English Premier League club Arsenal will travel to Nigeria for a pre-season match in Abuja on 5 August.
According to the organisers, DanJan Sports, Arsenal's opposition are likely to be a leading African national team.
It will be the first time the Gunners have played in Nigeria.
"We are working on the opposition and once that is finalised we will announce it to the public in conjunction with the London club," David Omigie of DanJan Sports said.
"Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and the club with arguably the biggest fan base in the country is visiting in August."
On their official website Arsenal said: "The club last visited Africa during a tour to South Africa in July 1993, and is returning as a result of the fantastic support which exists for the team, not only in Nigeria, but across the entire continent."
The club traditionally hosts an annual pre-season tournament at the Emirates Stadium, but they opted to postpone the event for a year because of the 2012 London Olympics.
The visit to Nigeria will conclude Arsenal's pre-season tour after playing in both China and Malaysia in July.
In July 2008, DanJan Sports brought two other English clubs,Manchester United and Portsmouth, to the Nigerian capital Abuja for a pre-season friendly.
As well as the match between the two, Portsmouth also played against Nigeria Premier League side Kano Pillars.
But DanJan Sports plan to go a step further this time around.
"We learned a lot from the 2008 tour and this one is going to be bigger," Omigie told BBC Sport.
"Arsene Wenger wanted a detailed plan and information. Facilities and other areas were well covered by the club.
"This is the beginning of big things between the club and the continent of Africa."
According to speculation in the local media Ghana, Zambia, South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Egypt are all among the potential opponents for the Gunners.
An attack on a cattle market in northeastern city of Potiskum by gunmen armed with explosives has left at least 34 dead and the toll is likely to climb, an emergency source said on Thursday.
“Thirty-four bodies were deposited at the hospital,” the official said on condition of anonymity of the attack late Wednesday in Potiskum because he was not authorised to speak publicly.
He said the toll was likely to be more than 50 dead because families were also burying relatives’ bodies without bringing them to the hospital.
A gang of gunmen with explosives have attacked a cattle market in the city of Potiskum, burning it down and leaving a number of people dead, residents and police said Thursday.
The attack late Wednesday was said to be in reprisal for an incident earlier in the day, when the gang sought to rob the market but were fought off by traders who caught one of the attackers, a police source said.
The man who was caught was doused in petrol and a tyre was placed around his neck before he was burnt to death, according to the source and residents.
“There was an attack on Potiskum cattle market yesterday by suspected armed robbers who threw explosives and burnt down the market with all the livestock,” the police official said on condition of anonymity.
“It is too early to say how many people were affected in the attack, which happened at night.”
Residents reported seeing bodies being taken away, but the number of casualties was unclear.
The State Security Service (SSS) has arrested a man who allegedly supplies explosives to Boko Haram, which has stepped up its attacks in the last one week.
Ayuba Usman was arrested on Tuesday at his shop in a market in Kano following information from suspected Boko Haram members arrested in raids, the SSS Director in the state, Mr. Nelson Eteng, told reporters Wednesday.
"Based on statements by high profile suspects... Ayuba Usman has been providing combustible chemicals used in the manufacture of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) for attacks on innocent people in the city," Eteng said. "The suspect is found to be linked with extremist elements."
The SSS displayed 35 drums of chemicals of 240 litres each and a dozen bags of combustible items said to have been recovered during the raid on the suspect's shop.
According to Eteng, the suspect was apprehended at one of the markets in Dala Local Government Area of the state.
"The chemicals are controlled. But when we find individuals selling such materials to individuals who turn to harm innocent people, the security will be concerned and that is why we are concerned," he said.
He said the SSS operatives in the state would go deeper into the case in order to know their network with a view to tracking down their accomplices, adding that investigation would continue until the perpetrators were arrested and punished.
Eteng said: "We are closing on very many suspects who are on the run, and the intelligence networking is working closely to get them very soon."
He said the people of Kano are so tired of what is happening and are helping with information.
Last Sunday, gunmen attacked two church services at Bayero University Kano (BUK), throwing bombs and opening fire on worshippers as they sought to flee, leaving dozens dead.
A high-calibre time bomb was also discovered at another of the university's campuses in Kano and defused by a bomb squad the following day.
Dozens of IEDs were recovered on Tuesday in a military raid on an alleged Boko Haram hideout in the city which left one suspected militant dead.
Meanwhile, police authorities yesterday reacted to the threat by Boko Haram to attack more media houses by beefing up security around them.
Acting Inspector General of Police (IG) Mohammed Abubakar said the force was aware of the threat and that he had directed commissioners of police across the country to tighten security.
He advised media houses to contact commissioners of police in their states if their outfit is vulnerable.
The IG however reiterated that the police and other security agencies were working hard to overcome the security challenges and blamed their underperformance on underfunding, lack of training and ill equipment.
But the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Wednesday in Abuja issued a "final warning" to the Federal Government that any failure on the part of government to halt the incessant attacks by the Boko Haram would leave the body with no choice than to defend its members.
