Niger national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Niger women's national football team.

Niger

Nickname(s)	Ménas
Association	Fédération Nigerienne de Football (FENIFOOT)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Ezzaki Badou
Captain	Abdoulaye Katkoré
Most caps	Kassaly Daouda (89)
Top scorer	Victorien Adebayor (20)
Home stadium	Stade Général Seyni Kountché
FIFA code	NIG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	129 1 (4 April 2024) [1]
Highest	68 (November 1994)
Lowest	196 (August 2002)
First international
Chad 2–2 Niger   (Abidjan, Ivory Coast; 25 December 1961)
Biggest win
Niger 7–1 Mauritania   (Niamey, Niger; 12 October 1990)
Biggest defeat
Congo 10–0 Niger   (Abidjan, Ivory Coast; 27 December 1961)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	2 (first in 2012 )
Best result	Group stage (2012, 2013)
African Nations Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 2011 )
Best result	Fourth place (2022)

The Niger national football team (French: Equipe de football du Niger) ^{[2] [3]} represents Niger in international football through the Nigerien Football Federation, a member of Confederation of African Football (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 ^[4] The Dama appears on their badge in the colors of the national flag. ^{[5] [6]}

History

Although one of the less successful 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 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in which Niger eliminated Somalia and Togo on the away goals rule, 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 a record by thrashing Mauritania 7–1 in continental qualifiers, the highest positive score margin for the Mena.

In the 2004 African Nations Cup qualifiers, Niger won all their home games (including a win over Guinea) to finish on nine points, just three 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 Nigerien Football Federation would have turned to fundraising to pay for their trip to the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola, had they qualified. ^[7]

On 10 October 2010, Niger earned a shock 1–0 win over Egypt at home in the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualification.

Despite a failed run for AFCON 2010, Niger hosted and won the UEMOA Tournament in November 2010, and followed up with their first ever qualification for the African Nations Championship in February 2011. ^[8]

After home wins over South Africa and Sierra Leone, on 8 October 2011 Niger qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in its history, despite losing 3–0 in Egypt. ^{[9] [10]} Niger, South Africa and Sierra Leone all ended with nine points, but Niger qualified thanks to their superior head-to-head record against their rivals.

At the 2012 African Cup of Nations, Niger was placed in Group C alongside co-hosts Gabon, Tunisia and Morocco. In their opening match, Niger lost 2–0 to Gabon, while against Tunisia in Libreville, Niger trailed 1–0 on an early goal from Youssef Msakni in which he dribbled his way through for a fine goal after just four minutes. William N'Gounou, however, then made history by scoring Niger's first ever goal at the African Cup of Nations. A 1–1 draw looked likely, but Issam Jemâa's goal would eliminate Niger from the tournament. In the final match, Niger faced Morocco in a match featuring two sides already eliminated from the tournament. Younès Belhanda scored on an assist from Marouane Chamakh just 11 minutes from time to give Morocco a 1–0 victory. ^[11]

Later in 2012, Niger repeated its success in African Nations Cup qualifiers by beating Guinea in a two-legged series to qualify for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Guinea won the first match 1–0, but Niger won 2–0 in the second leg. Goalscorers Mohamed Chikoto and Issoufou Boubacar had sent Niger to another African Cup of Nations tournament. ^[12]

In their first match at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Niger lost 1–0 to Mali at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. Mali captain Seydou Keita handed his nation the hard-fought victory five minutes before the end of the encounter. Niger then earned their first point ever at the African Cup of nations after holding DR Congo to a 0–0 draw. In the third match, Ghana outclassed Niger 3–0 to reach the quarter-finals as Group B winners. ^[13] Niger finished bottom of the group.

