All eyes on CHAN 2024 qualifying match as Nigeria and Ghana clash in ‘Jollof Derby’

Ghanaians and Nigerians are not necessarily wary people. But when it comes to rice and football, they defend their turf.

This rivalry has become known as Jollof derby, a reference to the local specially prepared rice often eaten with spicy stew. Here is a battle of pride, redemption and supremacy.

Even in sports, as we saw in the build-up to the animated clash between the Black Galaxies of Ghana and the Super Eagles B Team of Nigeria in the ongoing qualifier for the 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN), the debate has taken centre stage: whose jollof is better?

Such is the intensity of this rivalry between these two sporting giants that it has spurred sporting competition transcending the pitch.
That first leg match between the two neighbours took place on Sunday, December 22, 2024 and ended in a goalless draw.

Missed opportunity

For the Ghanaians, that was a big missed opportunity as the one with the home advantage. But the Ghanaian side had defeated their Nigerian opponents in a previous encounter in similar circumstances. The Ghanaians eliminated their Nigerian counterparts in the last qualifiers. Although both teams back then won 2-0 on home soil, Ghana advanced on penalty shoot-outs.
So for the Nigerians, this is a mission of revenge. They go into it with memories of their senior team missing the 2022 Fifa World Cup due to Ghana.
CHAN is reserved exclusively for players plying their trade in domestic leagues of member nations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and it is aimed at developing local players and local leagues.
The game has been held biennially since 2009 when the first tournament was hosted in Cote d’Ivoire.
The return leg for the Ghana-Nigeria qualifier for the 2025 edition is scheduled for Saturday, December 28 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State in southeastern Nigeria.

The winner will earn a coveted spot in the 2025 CHAN Tournament which is to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
While the players prepare for what promises to be a pulsating encounter, outside the pitch, the rivalry is intensifying and the so-called “Jollof war” is at the top.
Jollof is a West African delicacy that is often spiced with chillies and other herbs. There have been various versions of it across the region, depending on the ingredients used in preparing it.

Fish-based dish

In late 2023, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) declared Senegal as home to the rice and fish-based dish. History of the origin of the dish indicates that it originated from a region then known as Senegambia – which comprises today’s neighbours Gambia and Senegal. Both these countries have for a long time dominated international competitions on the best-cooked Jollof Rice.
Such competitions are organised across the world. The latest such was organised in Washington DC and Ghana won it.

Despite the Unesco declaration, the Nigeria-Ghana rivalry continues unabated. Prominent players on both sides have tried to settle scores outside the pitch using the jollof debate.
However, the debate has contributed to global recognition of this culinary delight.