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PINNICK ASSURES CAF WILL PICK THE BETTER CANDIDATE TO HOST 2019 AFCON

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President of the Nigeria Football Federation and the 1st Vice President of the Confederation of African Football, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, on Monday in Dakar, Senegal pledged that the African football –ruling body will vote for the better –qualified candidate between Egypt and South Africa to host this year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals.

Pinnick, who is also President of the AFCON Organizing Committee, told thenff.com that his committee has analysed the strengths of the two bidding nations and would advise CAF on the better option ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the CAF Executive Committee that will select the host country.

“The AFCON committee of which I am the chairman has done a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) on both bidding countries and we will meet on the sideline of the CAF Football Awards to finally decide on the best option and present same to CAF before Wednesday’s meeting.

“The interest of African football is paramount in this. It is important that we get this right so that the selected country can quickly put structures in place for the championship which is only about five months away.”

The NFF boss, who is also a Member of the Organizing Committee for FIFA Competitions, arrived the Senegalese capital on Sunday evening for the meetings as well as the AITEO-CAF African Football Awards, which holds in the historic island of Goree on Tuesday evening.

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Pinnick’s influence and insistence was determinant in CAF agreeing to a four -year contract with Nigeria’s leading energy solution company, AITEO for sponsorship of the African Football Awards. AITEO came into the picture last year on a one –year agreement to bankroll the event hosted in Accra, Ghana following the departure of another Nigerian company, Globacom.

CAF had in November 2018 stripped designated host, Cameroon, of the right to host the 2019 AFCON as a result of delays in construction and security threats.

Egypt and South Africa have differing strengths with regards to their individual bids to host the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations finals holding this summer. This year’s edition will be the first to entertain 24 teams.

South Africa hosted and won the 1996 finals that was taken away from Kenya for ill –preparedness, and then also hosted the 2013 finals (that Nigeria won) after civil strife broke out in designated host nation, Libya, in 2011.

In 2010, South Africa became the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup – a 30 –day, 32 –nation extravaganza that was widely seen as a magnificent success. A year earlier, the nation also hosted the FIFA Confederations Cup.

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Egypt has hosted the continent’s top football houseparty three times previously, including hosting and winning the 1986 and 2006 finals. The country also hosted the FIFA U17 World Cup finals in 1997 and the FIFA U20 World Cup finals in 2009.  

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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AFCON

Libya sacks coach ahead of AFCON qualifying back-to-back matches with Nigeria

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Milutin Sredojević

The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.

This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.

Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.

His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.

Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.

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The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while  the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.

According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach,  Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.

 He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience. 

According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.

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AFCON

CAF president blasts Ghana, others over stadium ban

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CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,

After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.

Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti,  Chad,  Niger,  Eritrea,  Gabon,  Sudan,  Zimbabwe,  Madagascar,  São Tomé and Burundi.

Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.

“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.

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He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”

Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.

“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.

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AFCON

Present and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen

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The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.

Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.

Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.

Peseiro left his position after the Africa Cup of Nations

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