The Home Eagles will have their first training in South Africa tonight ahead of their opening Group A match against Mali at the CHAN in Cape Town.

The team, according to officials will have their first training session on tonight at 8:30pm local time, which is 7:30 Nigerian time.

This will also be the time for their first match against Mali on Saturday.

The team are booked into the Garden Court De Waal, a quiet suburb of the city.

The Eagles landed in Cape Town on Wednesday. They were led by assistant coach Daniel Amokachi, who is holding the forte for Stephen Keshi who stayed back in Nigeria for the CAF Awards before joining the team.

They left the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos on Tuesday night at about 10:30pm. After five and half hours flight with a South Africa Airways plane, the team arrived Johannesburg at 4:30 Nigerian time, which is 5:30 in South Africa.

The team was received by a team of Nigerian Embassy officials led by Ambassador Sunday S Yusuf, who expressed delight at the safe arrival and ensured that the team had a smooth passage through immigration procedure.

The envoy also charged the team to ensure that they win the trophy at the first try.

“Nigerians are now used to winning, especially here in South Africa and I’m sure you will not let the nation down,” he said.

Amokachi assured that the team will do its best at the tourney, even as Keshi is being expected in time before the Eagles opening game against Mali.

After a little wait at the OR Thambo International Airport, the team connected another SAA flight to Cape Town, where they will play their group matches.

The flight to Cape Town lasted 1:40minutes and on arrival the team were received by about 30 cheering and drumming Nigerians under the aegis ‘Nigerian Union in Western Cape’. The group was led by Kalu Obi.

Source: http://www.completesportsnigeria.com/blog/2014/01/chan-eagles-land-in-safrica-begin-training-today