South Africa, Nigeria are rival African powers in soccer; and politics.....

By Mark Gleeson

Lagos - Nigeria's meeting with South Africa in the African Nations Cup semifinals in Lagos on Thursday will be only the third match between the two continental superpowers, but political intrigue in recent years has already ensured a fierce rivalry. The semifinal match is eagerly anticipated in Lagos, where a capacity crowd is expected at the 60 000-seater National stadium and thousands more will gather outside the venue in an effort to get in to watch the encounter.

The game is also expected to attract a near-record television audience around the African continent.Nigeria and South Africa last played out a goalless draw in a World Cup qualifying match in Johannesburg in January 1993, but have been embroiled in numerous twists and turns since.

Nigeria's team were withdrawn from the 1996 African Nations Cup finals, hosted by South Africa, after a diplomatic spat between former president Nelson Mandela of South Africa and then Nigerian military junta leader Sani Abacha.

The row started after the execution of Nigerian political dissident Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni separatist activists by Abacha in 1995 - a death penalty that led to widespread international isolation for Nigeria, including its suspension from the Commonwealth.

South Africa withdrew an invitation to the Nigerian team to play in a four-nation soccer tournament in the months leading up to the 1996 finals and Nigeria retaliated by withdrawing their team from the Nations Cup, even though they were defending champions.

Nigeria's absence took much of the prestige away from the 1996 event, which South Africa won, and led to a two-year ban for the Nigerians by the Confederation of African Football, which meant they also missed the 1998 finals in Burkina Faso.

Doubt has consistently been cast on the real value of South Africa's victory in 1996, and their second-place finish in Burkina Faso two years later, in the absence from the Nations Cup finals of Nigeria, widely regarded as the leading team in Africa.The South African Football Association have repeatedly invited Nigeria to play in a friendly international in Johannesburg since 1996, conscious of the massive revenue- generating potential of such a match, but were turned down each time. "Abacha never forgot nor forgave and never wanted to see Nigeria play against South Africa," said Danny Jordaan, former chief executive officer of the association and now head of South Africa's 2006 World Cup bid.

The death of the military dictator in 1998 led to a thaw in relations between the two countries but still no meeting on the football pitch. A match between the two countries was planned as part of the millenium celebrations in Johannesburg on December 31 last year but was later cancelled.

Now the two countries play against each other for the second time in Lagos. Previously, Nigeria thumped South Africa 4-0 in the World Cup qualifying match in October, 1992 South Africa's first-ever World Cup match. Further spice has been added to the clash by players from the rival camps, each claiming superiority and that the match is a premature final, with the winner almost sure to take this year's African title.
Gleeson is a reporter for Reuters