A proposal to change the nickname of Benin’s men’s national team from the Squirrels to the Cheetahs is awaiting government approval in the West African country. “From this day on, there will be no more squirrels in Benin at the football level. Benin, ranked 91st in the world, have never qualified for the World Cup and have only played at the Nations Cup finals four times; in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2019. The Squirrels reached a maiden Nations Cup quarter-final on their last tournament appearance in 2019 after a shock win on penalties over Morocco, but failed to qualify for this year’s finals in Cameroon. Benin are bottom of Group L in the race to qualify for the delayed 2023 Nations Cup following defeats by Senegal and Mozambique in June.

Source: Daily Nation August 24, 2022 04:39 UTC