No friendlies for Eagles before Liberia tie, says NFF .

THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has finally revealed that the Super Eagles would no longer play any friendly match prior to their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia.

The NFF had last month decided that the team would play at least two friendly games, using home-based players, prior to the matches against Liberia. This was even after FIFA had shifted the free window from August to September.

And the federation’s Secretary General, Musa Amadu, on Tuesday told journalists in Abuja that body was intensifying efforts to organise tune-up matches for the Eagles. Several countries, including Gabon, Ethiopia, Sudan and lately, Uganda, were also being lined up as possible opponents for the friendly to prepare Nigeria for the Liberia clash, according to MTNFootball.com.

Super Eagles’ coach, Stephen Keshi, had hoped to play a top-grade friendly against a West African team during the FIFA free window on August 15, before FIFA changed the friendly window.

An NFF official said the current development “is a problem because it now means that there will not be a friendly for the Eagles before the matches against Liberia.” This comes on the heels of the recent cancellation by Arsenal of a proposed match against a Nigerian selection on August 5 in Abuja.

Liberia hosts Nigeria on September 8 in the first leg of the final qualifier for the 2013 Nations Cup, while the return leg will be played in Calabar on October 14.

Keshi recently submitted a 50-player list for the game to the NFF, the squad dominated by the home-based stars he has been working with since he became the national team’s boss.