Weah given cold shoulder

In Ghana versus Nigeria clashes the Black Stars have had the upper hand

The Nigerian Football Association (NFA) say Liberian soccer star George Weah will not be given special treatment when he comes to watch the crucial Nigeria versus Ghana World Cup final group qualifier this Sunday.

Weah says he will attend the match to "ensure there will be fairplay and no hanky-panky".

A Nigerian victory on Sunday in Port-Harcourt will give the Super Eagles 16 points to overtake Liberia, and hand them Africa's last remaining World Cup place.

Any other result will give Liberia qualification.

  Group B Table

1 Liberia P8 GD 10-8 Pts 15

2 Nigeria P7 GD 12-3 Pts 13

3 Ghana P7 GD 10-6 Pts 11

4 Sudan P7 GD 5-10 Pts 9

5 S Leone P7 GD 2-12 Pts 4

"Weah is welcome to the Port-Harcourt stadium but he will treated just like any spectator," NFA spokesman Austin Mgbolu said.

"He has to make his own lodging, security and ticket arrangements because we won't provide anything for him. And the earlier he purchases his own match ticket, the better" he said.

Football officials in Port-Harcourt have jacked up the price for the match tickets which cost between $6 and $15.

A 50 year rivalry

Games involving Nigeria and Ghana are termed "classic derbies" because of their intense historical rivalry.

Mgbolu said arrangements have been put in place to ensure maximum security for the players, officials and spectators before, during and after Sunday's match.

The fans are passionate about football

Over the weekend, Ghana's acting ambassador to Nigeria Nana Kumi met with Nigeria's junior Foreign Minister Dubem Onyia to seek assurance that the crucial match will be peaceful.

"We want the match to be free of violence and entertaining" Kumi told Onyia.

Onyia responded by saying that because football is the national sport in both countries, the citizens are "very passionate and sensitive on the outcome of matches where the two national sides meet."

"I want to assure you that we will not allow the match to threaten the relations between us. We'll ensure that Nigerian fans behave themselves properly as far as this particular match is concerned," Onyia added.

Both countries have met 43 times at senior international level.

  Nigeria v Ghana

43 encounters

Ghana 19 wins

Nigeria 10 wins

Last Nigeria win 1984

The Ghanaians have the better record, having won 19 times while Nigeria have won in just 10 outings.

The last time Nigeria defeated Ghana at home was in 1977; a 2-1 win in the West African Union Tournament.

Both sides battled to a 0-0 draw at their last meeting in March in Accra.