Former Super Eagles captain Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha has been invited to today’s 45th Ordinary General Assembly and the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw by Africa’s apex football body, CAF.
Recall on June 2, FIFA released the pots for the African qualifying draw for the 2026 Mundial, which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Okocha, and some African football legends will be in attendance, as the Ivorian capital of Abidjan host two major events on the continent’s football calendar.
Among those invited are various African champions as well as some well-known World Cup players.
From Senegal’s Elhadji Diouf to Cote d’Ivoire’s revered Didier Drogba, alongside notable personalities like Togo’s Emmanuel Adebayor, the cream of African football’s elite will be present.
Other esteemed guests are Jay Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Alexandre Song (Cameroon), Wael Gomaa (Egypt), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Khalilou Fadiga (Senegal), Geremi Njitap (Cameroon), Houssine Kharja (Morocco), and Youri Djorkaeff (France).
Prominent Ivorian legends like Didier Zokora, Siaka Tiene, Aruna Dindane, Cyril Domoraud, Alain Gouamene, Abdoulaye Traore, Emmanuel Eboue, Ahmed Ouattara, Bonaventure Kalou, and many others will also be present.
Meanwhile, for the Draw, the Member Associations of CAF will be divided into nine (9) Groups. Winners of each Group will automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The four best runners-up (from the Groups) will play in a CAF Play-Off tournament. The winner of the CAF Play-Off Tournament will play in the FIFA Play-off Tournament. The Super Eagles will play as many as 10 matches home and away to secure a place at the first FIFA World Cup that will be co-hosted by three countries.
Nigeria has been placed in Pot 1 alongside Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt and Ivory Coast and could potentially come up against archrival Ghana Black Stars who are in Pot 2.
Ghana eliminated Nigeria in the final round of the 2022 qualification after playing out a 1-1 draw in Abuja, to qualify on goal aggregate.