Super Eagles stay in Uyo for Tanzania as Teslim Balogun is not ready yet

The Super Eagles are staying in Uyo. Soccernet NG, citing a report by Football In Nigeria, says a senior NFF official confirmed that Lagos is under consideration but that Uyo remains the home venue for now. That covers the home leg of the November double-header against Tanzania.

Earlier this month we asked you whether the game should move to Lagos. The vote is still open, but the decision, for this window at least, has been made for practical reasons.

Why not Lagos?

The renovated Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere is not ready to host an international match yet. According to the report, NFF inspectors will visit once the Lagos State Government finishes the renovation. The federation is also considering using the stadium for friendlies first.

That fits with what Soccernet NG reported on 12 October: any venue for a qualifier needs CAF approval, and a stadium that is still being worked on cannot get through that process in a few weeks.

What is still unconfirmed

The dates. Soccernet NG says the exact dates and venues of the Tanzania games were still unconfirmed by CAF when it published on 22 October, and published fixture listings still disagree. Our Tanzania explainer has the latest, and we will update both pages when the NFF or CAF announces them.

For the team, Uyo is familiar ground. The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium has hosted every Super Eagles home game since 2022, and Nigeria beat Madagascar 2-1 there in September.

Why the venue matters so much this time

Nigeria are second in Group L on three points, three behind Guinea-Bissau, and only one team besides co-hosts Tanzania will qualify. That makes the home game the one Nigeria simply cannot drop points in. Familiar surroundings, a pitch the players know and a routine that works are worth something in a game like that, even if a big Lagos crowd would have been worth something too.

If Teslim Balogun passes inspection after the renovation, a friendly in Lagos looks the likely first step. That would give the NFF and CAF a test run before any competitive game moves there.