Lagos is set for a nostalgic football spectacle as some of Africa’s biggest football icons prepare to storm Nigeria for the Legends Football Game on Sunday, November 8, at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, where they will face Super Eagles legends from the country’s iconic 1994 and 1996 squads.
Headlining the African Legends squad are former African Footballer of the Year Emmanuel Adebayor, Senegal’s El-Hadji Diouf, Ivorian legend Didier Zokora and Ghana ex-captain Stephen Appiah, whose illustrious careers left an enduring mark on the global game. The star-studded African contingent is expected to feature alongside other celebrated names, including Ghana’s John Paintsil and Anthony Baffoe, Senegal’s Khalilou Fadiga, Burkina Faso’s Aristide Bancé, Cameroon’s Rigobert Song and Alexandre Song, Zimbabwe’s Peter Ndlovu and Benjani Mwaruwari, as well as South Africa’s Brian Baloyi.
The Legends Football Game, presented by Toptier Sports Management in partnership with Afreximbank and CANEX, celebrates the 30th anniversary of the legendary mid-1990s Super Eagles squad, commemorating their historic 1994 Africa Cup of Nations triumph, 1994 FIFA World Cup run, and defining 1996 Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. The event forms part of CANEX WKND 2026, Afreximbank’s flagship platform for advancing Africa’s creative and cultural industries, and is designed to showcase the link between sports, entertainment, and the broader creative economy.
The Nigerian side will feature 15 former Super Eagles players from the teams that won the 1994 AFCON in Tunisia and the 1996 Olympic football gold in Atlanta, United States, facing 13 African football legends in a contest designed to celebrate the enduring legacy of the continent’s football heroes. The National Sports Commission has endorsed the initiative, describing it as an opportunity to recognise former players whose achievements brought international recognition to Nigeria and inspired younger generations.
The fixture brings together players whose achievements helped raise the continent’s profile on the international stage, with Adebayor representing Togo at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and winning the African Footballer of the Year award in 2008, while Diouf was a key member of Senegal’s historic team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup and won the African Footballer of the Year award in 2001 and 2002. Appiah captained Ghana to its first FIFA World Cup appearance in 2006, Zokora represented Ivory Coast at two World Cups, and Rigobert Song captained the Indomitable Lions and represented his country at four World Cups.
Founder and CEO of Toptier Sports Management, Chichi Nwoko, said the event would provide an opportunity to honour the legends who helped shape African football, noting that “these are names that every football fan in Africa knows” and that organisers are proud to bring them to Lagos to honour the heroes of 1994 and 1996. The event is also expected to draw attention to the need for improved welfare and sustainable support structures for retired African footballers.
Gates open at 1:30 pm, with the main match scheduled to be broadcast live between 5 pm and 7 pm on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), African Independent Television (AIT) and Silverbird Television. For fans unable to make it to the stadium, the match will be available on these platforms, with the fixture expected to attract football supporters keen to see some of the continent’s most celebrated former players share the pitch again.
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