Niger national football team
Shirt badge/Association crest | |||
Nickname(s) | Mena | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | Fédération Nigerienne de Football | ||
Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
Head coach | Frederic Costa | ||
Home stadium | Stade Général Seyni Kountché | ||
FIFA code | NIG | ||
| |||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 162 | ||
Highest | 68 (November 1994) | ||
Lowest | 196 (August 2002) | ||
First international | |||
Nigeria 1 - 0 Niger (Senegal; April 11, 1963) | |||
Biggest win | |||
Niger 7 - 1 Mauritania (Niamey, Niger; October 12, 1990) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
Niger 1 - 9 Ghana (Niger; September 21, 1969) |
The Niger national football team, nicknamed the Mena, is the national team of Niger and is controlled by the Fédération Nigerienne de Football. A member of CAF, it is one of its weakest teams.
History
Although one of the weaker sides in the strong West Africa region, Niger has produced a couple of noteworthy runs in qualifying tournaments.
One of their best performances was in the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, in which Niger eliminated Somalia and Togo on away goals, but were beaten by Algeria in the third round where only eight teams were left. Notable players in this run included Jacques Komlan, Hassane Adamou and Moussa Kanfideni.
In the 2004 African Nations Cup qualifiers, Niger won all their home games (including a win over Guinea) to finish on 9 points, just 3 short of qualification.
The Niger squad is also plagued by financial concerns, which have caused them to withdraw from international tournaments on more than one occasion. The Niger FA would have turned to fundraising to pay for their trip to the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola, had they qualified (they did not).[1]
In June 2008, Romanian coach Dan Anghelescu[2] took over as team manager from Hamey Amadou, who was dismissed. Anghelescu had been coaching in Africa since 1999, training teams from Algeria, Tunisia and Burkina Faso. On 19 Dec 2008, Anghelescu was dismissed after a disastrous six-month spell. Former Niger U-17 coach Frederic Costa was appointed the new head coach of the Niger national side.
World Cup record
- 1930 to 1974 - Did not enter
- 1978 - Did not qualify
- 1982 - Did not qualify
- 1986 - Withdrew
- 1990 - Did not enter
- 1994 - Did not qualify
- 1998 - Withdrew
- 2002 - Did not enter
- 2006 - Did not qualify
- 2010 - Did not qualify
African Nations Cup record
- 1957 to 1968 - Did not enter
- 1970 - Did not qualify
- 1972 - Did not qualify
- 1974 - Withdrew
- 1976 - Did not qualify
- 1978 - Withdrew
- 1980 - Withdrew
- 1982 - Did not enter
- 1984 - Did not qualify
- 1986 to 1990 - Did not enter
- 1992 - Did not qualify
- 1994 - Did not qualify
- 1996 - Withdrew during qualifying
- 1998 - Disqualified for withdrawing in 1996
- 2000 to 2010 - Did not qualify
Current squad
Recent call-ups
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
22 | DF | Moussa Ouwo | May 29, 1976 | AS Sonabel | ||
14 | Emanuel Amokou (WCQ v. Ughanda, 7 September) | |||||
12 | Abdoulaziz Balla | |||||
6 | Tllia Abdou (WCQ v. Benin, 22 June) | |||||
8 | MF | Abdoul Aziz Didi (WCQ v. Benin, 22 June) | ||||
10 | Alpha Djibo (WCQ v. Benin, 22 June) | |||||
14 | Ousseini Mahamadou (WCQ v. Benin, 22 June) | Sahel SC | ||||
8 | MF | Harouna Ide Loga (v. Benin on June 14) | ||||
11 | Amadou Bouzou (v. Benin on June 14) | |||||
17 | FW | Jimmy Bulus | October 22, 1986 | NA Hussein Dey | ||
5 | Abdoul Moussa (v. Angola on June 8) | |||||
8 | MF | Hamadou Hamza (v. Ugunda on September 7) | ||||
10 | Boubacar Idrissa (v. Angola on June 8) | |||||
11 | Yaou Dan Jouma (v. Angola on June 8) | |||||
14 | FW | Issoufou Idrissa (v. Uganda on September 7) | December 13, 1976 | Newman Jets | ||
19 | Naso Lahi | |||||
15 | Mahamadou Oumarou | |||||
18 | Moussa Mallam |
Managers
References
- ^ "Project MENA is dedicated to assisting MENA, the Niger national soccer team. The project strives to raise enough money to send the team to compete for the 2010 African Cup in Angola. The money raised will cover costs of accommodations and catering for the team and staff during competition".
- ^ "Announcement about Dan Anghelescu becoming the manager of Niger". (French)