Today’s Fixtures

Group A
Sudan vs Angola
Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso

ANGOLA striker Nando Rafael has been cleared to play at the Africa Cup of Nations, after missing the Palancas Negras’ first game.

Fifa confirmed that Rafael, who played for Germany’s under-21’s, was now eligible to play for Angola.

The Angola Football Federation (FAF) only began the official process for him to swap allegiances last Friday.

Rafael missed Angola’s Group B opener against Burkina Faso as a result, but is now free to play against Sudan.

Fifa told BBC Sport that its player status committee met on Tuesday and decided that Rafael was now eligible to compete at the Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon for Angola.

The world governing body last week said it had only received the official request from the FAF for Rafael’s swap on the day before the tournament started, adding it could not say at the time how long the process could take.

The German Football Federation also told BBC Sport that it had sent off the letter necessary to help complete Rafael’s switch of allegiance.

Angola began their Group B campaign on Sunday with a 2-1 win over the Burkinabe in Malabo.

They will now have 28-year-old Rafael - who plays his club football with FC Augsburg in Germany - for their remaining group games against Sudan today and tournament favourites Ivory Coast on Monday.

Agencies