game between Cameroon and Egypt, both former champions, will be the game to anticipate the most.

The African Youth Championship became a championship-format finals 10 years ago, with host Ethiopia beating Cote d'Ivoire in a controversial final match in Cairo to emerge first winners of the trophy.

However, the event had began as a home-and-away affair in 1979, with the two countries which qualify to represent Africa at the World Youth Championship fighting it out. Guinea won that year, while Cameroon won in 1981 and Nigeria kept the marble between 1983-1989.

Ghana won in 1993 in Mauritius, Cameroon in 1995 in Nigeria and host Morocco were champions in 1997.

Nigeria's Flying Eagles, being led to this year's competition by a former Flying Eagle and national team captain Stephen Keshi, remain Africa's best performers at the world stage, winning Silver in 1989 in Saudi Arabia and the bronze four years earlier in USSR.

Ghana also won silver in 1993 in Australia and came fourth in Malaysia four years ago.

European scouts will descend on the Ethiopian capital to watch the best of African youth football and pluck promising players from the tournament, to be entirely staged at the National Stadium, Addis Ababa. The French government provided $23,000 to the Ethiopia authorities to renovate the arena ahead of the championship.

Another game to watch in the clash between Mali and Nigeria (March 19), as the Flying Eagles attempt to avenge on Mali for eliminating the hosts in the quarter finals of the 10th World Youth Championship two years ago.