Nigeria plays against Cameroon in the AFCON round of 16 today in Cairo today and for some reason, I’m pretty excited about this match. I can’t say that I’m much of a football lover but when you combine it with travel, I could easily become a convert! My excitement about today’s match comes from seeing a few people I know and members of the Nigerian Fan Club travelling to Cairo yesterday. Don’t ask me why the fan club is just leaving. I don’t know but I hope they give the team the needed morale to win!
Seeing them leave brought back memories of Mark and I cheering on the Nigerian team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. We were in Sharm el Sheikh for a weekend while the Super Eagles battled Argentina in Russia.
Sadly, the Super Eagles didn’t win that match but I’d tell you first hand, it was easy to get over that heartbreak. We were in Sharm el Sheikh!
Before I get carried away, I realize not everyone might be familiar with the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and what it is all about. Essentially, it’s a biennial football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). This is the 32nd edition and Nigeria is a three-time winner, behind Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana who have won the ACN title 7, 5 and 4 times respectively. Egypt is currently hosting this year’s matches although, it was originally supposed to Cameroon hosting.
With all the excitement and buzz about the matches, I thought I’d recap some of the activities I got up to while in Egypt. Just in case you’re travelling for the tournament and looking for suggestions on what to see and do while you’re there.
Visiting Egypt for AFCON 2019? Check out These Places…
I spent about three months in total in Egypt. The bulk of that time was spent at work though but I did manage to see a few sites in Cairo, Sharm el Sheikh, Luxor, Abu Simbel and Aswan. Embedded in the links are details to help you plan your trip. You can always leave me questions in the comment box below if you need more information.
Circling back to football, I also followed the highlights of the AFCON round of 16 – Morocco vs Benin match yesterday. These countries hold a special place in my heart, I thought I’d do a trip recap as well. Just in case you missed the match, here’s a recap;
And in case you are not interested in watching that, here are some highlights of my visits to both countries. This one should interest you! 🙂
I’ve visited Benin four times now and I’ll probably be going back sometime this year. My travel there had me in Cotonou, Fidjrosse, Ganvie, Ouidah, Grand Popo and Pendjari. I shared my time there with my sister, Karen and Mark.
And Morocco, Magical Morocco and the trip of trips! Mark and I spent about 16 days in this lovely country and we can hardly wait to visit again. I have a four-part series of our time there. You can follow the story through these links – The Beginning, Marrakech, Sand & Snow!, Here’s Looking at You, Kid!
Now that we’re done with the recap, let’s a play a little game. I call it-
Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualified Teams or How Well do you Know African Countries?
Can you name all 24 African countries just by look at their flags? Have you visited any of them? (Yes, Nigeria counts! :)) Let me know in the comment section below!
If you’re looking to watch the match, Nigeria plays against Cameroon at 5 pm today. Good luck team Nigeria! We’re rooting for you!
I’ve visited Benin, Ghana and Nigeria!!! I couldn’t name all the countries by their flags but because I’m a football lover, I probably know the countries that qualified
Okay, I’ll allow that! 🙂