Niger national football team

Niger

Nickname(s)	Mena
Association	Niger Football Federation
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Head coach	Harouna Doula Gabde
Home stadium	Stade Général Seyni Kountché
FIFA code	NIG
FIFA ranking	95
Highest FIFA ranking	68 (November 1994)
Lowest FIFA ranking	196 (August 2002)
Elo ranking	117
Home colours Away colours
First international
Nigeria 1–0 Niger (Senegal; 11 April 1963)
Biggest win
Niger 7–1 Mauritania  (Niamey, Niger; 12 October 1990)
Biggest defeat
Niger 1–9 Ghana  (Niger; 21 September 1969)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	1 (First in 2012)
Best result	TBD

The Niger national football team, nicknamed the Menas,^[1][2] is overseen by the Fédération Nigerienne de Football and a member of CAF. Niger plays in the colors of the Flag of Niger, white, green, and orange. Their nickname comes from the Dama Gazelle, native to Niger, the Hausa name of which is Meyna or Ménas^[3] The Dama appears on their badge in the colors of of the national flag.

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 1990 they set one record – they trashed Mauritania 7–1 in continental qualifiers, which is for now the highest win for Mena.

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.^[4]

In June 2008, Romanian coach Dan Anghelescu^[5] 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 December 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. On 10 October 2010, Niger earned a shock 1–0 win over Egypt at home in the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualification.

On 8 October 2011, Niger qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time.^[6]

Competition recrds

World Cup record

• 1930 to 1974 – Did not enter
• 1978 to 1982 – Did not qualify
• 1986 – Withdrew
• 1990 – Did not enter
• 1994 – Did not qualify
• 1998 – Withdrew
• 2002 – Did not enter
• 2006 to 2010 – Did not qualify

Africa Cup of Nations record

• 1957 to 1968 – Did not enter
• 1970 to 1972 – Did not qualify
• 1974 – Withdrew
• 1976 – Did not qualify
• 1978 to 1980 – Withdrew
• 1982 – Did not enter
• 1984 – Did not qualify
• 1986 to 1990 – Did not enter
• 1992 to 1994 – Did not qualify
• 1996 – Withdrew during qualifying
• 1998 – Disqualified for withdrawing in 1996
• 2000 to 2010 – Did not qualify
• 2012 – Qualified

Head-to-Head Records against other countries

As of March 28, 2011

Opponent	Games	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Differential
Algeria	4	1	0	3	1	11	−10
Angola	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3
Benin	13	3	4	6	16	20	−4
Botswana	2	2	0	0	3	1	+2
Burkina Faso	11	2	5	4	12	16	−4
Cameroon	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4
Chad	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Congo	2	0	0	2	1	7	−6
Côte d'Ivoire	12	0	2	10	9	28	−19
Egypt	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Equatorial Guinea	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Ethiopia	2	1	0	1	3	3	0
Gabon	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5
Gambia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Ghana	10	0	1	9	4	35	−31
Guinea	5	2	0	3	6	10	−4
Lesotho	2	1	0	1	3	3	0
Liberia	5	2	0	3	3	7	−4
Libya*	3	0	1	2	3	7	−4
Mali	7	1	2	4	4	9	−5
Mauritania	4	3	1	0	9	2	+7
Morocco	5	1	0	4	2	14	−12
Namibia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Nigeria	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6
Senegal	5	1	1	3	3	6	−3
Sierra Leone	5	3	0	2	11	14	−3
Somalia	2	0	2	0	1	1	0
South Africa	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Togo	8	3	2	3	10	11	−1
Uganda	4	1	1	2	4	5	−1
30 Countries	127	29	26	70	113	238	−125

• Match versus Libya in November 2010 finished 1–1, but Niger lost 4–1 in penalty shootout, thus that counts as a defeat (penalties not counted)

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Main article: Niger national football team results

Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Scorers for Niger	Competition
June 19, 2010	Niamey, Niger	Chad	1 – 1	Koffi Dan Kowa 90'	Friendly
August 11, 2010	Porto Novo, Benin	Benin	0 – 0	N/A	Friendly
September 4, 2010	Nelspruit, South Africa	South Africa	0 – 2	N/A	2012 CAF Qualifying
October 10, 2010	Niamey, Niger	Egypt	1 – 0	Ouwo Moussa Maazou 7'	2012 CAF Qualifying
November 17, 2010	Tripoli, Libya	Libya	1 – 1	Ouwo Moussa Maazou 73'	Friendly
February 09, 2011	Marrakech, Morocco	Morocco	0 – 3	N/A	Friendly
March 27, 2011	Niamey, Niger	Sierra Leone	3 – 1	Alhassane Issoufou 64', Modibo Sidibé 79', Kamilou Daouda 89'	2012 CAF Qualifying
June 04, 2011	Freetown, Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	0 – 1	N/A	2012 CAF Qualifying
August 10, 2011	Niamey, Niger	Togo	3 – 3	Ouwo Moussa Maazou 45', 70', Kamilou Daouda 80'	Friendly
August 14, 2011	Monrovia, Liberia	Liberia	0 – 0	N/A	Friendly
September 04, 2011	Niamey, Niger	South Africa	2 – 1	Koffi Dan Kowa 15', Ouwo Moussa Maazou 47'	2012 CAF Qualifying

