Guinea-Bissau deny reports of 24 September Stadium closure after Nigeria win

Guinea-Bissau’s football federation has rejected reports that the 24 September National Stadium has been closed and that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has apologised to the Nigeria Football Federation.

In an official statement, the federation said no decision, notification, report or letter concerning the stadium had been received from CAF. It also said it had no knowledge of any apology issued by CAF to another football association.

The claims originated from a Nigerian sports account on social media before being republished by some local media outlets. The federation stressed that the report had not been issued by any official CAF channel and was not supported by a document, statement or identifiable institutional source.

Guinea-Bissau defeated Nigeria 3-0 in the second round of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying. One social media account claimed CAF had closed the stadium because it failed to meet the required standards and had apologised to the Nigeria Football Federation.

The Guinea-Bissau federation said any decision to approve or close a football stadium must follow the applicable regulations. Those procedures include a technical inspection by the relevant authorities, the preparation of a report, notification of the federation concerned and the opportunity to respond.

It said none of those steps had taken place.

The federation added that 24 September Stadium had undergone an inspection and been approved by CAF to host matches at the 2027 African Nations Championship. The Guinea-Bissau-Nigeria match was also played with the approval of the CAF-appointed match commissioner and refereeing team, with no contrary decision issued.

It further said Nigeria’s head coach and players had publicly acknowledged Guinea-Bissau’s superiority and accepted responsibility for the defeat.

“Any subsequent narrative cannot change what happened on the pitch,” the statement said.

The federation expressed regret at what it described as attempts to diminish the value of Guinea-Bissau’s legitimate victory through the circulation of unverified information. It called on local media to confirm reports through official sources before publishing claims of such importance.

Guinea-Bissau also said it maintained a regular institutional relationship with CAF and remained in continuous contact with its officials. Should it receive any formal correspondence about the matter, it said it would exercise its rights under the regulations and make the details public immediately.

The statement concluded that the reports “are not based on any official grounds at this stage”. It also said Guinea-Bissau were deservedly leading Group 17, ending with the message: “United, we head towards the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.”