On 22 May 2014, Niger played a friendly match against Ukraine, marking the first ever match against a European nation. Oumarou Bale scored in the 56th minute, cancelling out a 20th-minute goal from Ivan Ordets before Ukraine won on a goal from Taras Stepanenko as the match finished 2–1. ^{[14] [15]}

Results and fixtures

Main article: Niger national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win  Draw  Loss  Fixture

2023

Tanzania   v   Niger

18 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Tanzania	1–0	Niger	Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00  UTC+3	Msuva 69'	Report		Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Mohamed Al Sayd (Egypt)

Niger   v   Uganda

7 September 2023 AFCON qualification	Niger	0–2	Uganda	Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00  UTC+1		Report	Kayondo 17' Ochaya 39'	Stadium: Stade de Marrakech Referee: Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)

Niger   v   Somalia

14 OctoberFriendly	Niger	3–0	Somalia	Berrechid, Morocco
	Amoustapha 9' A. Wonkoye 26' (pen.) Goumey 74'			Stadium: Berrechid Municipal Stadium

Libya   v   Niger

17 October Friendly	Libya	1–1	Niger	Khouribga, Morocco
16:30  UTC+1	El Ghadi 59'	Report	Sabo 75'	Stadium: Phosphate Stadium Referee: Mustapha Kechaf (Morocco)

Niger   v   Tanzania

18 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Niger	0–1	Tanzania	Marrakesh, Morocco
17:00  UTC+1		Report	M'Mombwa 56'	Stadium: Stade de Marrakech Attendance: 178 Referee: Lotfi Bekouassa (Algeria)

Niger   v   Zambia

21 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Niger	2–1	Zambia	Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00  UTC+1	Moutari 6' Goumey 28'	Report	Daka 50'	Stadium: Stade de Marrakech Attendance: 200 Referee: Abdulrazg Ahmed (Libya)

2024

Senegal   v   Niger

8 January Friendly	Senegal	1–0	Niger	Diamniadio, Senegal
18:00  UTC±0	F. Mendy 90+9'	Report		Stadium: Diamniadio Olympic Stadium

Niger   v   Togo

22 March Friendly

Niger

1–2

Togo

Niger   v   Burkina Faso

26 March Friendly

Niger

1–1

Burkina Faso

Congo   v   Niger

June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Niger

Eritrea   v   Niger

June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Eritrea	Cancelled	Niger
Note: Eritrea withdrew from the qualifiers before the first matches were played.

Coaching history

• Heinz-Peter Uberjahn (1981–1986)
• Soumaila Tiemogo (1992)
• David Nadjadoum (1992–1994)
• Soumaila Tiemogo (1998)
• Amadou Toure (1998)
• Patrice Neveu (1999–2000)
• Jean-Yves Chay (2000)
• Yeo Martial (2002–2003) ^[16]
• Bana Tchanile (2006–2007)
• Hamey Amadou (2007–2008)
• Dan Anghelescu (2008)
• Frederic Costa (2008–2009)
• Harouna Doula Gabde (2009–2012)
• Rolland Courbis (2012)
• Gernot Rohr (2012–2014)
• Cheick Omar Diabate (2014–2015)
• François Zahoui (2015–2019)
• Jean-Guy Wallemme (2019–2020)
• Jean-Michel Cavalli (2020–2023)
• Zakaria Yaou Ibrahim (Interim) (2023)
• Ezzaki Badou (2023–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly against   Senegal on 8 January 2024. ^[17]

Caps and goals are correct as of 8 January 2024, after the match against   Senegal .