Addressing a press conference at the Ecumenical Centre, Abuja, CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said the body's position was based on the inability of Boko Haram sponsors to be reasonable.
"You will recall in our last press conference, we told the nation that the bombings and killings of innocent Nigerians may be termed senseless but that is not without sense for those sponsoring the acts. Their plan is to instil fear with the subsequent aim of eradicating religious freedom, democratic liberties with the church and Christianity as is primary target," he said.
Oritsejafor explained that "the Nigerian nation and the global community have been witnesses to the step-by-step escalation of violence against innocent citizens with the Christians and the church suffering the greatest loss."
The association stated that given the continuous launch of attacks by Boko Haram, it is immaterial to discuss the source.
"At this point in the unfolding insecurity challenges, it has become irrelevant whether the root cause is political, religious, ethnic or ideological. The fundamental issues are that the intimidation, killings, bombings and wanton destruction of lives and property must stop immediately," CAN maintained.
Speaking on the next line of action, CAN president said though, "I am aware that the greater part of the overall design is to instil fear in the populace, I will now make a final call to the Nigerian government to use all resources available to it to clearly define and neutralise the problem as other nations have done."
The Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWCAN) has called for an immediate overhaul of all security agencies.
YOWCAN said since the spate of bombings in the country is difficult for them to stop, there was need for immediate shake-up in the nations' security system.
Expressing its concerns in a statement issued by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, US also described as "disgraceful assault", the attack on church services at the Bayero University Kano (BUK) where two professors and several students were gruesomely killed.
Condemning attempts to inflame Christian-Muslim tensions, US expressed support for "those who recognise Nigeria's ethnic and religious diversity as one of the country's greatest strengths."
While "strongly" condemning attacks on innocent civilians in Nigeria, US said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who were killed and injured."
Also speaking with THISDAY in New York, former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, agreed that the Boko Haram challenges had assumed a dangerous trend with the attacks on media offices and places of religious congregation.
Campbell, reacting to the attack on THISDAY offices in Abuja and Kaduna, and the attack at church service in BUK said: "One is an attack on the freedom of the press, the other is an attack on the freedom of religion. Both must be condemned in the strongest possible terms."
Noting the dangerous twist in the upsurge of Boko Haram attacks, the former US envoy said, "Why THISDAY was attacked, I don't know. THISDAY, of course, is a major Nigerian newspaper with circulation all over the country."
Campbell, who had consistently maintained his opposition to calls to designate Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organisation, said the increasing wave of attacks by the sect hadn't changed his position.
He said Boko Haram appeared to him as a highly defused organisation, and "does not appear to be a tightly organised entity."
He suggested that the Boko Haram challenge should be tackled politically, arguing that Nigeria should adopt, "a political approach to northern isolation, northern alienation which are the oxygen that Boko Haram is breathing."
On recent reports showing a nexus between Boko Haram and Al Qaeda, and whether Nigeria should tackle the Boko Haram challenge the way US had been confronting Al Qaeda, Campbell said: "No, I don't think so. I think that any kind of connection that Boko Haram has with groups outside of Nigeria is not transformative."
He said he did not believe that such connections, where they exist, "shape what Boko Haram is doing."
Campbell said, "Boko Haram seems to me to be essentially focused on domestic and internal developments in Nigeria."
Islamist group Boko Haram released a video late on Tuesday celebrating its bombing of a Nigerian newspaper and warning of more attacks on local and foreign media if they published reports that were biased to the sect or insulting to Islam.
Suicide car bombers targeted the offices of This Day in the capital, Abuja, and northern city of Kaduna last Thursday, killing at least five people in apparently coordinated strikes.
Boko Haram has been fighting a low-level insurgency for more than two years and has become the main security threat facing Africa's top oil producer, although most attacks have been in the largely Muslim north, far from southern oil fields.
The sect, which wants to impose an Islamic state on Nigeria's more or less evenly mixed population of Muslim and Christians, has been blamed for hundreds of killings since its uprising against the government in 2009.
It had not previously targeted the press in its bombing campaign, although last October it killed a reporter for state TV who the sect said was an informant to President Goodluck Jonathan's administration.
The video posted on the Internet opens with a Koranic song and a drawing of the Koran sitting on two crossed AK-47s. A banner in the northern Hausa language says:
"Message from Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati Wal-Jihadl (Boko Haram's full name): on why we attacked ThisDay".
It then plays a video tape shot from a distance of the ThisDay Abuja office, which promptly explodes into a ball of flames and grey smoke - that suggests the sect had a cameraman set up in anticipation of the strike.
"We attacked Thisday because we will never forget or forgive anyone who abused our Prophet," a voice booms in Hausa.
ThisDay angered Muslims a decade ago when one of its columnists suggested the Prophet Mohammad might have wanted to marry a beauty queen, an event to which the tape alludes.
