{
  "id": 9468544,
  "title": "Avoid Shaky Start, Presidential Aide, Adeboye, Charges Eagles",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/avoid-shaky-start-presidential-aide-adeboye-charges-eagles",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-24T02:28:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/09/24/avoid-shaky-start-presidential-aide-adeboye-charges-eagles/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Prince Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, has urged the Super Eagles to avoid a shaky start in their upcoming 2027 AFCON qualifiers. The Eagles will face Madagascar in a Group L qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Friday, followed by a match against Guinea-Bissau in Bissau a few days later. In his advice, Adeboye reminded the team to approach the games with patriotism and avoid complacency, as they aim to prevent a repeat of the mistakes that prevented Nigeria from qualifying for the last World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He emphasized that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has invested in the welfare of sportsmen and women, and the Super Eagles should reciprocate by giving their best to secure a spot in the upcoming AFCON tournament co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Despite Madagascar's recent improvement and their impressive quarter-final run in the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, where they defeated Nigeria 2-0, Adeboye cautioned the Super Eagles to not underestimate their opponents. He also noted that although the team coaching the visitors, Corentin Martins, was not ranked highly by FIFA, the team would be determined to avoid the same outcome as the previous edition in Morocco.",
  "summary": "The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Prince Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, has charged the Super Eagles to avoid shaky start in their 2027 AFCON qualifiers. The",
  "key_points": [
    "Senior Special Adviser Adeboye advises Super Eagles to avoid shaky start in 2027 AFCON qualifiers.",
    "Eagles face Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau in Group L qualifiers at Godswill Akpabio Stadium.",
    "President Tinubu invested in sportsmen welfare; Eagles must reciprocate with best effort."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The presidential aide's urging for a strong start in the AFCON qualifiers signals heightened expectations on the Super Eagles to deliver, driven by the president's reported investment in athletes' welfare.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}