Nigeria forward Samuel Chukwueze is not holding back in defending the Africa Cup of Nations, insisting the tournament deserves the same respect as Europe’s biggest international competitions.
The 2025 AFCON in Morocco is already in full swing, but criticism over its timing continues to swirl, especially from European clubs frustrated at losing key players for weeks. Chukwueze, however, rejects the complaints.
“Everybody wants to play in AFCON. It’s one of the best competitions in the world,” he said in an interview with On Sports TV, as reported by Flashscore.
Acknowledging the scheduling challenges, the Fulham winger stressed that representing one’s country is non-negotiable.
“You have to respect the AFCON the same way you respect the European Championship or World Cup,” Chukwueze added. “We understand they scheduled it at the wrong time of the year, but when it’s important, if you get recalled you have to go. You don’t have any choice, your club can’t stop you and no one should say anything bad about the AFCON. Yes, they put it at the wrong time, but saying it’s not a good competition or a great competition is unacceptable.”
Chukwueze and the Super Eagles kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 win over Tanzania and will face Tunisia in their next group stage clash, aiming to keep their AFCON dreams alive.