JIHAD VIDEO
The statement rages against local and international media for carrying reports by Nigeria's government that a faction of the sect was behind the kidnapping of two hostages - one British, the other Italian - who were killed by their captors during a botched March rescue attempt.
"We said we have nothing to do with it, yet these media houses reported that we were responsible for the incident," it said, also complaining about reports, which it denied, that its spokesman Abu Qaqa had been captured.
It warned it would attack other media houses soon, listing several local papers as next on the list and several international media as "on the verge of jointing them".
It was at least the fifth video that Boko Haram had posted this year, mostly from self-proclaimed leader Abubakar Shekau. Shekau appears in this one, too, waving an AK-47 around.
From being a secretive sect in the shadows, the group has gradually raised its media profile, which may explain both the proliferation of home videos and growing attacks on media.
A spate of attacks in the past few days, including one against Christians in the north that killed 19 people on Sunday, dampened hopes that tighter security in the north had drastically reduced the sect's capability.
Nigerian forces raided the hideout of Islamist militants in Kano on Tuesday, killing the suspected mastermind of an attack on Christian worshippers in a gun battle that lasted several hours in the main northern city.
Here is a transcription of the Boko Haram video above:
"This is a message from the public awareness department of the Jamatu Ahlis sunnah lil daawati wal jihad, a group engaged in jihad in Nigeria.
"We wish to explain about the attack we carried out on Thisday Newspapers. Some of the reasons why we decided to attack some Media Houses, especially Thisday, is because the paper was used in dishonouring our prophet, Mohammad (SAW) during a beauty pageant in Kaduna in November 2002.
"At that time, some people who called themselves leaders of Muslims came out to say they have forgiven those who committed the offence.
"But based on our knowledge, we know that no one has the power to forgive anyone for an offence that God himself has given judgement, especially on an offence that has to do with dishonouring Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
"No one has the power to forgive this type of offence, and the judgement is for such persons to be killed.
"This lady that committed this crime, the judgement on her is to be killed at any opportunity; and the media house is also supposed to be driven out of existence whenever there is a chance to do so.
"We are just getting the opportunity to attack the media house, and we are hoping to continue these attacks until we drive them out of existence.
"It is our hope that Allah (SWT) will help his religion.
"We know that any genuine Muslim must have been deeply touched by the Thisday incident.
"Thisday newspaper is also leading in helping the government in fighting us, alongside other media houses that we will mention soon.
"Some of the offences of Thisday and other media outlets include: firstly, during the botched attempt to rescue some kidnapped foreign nationals in Sokoto; these media houses asked us if we have anything to do with the kidnap and we said we have nothing to do with it, yet these media houses reported that we were responsible for the incident, that was a lie against us.
"Secondly, when we sent a video of our leader, Abubakar Shekau, the media houses reported things that our leader did not say, such as that in response to the president’s threat to finish us in three months, we have also threatened to finish the government in three months. But the truth is, nowhere in the video did our leader said what they attributed to him.
"Thirdly, on the purported arrest of Abu Qaqa by the SSS, we have come out to tell them that the person arrested was not Abu Qaqa,yet the media continue to potray us as liars, and even said that our leader had ordered for Abu Qaqa II to be executed, and we are now searching for Abu Qaqa III.
"Recently too, they came out with another lie that one Mohammed Awwal Kontagora was the Abu Qaqa II that was executed, and that even his parents confirmed it, that was just a big lie to convince the world.
"The media also said that we have killed the father of Abu Darda, so as to pass a message to him, because he had leaked our secrets after his arrest by security agencies, and they wanted him to know that he is one of our targets.
"These are all lies, and they are many.
"These media houses have committed a lot of offences that is detrimental to Islam, and we don’t have the power to forgive them. We will take revenge on them by God’s grace, some of these media houses have been categorized into three groups.
"The first group is the likes of Thisday whose offences are big.
"The second group we will also attack soon are Punch, Daily Sun, Vanguard, Guardian, Nation, Tribune, and National Accord, which are all newspaper houses.
"There is also VOA Hausa radio. All these media houses we will attack them including their staff and offices, by God’s grace.
"VOA Hausa for instance have recently started campaigning for people to support the government against us by exposing us,
"The next group that are on the verge of joining this list who if they are not careful we will attack very soon include, Leadership, Daily Trust, Peoples Daily and RFI(Radio France international)
"There is an online medium known as Saharareporters who have their office in New York, and who have made their site as a platform for attack against Islam. So we are warning them to stop making their site an avenue for attacking Islam, otherwise we will find a way of attacking them too.
"We resorted to using this medium to send our message instead of the normal tele-conference because of the fear by journalists; which made them refuse to conduct the conference.
"We are grateful to God for the success recorded on the attack on Thisday, and we hope to continue such attacks.
"Finally, the government has now resorted to arresting our wives and children and also demolishing our houses, like they did in Biu recently, that is why we have also resolved to start attacking government schools, especially, tertiary ones.
"We promise to demolish 500 buildings for any one of our houses that the government destroys.