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1 GK	Mahamadou Tanja	(1996-07-05) 5 July 1996 (age 27)	16	0	AS FAN
	1 GK	Naim Van Attenhoven	(2003-01-31) 31 January 2003 (age 21)	9	0	Valenciennes
	1 GK	Younoussa Abiboulaye	(2004-09-03) 3 September 2004 (age 19)	1	0	Sahel
	1 GK	Oumarou Issaka	(1990-12-02) 2 December 1990 (age 33)	0	0	Douanes
	2 DF	Abdoulaye Boureima Katkoré	(1993-03-26) 26 March 1993 (age 31)	59	0	Al-Minaa
	2 DF	Abdoul Garba	(2000-07-18) 18 July 2000 (age 23)	35	1	Douanes
	2 DF	Abdoulaye Karim Doudou	(1998-09-25) 25 September 1998 (age 25)	13	0	Al-Minaa
	2 DF	Najeeb Yakubu	(2000-05-01) 1 May 2000 (age 23)	10	0	Vorskla Poltava
	2 DF	Massoudi Salifou	(2004-07-11) 11 July 2004 (age 19)	4	0	Douanes
	2 DF	Alhabib Hassane Abdou	(2003-08-24) 24 August 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Al Ittihad
	2 DF	Ousmane Oumarou Mansour		0	0
	3 MF	Youssouf Oumarou	(1993-02-16) 16 February 1993 (age 31)	56	4	Union Monastirienne
	3 MF	Ousmane Diabaté	(1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 29)	40	0	Al-Olympique
	3 MF	Abdoul Madjid Moumouni	(1994-05-10) 10 May 1994 (age 29)	31	0	Al-Shorta
	3 MF	Abdoul Moumouni	(2002-08-07) 7 August 2002 (age 21)	17	0	Sheriff Tiraspol
	3 MF	Yussif Moussa	(1998-09-04) 4 September 1998 (age 25)	17	1	Ilves
	3 MF	Salim Abubakar	(2003-04-06) 6 April 2003 (age 21)	5	0	Sassuolo
	3 MF	Issah Salou	(1999-02-04) 4 February 1999 (age 25)	3	0	Skive IK
	4 FW	Mohamed Wonkoye	(1994-05-19) 19 May 1994 (age 29)	48	6	Horoya
	4 FW	Issa Djibrilla	(1996-01-01) 1 January 1996 (age 28)	25	4	Zira
	4 FW	Daniel Sosah	(1998-09-21) 21 September 1998 (age 25)	16	4	Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
	4 FW	Zakari Junior Lambo	(1999-01-19) 19 January 1999 (age 25)	11	1	La Louvière
	4 FW	Boubacar Djibril Goumey	(2000-07-14) 14 July 2000 (age 23)	9	2	Zakho
	4 FW	Kairou Amoustapha	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23)	7	1	Cancún

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Niger in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Oumarou Soumaila	(1987-10-24) 24 October 1987 (age 36)	3	0	US GN	v.   Tanzania , 18 June 2023
DF	Rahim Alhassane	(2002-01-01) 1 January 2002 (age 22)	12	0	Rayo Majadahonda	v.   Zambia , 21 November 2023
DF	Yacouba Diori Hamani Magagi	(1997-09-08) 8 September 1997 (age 26)	12	0	Castellón	v.   Zambia , 21 November 2023
DF	Laurent Chamssidine	(2001-03-04) 4 March 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Sahel	v.   Zambia , 21 November 2023
DF	Adamou Djibo	(1998-08-13) 13 August 1998 (age 25)	14	0	Sheriff Tiraspol	v.   Libya , 17 October 2023
DF	Mahamadou Souley	(1995-02-18) 18 February 1995 (age 29)	29	0	Gombe United	v.   Tanzania , 18 June 2023
DF	Zakariya Souleymane	(1994-12-29) 29 December 1994 (age 29)	5	0	Lyon Duchère	v.   Tanzania , 18 June 2023
DF	Ismael Issaka Souley	(2000-07-18) 18 July 2000 (age 23)	8	0	Police	2022 African Nations Championship
DF	Abdoul Rafiu Kassali	(1998-09-30) 30 September 1998 (age 25)	3	0	US GN	2022 African Nations Championship
MF	Amadou Moutari	(1994-01-19) 19 January 1994 (age 30)	52	3	Al-Sahel	v.   Zambia , 21 November 2023
MF	Ali Mohamed	(1995-10-07) 7 October 1995 (age 28)	41	0	Maccabi Haifa	v.   Zambia , 21 November 2023
MF	Amadou Sabo	(2000-05-30) 30 May 2000 (age 23)	20	3	Club Africain	v.   Zambia , 21 November 2023
MF	Ousseini Badamassi	(1997-04-21) 21 April 1997 (age 26)	11	1	Mazembe	v.   Libya , 17 October 2023
MF	Kader Aboubacar	(2000-12-31) 31 December 2000 (age 23)	5	0	US Gendarmerie Nationale	v.   Tanzania , 18 June 2023
MF	Hassane Adamou	(2000-06-26) 26 June 2000 (age 23)	4	0	Burgos Promesas	v.   Tanzania , 18 June 2023
MF	Moussa Kassa Moudou	(1999-11-11) 11 November 1999 (age 24)	4	0	US GN	v.   Algeria , 27 March 2023
MF	Fayçal Iboun	(1994-01-03) 3 January 1994 (age 30)	7	0	Police	2022 African Nations Championship
FW	Boubacar Hainikoye	(1998-10-07) 7 October 1998 (age 25)	26	3	US Gendarmerie Nationale	v.   Zambia , 21 November 2023
FW	Seybou Koita	(1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 (age 29)	10	0	Oman Club	v.   Libya , 17 October 2023
FW	Ibrahim Marou	(2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 (age 24)	9	0	AS Forces Armées	v.   Uganda , 7 September 2023
FW	Victorien Adebayor	(1996-11-12) 12 November 1996 (age 27)	54	20	Berkane	v.   Tanzania , 18 June 2023
FW	Abdoul Aziz Ibrahim	(1996-03-15) 15 March 1996 (age 28)	27	1	Douanes	v.   Algeria , 27 March 2023
FW	Mossi Issa Moussa	(1993-01-24) 24 January 1993 (age 31)	17	4	Douanes	2022 African Nations Championship
DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player has retired from international football. SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records

