Our aim is to win the CHAN tournament – Amapakabo

Assistant head coach of Nigeria’s home-based Super Eagles Imama Amapakabo says the team will be heading to Morocco early next year with the aim of winning the 2018 African Nations Championships (CHAN) for the first time ever.

The Eagles, whose best achievement at the CHAN is a third place finish in 2014, have been drawn to face Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea and former champions, Libya in Group C of the competition which runs from 13 January to 4 February, 2018 in four Moroccan cities; Casablanca, Tangier, Agadir and Marrakech.

Amapakabo, who doubles as Technical Adviser of NPFL side El Kanemi Warriors, stated that the Salisu Yusuf-tutored side won’t be going to Morocco to make up the numbers while speaking to busybuddiesng.com

“We are not going to say here that we just want to make up the numbers (in Morocco),” the former Rangers coach said.
“We are a team like any other team and we want to also win.
“Let’s not forget that Nigeria; as a nation, we have not won this competition. In 2014 we came up in third place.
“We actually want to win; we want to do very well in this competition. We want to leave our footprints in the sands of time. So we want to do well, even when we talk to the players everyday, we tell them we want to win,” he stated.
The Eagles, who crashed out of the first round at the last edition in Rwanda in 2016, will open their campaign in Tangier against the Amavubi of Rwanda on 15 January before facing Libya and Equatorial Guinea in subsequent group games.

The tournament is exclusive to players plying their trade in their respective domestic leagues.