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Nigeria allays fears of Ebola

ABUJA - Nigeria yesterday dismissed a request by Congo to relocate the two countries' Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier because of Ebola fears.

The country vowed the match will go ahead as planned. The African champions are set to take on Congo on September 6 in the Nigerian city of Calabar.

The visitors, replacements for Rwanda who have been banned from the competition for fielding an ineligible player, reportedly want the tie moved because of the deadly virus.

But Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) spokesman Ademola Olajire said: "The game will be played as planned on September 6 as we have not been informed by CAF of any protest by Congo.

"Nigeria has already won the battle against Ebola and so any visiting team has no reason to stay away from the country. Therefore, there are no changes in the date and venue for this match."

There have been five deaths from Ebola in Nigeria out of 13 confirmed cases. All of the patients have been in Lagos, 560km from Calabar.

Nigeria's health ministry said yesterday that only one patient remained in isolation at a special facility in Lagos and that seven patients had been discharged.

A number of Afcon qualifiers have been rescheduled to neutral venues because of the Ebola outbreak.

The worst-affectedcountries have been Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Congo's neighbours, the DRC, this week confirmed their first two cases of Ebola but claimed they were unrelated to the epidemic raging in West Africa.

Earlier this month, Lesotho refused to play the final qualifier for the 2015 African Youth Championships in Nigeria after they also complained about Ebola. CAF subsequently disqualified them. - AFP

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