As of 8 January 2024 ^[18]

Players in bold are still active with Niger.

Most appearances

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Kassaly Daouda	89	0	2002–2022
2	Koffi Dan Kowa	67	4	2008–2018
3	Abdoulaye Katkoré	59	0	2014–present
4	Youssouf Oumarou	56	4	2013–present
5	Victorien Adebayor	54	20	2015–present
	Moussa Maâzou	54	13	2008–2021
7	Lassina Konaté	53	1	2006–2016
	Souleymane Sacko	53	3	2007–2019
9	Amadou Moutari	52	3	2012–present
10	Mohamed Wonkoye	48	6	2012–present

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Victorien Adebayor	20	54	0.37	2015–present
2	Moussa Maâzou	13	54	0.24	2008–2021
3	Kamilou Daouda	10	37	0.27	2007–2019
4	Mounkaila Ide Barkire	7	13	0.54	1992–1998
5	Zakari Lambo	6	10	0.6	1990–1995
	Mohamed Wonkoye	6	48	0.13	2012–present
7	Mahamane Cissé	5	38	0.13	2013–present
8	Daniel Sosah	4	16	0.25	2021–present
	Moussa Yahaya	4	16	0.25	1992–1998
	Mossi Issa Moussa	4	17	0.24	2012–present
	Issa Djibrilla	4	24	0.17	2020–present
	Modibo Sidibé	4	27	0.15	2010–2019
	Youssouf Oumarou	4	56	0.07	2013–present
	Koffi Dan Kowa	4	67	0.06	2008–2018

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup										Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1958	Part of   France									Part of   France
1962	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1966 to 1974	Did not enter									Did not enter
1978	Did not qualify									2	1	0	1	3	6
1982										6	2	2	2	4	7
1986	Withdrew									Withdrew
1990	Did not enter									Did not enter
1994	Did not qualify									4	2	1	1	3	2
1998	Withdrew									Withdrew
2002	Did not enter									Did not enter
2006	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	0	7
2010										6	1	0	5	5	11
2014										6	1	1	4	6	12
2018										4	2	1	1	6	3
2022										6	2	1	3	13	17
2026	To be determined									2	1	0	1	2	2
2030										To be determined
2034
Total		0/15								37	11	6	20	40	66