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification:

#	Player	Position	Date of Birth (Age)	Caps (Goals)	Club
1	Kassaly Daouda	Goalkeeper	19 August 1983 (1983-08-19) (age 28)	54 (0)	Cotonsport Garoua
32	Losseny Doumbia	Goalkeeper	0 December 1990 (1990-00-00) (age 21)		DC Motema Pembé
16	Rabo Saminou	Goalkeeper	11 November 1985 (1985-11-11) (age 26)		Sahel SC
3	Lassina Abdoul Karim	Left back / Defensive midfielder	20 May 1987 (1987-05-20) (age 24)		Cotonsport Garoua
4	Amadou Kader	Right back / Centre back	5 April 1989 (1989-04-05) (age 22)		Cotonsport Garoua
00	Ismaël Alassane	Centre back / Right back	3 April 1984 (1984-04-03) (age 27)		Al Sahel
13	Chikoto Mohamed	Centre back	28 February 1989 (1989-02-28) (age 22)	7 (0)	Platinum Stars
14	Délis Ahou	Left back	23 August 1984 (1984-08-23) (age 27)	6 (0)	Excelsior Virton
15	Moussa Bonkano Djibrilla	Left back / Right back		4 (0)	ASFAN
18	Koffi Dan Kowa	Centre back	19 September 1989 (1989-09-19) (age 22)	16 (2)	Espérance Sportive de Zarzis
00	Karim Paraiso	Centre back	30 March 1989 (1989-03-30) (age 22)		Sahel
00	Karim Lancina	Central midfielder	20 May 1987 (1987-05-20) (age 24)	43 (3)	Cotonsport Garoua
00	Boubacar Issoufou	Central midfielder	2 February 1990 (1990-02-02) (age 21)		F.C. Phuket
6	Idrissa Laouali (c)	Central midfielder	9 November 1983 (1983-11-09) (age 28)		ASFAN
00	Pascal Anicet	Central midfielder	27 March 1987 (1987-03-27) (age 24)		AS-FNIS
00	Abdoul Aziz Abdou 'Didi'	Right midfielder / Playmaker	25 March 1990 (1990-03-25) (age 21)		Sahel
10	Boubacar Talatou	Central Midfielder / Striker	12 March 1989 (1989-03-12) (age 22)	7 (0)	Orlando Pirates
00	Souleymane Dela Sacko	Central midfielder	1 August 1984 (1984-08-01) (age 27)		AS Mangasport
2	Jimmy Bulus	Central midfielder	22 October 1986 (1986-10-22) (age 25)		NA Hussein Dey
00	Hinsa Issoufou	Left midfielder / Supporting striker	14 September 1991 (1991-09-14) (age 20)		ASFAN
20	William N'Gounou	Left winger	31 July 1983 (1983-07-31) (age 28)	5 (0)	IF Limhamn Bunkeflo
8	Olivier Harouna Bonnes	Defensive midfielder	7 February 1990 (1990-02-07) (age 21)	3 (0)	FC Nantes
17	Moussa Mohammed	Left winger / striker	1 January 1984 (1984-01-01) (age 27)		ASFA Yennega
12	Mohamed Abdoulaye	Striker / Left winger	25 March 1990 (1990-03-25) (age 21)	2 (0)	Mazembe
2	Ouwo Moussa Maazou	Striker	25 August 1988 (1988-08-25) (age 23)	12 (6)	Zulte Waregem
9	Daouda Kamilou	Striker	29 December 1987 (1987-12-29) (age 23)	17 (5)	CS Sfaxien
7	Seidou Idrissa	Striker	24 December 1988 (1988-12-24) (age 22)		Cotonsport Garoua
11	Alhassane Issoufou	Striker / Right winger	1 January 1981 (1981-01-01) (age 30)		Raja Casablanca

References

1. ^ Orange 2012 Afcon qualifiers :130 Million FCFA for the Menas. 22/05/2011 StarAfrica sports.
2. ^ Menas to test Pharaohs form. Confederation of African Football. 10-09-2010
3. ^ Dama Gazelle Nanger dama. Sahara Conservation Fund, 2007, 2011.
4. ^ "Project MENA is dedicated to assisting MENA, the Niger national soccer team. The project aimed to raise enough money to send the team to compete for the 2010 African Cup in Angola.". http://www.helpmena.com/index.html. 
5. ^ "Announcement about Dan Anghelescu becoming the manager of Niger". http://www.brazzaville-adiac.com/index.php?action=depeche&dep_id=22611&cat_id=6&oldaction=home&regpay_id=0.  (French)
6. ^ "Niger in historic qualification despite Cairo loss". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 2011-10-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15229854.stm. Retrieved 2011-10-08. 

External links

• Niger Football Federation website