By ABDULRAHMAN YAHAYA

Nigeria’s men’s volleyball team has qualified for the 2026 African Nations Cup after defeating Benin Republic 3-1 in their fourth match at the ongoing Zone 3 qualifiers in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Nigeria came from a set down to win 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-20) on Friday at the Palais des Sports de Treichville, maintaining their unbeaten run in the competition.

Benin Republic took the opening set 25-21 in a closely contested encounter before Nigeria responded by winning the second set by the same margin to level the match.

The Nigerians dominated the third and fourth sets 25-15 and 25-20 respectively to seal qualification for the continental championship scheduled to hold in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, from Sept. 7 to Sept. 21.

The encounter was briefly interrupted by a heated exchange between Nigeria’s head coach, Taiwo Oladipupo, and the match officials, resulting in the coach receiving a yellow card.

The victory handed Benin Republic their first defeat of the tournament and ensured Nigeria secured qualification with one match to spare.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria began their campaign on Tuesday with a 3-1 victory over Niger Republic before defeating hosts Côte d’Ivoire 3-0 on Wednesday and the team extended their winning streak on Thursday with another 3-1 victory over Togo.

Reacting after the win over Benin Republic, Oladipupo thanked God for the team’s qualification and praised his players for their determination.

“I thank God for everything and for this victory. This was one of the toughest teams in the competition and many believed they would beat Nigeria, but with God everything is possible,” he said.

The coach said Nigeria now has a competitive squad but stressed that places in the national team would continue to be earned on merit.

“There is no permanent jersey for any player. We will continue to invite and assess players because we want the best team to represent Nigeria,” he said.

Nigeria will conclude their zone 3 qualifying campaign against Burkina Faso on Saturday.

With the result, Nigeria joins Ghana as the two teams from Zone 3 that have qualified for the 2026 African Nations Cup finals. (NAN)

Update news