Cameroon to take on Nigeria in final of AYC

The curtain comes down on the 2011 edition of the 17th African Youth Championship tournament when Cameroon comes up against Nigeria in the final of the competition.

The match will be played at the Dobsonville Stadium on Sunday, 1 May 2011, starting at 15h00.

Earlier in the day, Mali and Egypt will play for the 3rd place and bronze medals. Kickoff is at 12h00.

By virtue of making it to the semi-final, all four teams have qualified for the FIFA Under 20 World Cup scheduled for Colombia from 29 July 2011.

Cameroon and Nigeria have met five times before – the last time about a week ago (Thursday, 21 April 2011) in the second match of the group stages of this tournament.

Cameroon emerged victorious with a one-nil win, their fourth over the Super Eaglets. Nigeria only defeated Cameroon once in the 1999 semi-finals of this tournament with a 2-1 victory.

The match can be dubbed as the “Battle for Supremacy” after both Cameroon (7 points) and Nigeria (6 points) finished first and second respectively in Group B.

On paper Cameroon may appear as favourites – looking at their record over Nigeria – and also the fact that they have not lost a match in the tournament up to this point, while Nigeria has lost once, against the same Cameroon.

But the Nigerians have more power upfront having scored six goals in four matches.
On the other hand Cameroon found the back of the three times in open play – and could only win with penalties in their semi-final match against Egypt on Thursday, 28 April 2011.

Both have water-tight defences - Nigeria has let in two, while Cameroon just one.

The tournament is hosted by South Africa after the event was moved from Libya following civil unrest in that country.

“This has been an incident-free event. We have seen some great football from all the teams from the opening match. Local and international scouts have also had a field day watching these players in action. We are hopeful that the final will live up to expectations of a great spectacle as two great African giants battle it out for the number one spot in Africa at this level. Once again this is a chance for South Africans to come watch and cheer these four teams on before they represent the continent at the FIFA Under 20 World Cup tournament in Colombia. We urge everyone to come and witness the best Africa has to offer in this age group, and make this a final to remember,” said Tournament Director, Russell Paul.

Meanwhile the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in conjunction with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) will continue to hand out giveaways to fans attending the matches on Sunday.

Both organizations have put aside original match balls, T-shirts and caps to give to the fans who will be at the stadium on the day. This will be done at half time.

‘We have already given out many prizes during the semi-finals, and we will be handing out more on the day of the final, but fans will only win if they are at the stadium. These are prizes that will help them keep the memories of South Africa having hosted this tournament,’ concluded Paul.

Here’s how the teams will line up :