Africa Cup of Nations

Main article: Niger at the Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957	Part of   France
1959
1962	Not affiliated to CAF
1963
1965
1968	Did not enter
1970	Did not qualify
1972
1974	Withdrew
1976	Did not qualify
1978	Withdrew
1980
1982	Did not enter
1984	Did not qualify
1986	Did not enter
1988
1990
1992	Did not qualify
1994
1996	Withdrew during qualifying
1998	Disqualified for withdrawing in 1996
2000 to 2010	Did not qualify
2012	Group stage	15th	3	0	0	3	1	5
2013		15th	3	0	1	2	0	4
2015	Did not qualify
2017
2019
2021
2023
2025	To be determined
2027
Total	Group stage	2/36	6	0	1	5	1	9

Niger national team against Morocco, 9 February 2011

African Nations Championship

African Nations Championship record
Appearances: 4
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2009	Did not qualify
2011	Quarter-finals	7th	4	2	1	1	3	3
2014	Did not qualify
2016	Group stage	16th	3	0	1	2	3	11
2018	Did not qualify
2020	Group stage	12th	3	0	2	1	2	3
2022	Fourth place	4th	5	2	1	2	3	6
Total	Fourth place	4/7	15	4	5	6	11	23

Head-to-head record

As of 21 November 2023

Opponent	Games	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Differential
Algeria	9	1	0	8	3	27	−24
Angola	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3
Benin	15	3	5	7	17	24	−7
Botswana	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2
Burundi	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2
Burkina Faso	17	3	7	8	14	25	−11
Cameroon	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4
Central African Republic	2	0	1	1	3	5	−2
Chad	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1
Congo	6	0	2	4	4	12	−8
Djibouti	2	2	0	0	11	4	+7
DR Congo	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1
Egypt	7	1	1	5	2	19	−17
Equatorial Guinea	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Ethiopia	5	2	0	3	4	7	−3
Eswatini	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1
Gabon	7	1	0	6	6	16	−10
Gambia	2	0	1	1	1	3	-2
Ghana	11	0	1	10	4	38	−34
Guinea	7	3	0	5	9	13	−4
Ivory Coast	13	0	2	11	9	29	−20
Lesotho	2	1	0	1	3	3	0
Liberia	8	3	2	3	7	10	−3
Libya	7	0	4	3	7	13	−6
Madagascar	2	0	1	1	2	6	−4
Mali	8	1	2	5	4	10	−6
Mauritania	5	3	2	0	10	3	+7
Morocco	7	1	0	6	2	16	−14
Mozambique	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Namibia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Nigeria	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6
Senegal	6	1	2	3	3	6	−3
Sierra Leone	7	4	0	3	12	15	−3
Somalia	3	1	2	0	4	1	+1
South Africa	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1
Tanzania	3	0	1	2	1	3	-2
Togo	10	4	3	3	16	15	+1
Tunisia	3	0	0	3	2	4	−2
Uganda	7	2	2	3	7	9	-2
Ukraine	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
United Arab Emirates	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4
Zambia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
42 Countries	208	45	46	116	192	371	−179

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
2. Orange 2012 Afcon qualifiers :130 Million FCFA for the Menas Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine . 22/05/2011 StarAfrica sports.
3. Menas to test Pharaohs form Archived 2010-10-13 at the Wayback Machine . Confederation of African Football. 10-09-2010
4. Dama Gazelle Nanger dama Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine . Sahara Conservation Fund, 2007, 2011.
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6. "Niger team of 2019". national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
7. "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". Archived from the original on 2008-04-26.
8. CHAN 2011 : Un Niger héroïque mais éliminé par le Soudan – Football/CHAN 2011 – RFI Archived 2012-01-24 at the Wayback Machine 2011-02-19
9. "Niger in historic qualification despite Cairo loss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2011-10-08. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
10. Fixtures, results and tables for the qualifiers for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Archived 2012-01-28 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport.
11. "Niger 0-1 Morocco". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
12. "2013 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers - Qualifier Rounds - MTNFootball". Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
13. "Ghana cruises into African Cup quarters". GhanaWeb. January 28, 2013. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
14. "Страница не найдена". shakhtar.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
15. "Ukraine-Niger | European Qualifiers". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
16. "Martial named Niger coach". BBC News. 26 November 2002. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
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External links

• Niger Football Federation website
• Niger at CAF
• Niger at FIFA