CAF African Women’s Championship Kicks Off
Amidst little fanfare, the sixth edition of the CAF African Women’s Championship kicked off this past weekend in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. Backed by a ferocious home support, Equatorial Guinea pulled off what must surely be the upset of the tournament so far, by beating perennial powerhouse, Cameroon 1-0. In the other Group A match, Mali slumped to a 0-1 defeat against Congo.
Drogba in Hot Water Over Coin Incident
It was hardly a surprise to hear that Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association for throwing a coin back into the crowd. Drogba hurled a coin into a section of Burnley supporters following his goal in Chelsea’s shock Carling Cup defeat at Stamford Bridge lat week Wednesday. He has until Monday evening to respond, with a hearing planned for Tuesday. In addition, Drogba, 30, made a single-finger gesture before throwing the coin back following his 27th-minute goal, but there have been no reports of any spectators being injured.
Al Ahly Win Africa’s Top Club Competition
After last week’s debacle that is the FIFA monthly rankings–how Israel is 15th and African champions Egypt remain in the 22nd position is beyond me–we turned our attention back to more local matters as Egypt’s Al Ahly won the CAF African Champions League for a record sixth time on Sunday after beating Coton Sport of Cameroon 4-2 on aggregate.
Serena Williams Opens Secondary School In Kenya
The world’s #2 female tennis player Serena Williams has made a visit to Kenya. On her three day tour she officially opened a School named after her and built through her charity work, in Makueni District, southeast of Nairobi. » Read more…
Right to Dream Soccer Academy thrashes Ultimate FC
Right to Dream Soccer Academy, Africa’s rep to the 2008 Manchester United Premier Cup world finals, proved its superiority in African academy football when its under-15 and 17 teams thrashed visiting Nigerian team, Ultimate FC 4:0 and 5:0 respectively last Saturday. It formed part of the friendly matches lined up for the Lagos-based amateur second division team during their one-week tour to Ghana.
Ultimate FC has toured the Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin playing against some of the best under 15 and under-17 teams on the West coast. They first played in a friendly match against the Shooting Stars of Achimota at the Azumah Nelson Sports Complex in Kaneshie, Accra. They lost 2:0 in the under-15 category and drew 1:1 in the under-17 division.
According to Coach Tunde Johnson, Ultimate FC could not perform creditably in Ghana due to the stress of traveling and the lack of basic needs such as training pitch and accommodation for his team. He however hoped to return to Ghana with a better prepared team to redeem the image of his team.
Jail Time for Serbian Attackers of Ghana Footballer
Finally some much-needed justice has been meted out to some ignorant fans who chanted derogatory racial messages in the stands and then proceeded to attack a football player. A Serbian court has sentenced four football fans to a total of four and a half years imprisonment for a racially-motivated attack on a Ghanaian player, Solomon Opoku.
Tricky Fixtures Await in Final Round of 2010 Qualifying
Africa’s top-ranked soccer team, Cameroon, were handed a tricky route to the 2010 World Cup after being drawn Wednesday against Morocco, Gabon, and Togo in Group A of the continent’s third and final qualifying stage. The group will also see Cameroon’s German coach Otto Pfister pit his wits against the Togo side which he coached during a chaotic 2006 World Cup campaign with players threatening to strike over allegedly unpaid bonuses.
Samuel To Bounce Back?
Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter must be seething wherever he is at the moment. On October 12 he lost his WBC heavyweight title to - a man who has been out of the ring since 2004 - as the Ukrainian controlled the whole fight and sealed the win when the Nigerian retired after the eighth round.
After the Berlin battle and to make matters worse - depending on how you choose to view the issue - Klitschko recently revealed that his infant son’s wet nappies aided his recovery after he defeated Peter. » Read more…
CAF Announce Five Man List for Top Prize
Four English-based players have been nominated for the 2008 African Footballer of the Year award. However, there is no place on the nominations list for last year’s winner Frederic Kanoute of Mali.
Al Ahly to Face Coton Sport in CAF Champions League Final
Egyptian side Al Ahly will meet Coton Sport of Cameroon in the final of the 2008 African Champions League after beating Enyimba 1-0 in Cairo on Saturday.
Five-time champions Al Ahly, who will be in the final of Africa’s premier club tournament for the eighth tournament, become only the third side to reach four straight finals. DR Congo’s TP Englebert Mazembe were the first to do so, winning two finals between 1967 and 1970, while Guinea’s Hafia Conakry also won two of four finals, between 1975-1978. Nigerian side Enyimba, a two-time champion, was bidding to reach its first final since 2004, but rarely troubled the Egyptian defense. » Read more…
What’s in a Name - Benin to Shed ‘The Squirrels’ Tag?
In English, the nickname of the Benin national team, “Les Ecureuils,” translates into “The Squirrels.” Unfortunately, the country’s sports ministry has decided it is not fearsome enough. Really? Sports minister Ganiou Soglo has suggested a more intimidating name - the “Emerging Panthers.” Please forgive my pessimism, but the what?? “The Panthers” moniker could work fine since panthers are agile, stealthy, fast, and sometimes overlooked — similar traits of Benin’s pattern of play on the field — but by putting “Emerging” in there, a seemingly dominant name seems so trivial. Yes, trivial.
African Events Calendar
Upcoming Events
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February 22, 2009
Race Across The World (RAW Africa) : Sossusvlei, Namibia
South Africa
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January 20, 2009
2009 Inaugural Events: President-Elect Barack Obama
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January 8, 2009
Capetown Jazzathon 2009: Capetown, South Africa
South Africa
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December 27, 2008
1st Annual Homecoming Jumpoff: Accra, Ghana
West Africa
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