THE Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire to Nigeria, Kalilou Traore on Saturday, January 13, unveiled the African Cup of Nations ‘AFCON Village’ in Abuja to enable football fans to watch live matches of the ongoing games.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the unveiling event was attended by officials of the Ministry of foreign affairs, members of the diplomatic community, and private organisations.

The envoy, at the event, acknowledged the presence of the diplomatic corps, and other guests as he wished good luck to all the participating teams in the competition, hoping that the African Cup of Nations would be a moment of celebration, fair play, and fraternity between African nations.

As the game kick-started with the opening ceremony and first match between Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau, he expressed his hope that the event would strengthen the bonds between countries and leave a positive legacy for African football.

Furthermore, the ambassador noted that significant investments had been made with attendance surpassing previous records of which the Côte d’Ivoire embassy in Nigeria had to show their active involvement.

“Massive investments have been made, and attendance is already breaking all records. The Cote d’Ivoire Embassy in Nigeria could not remain on the sideline of this great event.

“Thus, all matches of the competition will be broadcast throughout this month in the AFCON village in Abuja in collaboration with our partner Abuja Continental Hotel”, he said.

Traore appreciated the hotel management and Nigerian authorities for their support towards the setting up of the AFCON village.

Rendering his speech, the general manager of Abuja Continental Hotel, Javier Sanchez, noted that the partnership with the embassy was to contribute to the success of the tournament.

“The Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire, as the hosting country of this event, really pushed us to go ahead with this. We were planning to do it, but they gave us the push to put all these up,” he said.l

The game started on Saturday, January 13 and Nigeria’s Super Eagles will play against Equatorial Guinea in the tournament on Sunday, January 14, 2024.