Didier the Diva
It must really suck to be Didier Drogba at the moment. Just take a look at the past few months in his life: Projected winner of 2007 CAF African Footballer of the Year award, Drogba sent his wife to represent him at the ceremony and the award was subsequently given to Mali’s Fredi Kanoute. Predicted by many so-called pundits to run away with the 2008 African Nations Cup, Drogba and his Elephants were mightily humbled 4-1 in the semi final by eventual champions Egypt, and lost 4-2 to Ghana in the Third-place match.
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.
Cameroon Remain Atop African Rankings
Cameroon have moved two places higher in the latest FIFA world rankings and now stand 12th on the global table. The Indomitable Lions remain the highest placed African side – 10 places ahead of Egypt, who lie 22nd in the worldwide list – and are now two positions ahead of England and lie just behind France.
The Nigerian Nightmare takes on Klitcko
Nigerian WBC heavyweight champion, Samuel Okon Peter will defend his title against former champion, Vitali Klitcko this weekend in Germany. Peter took the title after defeating Maskia in March this year. Peter, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, has expressed dissatisfaction because the fight is taking place in Germany but his opponent thinks otherwise; “This fight will be special and, after the fight, we will know who the real champion is.”
28-year-old Peter has won several titles including, the Nigerian amateur heavyweight championship and the Africa Zone 3 heavyweight title. He was given the opportunity to represent his country at the 2000 Australia summer Olympic before proceeding to win the WBC title in March this year. » Read more…
African Bidding War For Newcastle Intensifies
A South African consortium has tabled a bid in the region of $600m to buy Newcastle Football Club. The five-strong South African group is also keen to bring back crowd favorite Kevin Keegan as manager. Keegan may be offered a 5% stake in the club in a bid to persuade him to return for a third spell at the helm.
The South African group are considered the frontrunners and could be set to finalise a deal in a matter of weeks. This goes against earlier reports which depicted a group of Nigerian businessmen on the verge of securing a deal. The consortium was reported to have a $700m takeover fund to buy the Magpies from owner Mike Ashley, but they needed another $200m to secure the deal. But wait a minute. Rather than buy a football club, why don’t these “meaningful” Africans invest their money in ventures within African shores and remember that they are not Roman Abramovich? While the bid is impressive on paper, harsh realities still exist in that Newcastle is a club in total chaos. Watch this space.
Super Falcons to Clash With Black Queens
Nigeria will take on great rivals Ghana in their opening match of the African Women’s Championship in November. The pair have been drawn together in Group B of the tournament, which is hosted by Equatorial Guinea. South Africa and Tunisia are the other two teams in the group. Group A features the hosts, plus Cameroon, Mali, and Congo-Brazzaville. Nigeria’s Super Falcons have won every edition of the championship so far, but they failed to make it to the knock-out stages of the recent Olympic tournament in Beijing.
Finally!! Bafana Bafana Win
World Cup hosts, South Africa, ended a run of five matches without a win when they beat Malawi 3-0 in a friendly on Tuesday. An experimental side, made up of home-based players, provided much-needed relief for beleaguered coach, Joel Santana. The match, at Germiston in Johannesburg, gave the Brazilian coach a further opportunity to look at local players.
Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia breaks Marathon World Record
Haile Gebrselassie broke the Marathon World record (which he held) on Sunday in Berlin when he won the Berlin Marathon in 2:03:59 . It would be the third time that he had participated in this particular marathon, making him the first man to win the Berlin marathon three times. This is his 26th world record!
Mulu Seboka also broke a world record by running her marathon in 2:29:05. She won the Mumbai Marathon in India earlier this year. » Read more…
African Events Calendar
Upcoming Events
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June 22 - 24, 2010
2010 Africa Business Conference and Trade Fair
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July 10, 2010
Talent-ED
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March 22, 2010
A “Tribute to Mama Afrika: Miriam Makeba”
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July 14 - 17, 2010
Africa Fashion Week New York (AFWNY) in New York
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