International Football
ACCRA BUBBLES FOR HISTORIC AITEO CAF AWARDS CEREMONY
The city of Accra, Ghana’s sedate but attractive capital is the venue for another watershed in the history of the African Football Awards as the event begins another quarter –century life under a new headline sponsor.
Aiteo Group, Nigeria’s leading energy solution company and Official Optimum Partner of the Nigeria Football Federation, signed a contract with the Confederation of African Football in Lagos in October 2017 and is bankrolling the event for the first time.
Nigeria’s specific interests in Thursday’s event can be found in the Women African Player of the Year award (with Asisat Oshoala again in contention), Men’s National Team of the Year (where the Super Eagles, first African team to qualify for Russia 2018 and also with a match to spare from a so –called ‘group of death,’ is involved) and the Women’s National Team of the Year (featuring the Nigeria U20 girls).
Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr, is in the race for Coach of the Year award and flew into Accra on Wednesday afternoon.
Also on Wednesday afternoon, CAF President Ahmad, in company with FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura, CAF 1st Vice President Kwesi Nyantakyi and Nigeria’s CAF Executive Committee member Amaju Pinnick, paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo at the Flagstaff House.
They were accompanied by CAF Secretary General Amr Fahmy and Deputy Secretary General Anthony Baffoe.
From the inaugural Awards in 1992, there have been 16 winners including four Nigerians (one of them, Rashidi Yekini, now of blessed memory), while John Mikel Obi (now Super Eagles’ captain) was runner –up in 2013 and goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama came third in 2014.
For many Nigerian football fans and aficionados, one of the biggest mysteries of the Awards is that former Super Eagles’ captain Jay Jay Okocha is not among the 16 previous winners.
Many still feel he was good enough for it in 2004, when he was the Most Valuable Player of the AFCON and had a year to treasure with Bolton Wanderers in the English Premiership.
However, it is a new day and another event in Accra on Thursday night, with all the living 15 previous winners, including Nigeria’s Kanu (the first man to win the African Player of the Year award twice), Emmanuel Amuneke and Victor Ikpeba to turn up at the Accra International Conference Centre.
They will be joined by Liberia’s President-elect George Oppong Weah (who is the only African to have won the World Player of the Year title, and did a treble by also winning the European Player of the Year award in the same 1995), former Black Stars’ captain Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew (winner of the maiden award in 1992), four –time winners Yaya Toure and Samuel Eto’o Fils, two –time winners Didier Drogba and El-Hadji Diouf, and Frederic Kanoute, Patrick Mboma, Mustapha Hadji, Emmanuel Adebayor, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Riyad Mahrez, who won in 2016 but is not in contention for the 2017 gong.
Only Cote d’Ivoire, with Drogba’s double and Toure’s quadruple, have taken more titles than Nigeria.
It is also the first time in the history of the event that all previous winners have been invited.
Also for the first time ever, football fans and the general public were presented with the opportunity to have a say in the selection process for the African Player of the Year and Africa’s Finest XI.
Public voting opened on the CAF website on Sunday, 24th December 2017. The outcome will be tallied with results from the earlier phases of the selection process for the contenders. Voting for Africa’s Finest XI has been on CAF Facebook.
This year, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Senegal’s Sadio Mane (both of English Premiership giants Liverpool, and whose countries, like Nigeria, are both headed for the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia) are in contention with 2015 winner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Oshoala is in the race with Cameroon’s Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene and South African Chrestina Kgatlana.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
1992: Abedi Pele (Ghana)
1993: Rashidi Yekini (Nigeria)
1994: Emmanuel Amuneke (Nigeria)
1995: George Weah (Liberia)
1996: Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
1997: Victor Ikpeba (Nigeria)
1998: Mustapha Hadji (Morocco)
1999: Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
2000: Patrick Mboma (Cameroon)
2001: El-Hadji Diouf (Senegal)
2002: El-Hadji Diouf (Senegal)
2003: Samuel Eto’o Fils (Cameroon)
2004: Samuel Eto’o Fils (Cameroon)
2005: Samuel Eto’o Fils (Cameroon)
2006: Didier Drogba (Cote d’Ivoire)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Cote d’Ivoire)
2010: Samuel Eto’o Fils (Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Cote d’Ivoire)
2012: Yaya Toure (Cote d’Ivoire)
2013: Yaya Toure (Cote d’Ivoire)
2014: Yaya Toure (Cote d’Ivoire)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
Two Moroccan players from top-flight soccer side Ittihad Tanger have been missing at sea since Saturday after strong currents drifted their small yacht, a club official said on Sunday.
They were in a group of five players from the club who went cruising off the northern city of Tangier when strong currents and heavy winds drifted their yacht away as they were swimming in deep waters, club deputy president Anass Mrabet told Reuters.
“Three players have already been rescued on Saturday, while research is still ongoing for the missing Salman Harraq and Abdellatif Akhrif,” he said.
The players did not have buoys on them when they jumped from the small yacht to swim, he said citing recounts by rescued players.
While Akhrif, 24, is already a full member of the squad, Harraq, 18, was about to move up to the senior team this year, Mrabet added.
Ittihad Tanger have been in the Moroccan top flight since 2015 and won the league title for the first and only time in their history in the 2017-18 season. However, they have struggled in the lower half of the standings in recent years.
-Reuters
FIFA will host its first ever FIFAe World Cup of Football Manager this year to crown the best virtual manager on the highly-popular video game, world soccer’s governing body said on Thursday.
FIFA is partnering with Sports Interactive, the developers of the game that has sold millions of copies and has also been used by several football clubs to scout players and opponents thanks to its extensive database.
Players will compete for $100,000 in prize money in the final event from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.
“This competition requires participants to demonstrate a profound understanding of football strategy and tactics,” said former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is the ambassador for the esports event.
“Success demands not only mastery of game mechanics but also in-depth football knowledge, making this format a fascinating blend.”
FIFA said in the inaugural year of the event, selected member associations will be invited to be represented at the final event.
Member associations from all six confederations are expected to be invited while players can sign up on FIFA’s website.
-Reuters
Former Italy international Roberto Baggio was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint at his home in northern Italy while watching his country’s match against Spain in the Euro 2024 tournament on Thursday, local police said.
Burglars broke into Baggio’s house near Vicenza, hit him on the head with a gun butt and locked him and his family in a room while they stole jewellery, watches and cash, daily Il Corriere della Sera reported. It said he suffered a deep wound.
“Luckily, the violence I suffered only resulted in a few stitches, bruises and a lot of fear. Now it is to overcome the fear,” Baggio was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA.
Baggio, 57, played for clubs including Juventus (JUVE.MI), opens new tab, AC Milan and Inter Milan. He also played 56 times for Italy, scoring 27 goals, and is widely seen as one of his country’s all-time greats.
After the robbery, Baggio, widely known as the “divine ponytail”, was treated at a local hospital where he received stitches for the head wound, Italian media reported.
Italy lost to Spain 1-0 on Thursday and now must avoid defeat by Croatia to guarantee progression in the tournament.
-Reuters
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