Uncategorized
WHAT PROSPECTS AFTER 20 YEARS SINCE NIGERIAN LAST WON CAF AWARD?
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 20 years since a
Nigerian last won the African Footballer of the Year award. The last Nigerian recipient
was the legend, Nwankwo Kanu who was decorated on the opening match day in
Lagos at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations for his exploits in 1999.
When the final shortlist was released on New Year Day, the sole Nigerian candidate in the top 10, Alex Iwobi, crashed out. Nigerians can only look forward to next year to find out if any of the country’s footballers can win the award.
Yet in the first eight years of the CAF organised award, Nigerians dominated, winning five times, while five other Nigerian players made the final cut of three in other years of the early period.
Ever since 1999, Nigeria’s best outings were the runners-up position by Mikel Obi in 2013 and the second-runners up ranking of Vincent Enyeama in 2014.
Another edition of the award holds tomorrow on the slave-trade island of Gorée, two kilometres off the Atlantic Ocean coast of Dakar the capital city of Senegal.
When a shortlist of 34 was initially composed, there were three Nigerians – Alex Iwobi, Ahmed Musa and Odion Ighalo.
When the list was pruned to 10, speedy striker, Ahmed Musa and current highest goal scorer in the qualifying series for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, qualifying series, Odion Ighalo did not make the cut.
Iwobi, a nephew to the legendary Austin Jay Jay Okocha, had a mountain to climb among the penultimate 10 before last week’s final shortlist. It was a heavyweight composition, hence he could not make it to the last three like his uncle, Austin Jay Jay Okocha did some years ago.
Despite his acclaimed fame and admiration, Okocha never won the title as he agonizingly missed out in 1998, 2003 and 2004. Incidentally, those were the eras when Nigerian footballers made waves across the globe.
When Victor Ikpeba won the 1997 award, Nigeria’s Taribo West, then featuring for Inter Milan was the second runner up.
In 1998 when Okocha lost the award to Morocco’s Mustapha Hadji, Sunday Oliseh, then playing for Ajax Amsterdam.
The African Footballer of the Year Award has a long history as it was initially done by French publication, FranceFootball magazine in the 1970s. Expectedly, the award skewed in favour of players from the Francophone countries who were the main focus of the magazine.
In 1980, with the assistance from the late Bashorun MKO Abiola, the then African Sports Journalists Union (ASJU), now simply AIPS-Africa, initiated its awards ceremony that were held in irregular intervals and often adopt the results released by FranceFootball,
In 1992, CAF started its official awards. At the early stage, Nigerian dominated. Even though Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew of Ghana won that of 1992, the next years saw a preponderance of Nigerians.
Rashidi Yekini won that of 1993 while Emmanuel Amuneke beat Liberia’s George Weah to win that of 1994 and Yekini emerged as the second runners-up.
George Weah won that of 1995, but had two Nigerians as runners-up – Emmanuel Amuneke and Daniel Amokachi.
Nwankwo Kanu beat George Weah to the award in 1996 while Daniel Amokachi was the second runners-up.
Iwobi could see his club mate and former winner, Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang emerging as winner again. He won in 2015.
Apart from Arsenal as a common denominator for both, they also have Gernot Rohr as a coach both have passed through.
Rohr handled Gabon to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as one of his players. Iwobi is one of Rohr’s key players in the Super Eagles.
Also, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s father, Pierre-François Aubameyang who had 80 international caps, was in the Gabonese team beaten 3-0 by Super Eagles at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia.
In a final shortlist that is a replication of that of 2017, Aubameyang have Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Senegal’s Sadio Mane to contend with. The Egyptian was two weeks ago named as BBC’s African Footballer of the Year 2018.
If past trend is anything to go by, CAF Award may just re-echo the award result of BBC.
Those who fell out along with Iwobi in the final shortlist are Andre Onana (Cameroon & Ajax), Anis Badri (Tunisia & Esperance), Denis Onyango (Uganda & Mamelodi Sundowns) and Mehdi Benatia (Morocco & Juventus).
The
others are: Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City) and Walid Soliman
(Egypt & Ahly).
The final phase will involve votes from CAF Media Experts, Legends, Coaches of
the quarter-finalists of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup,
and Coaches & Captains of the 54 Member Associations.
With Iwobi out of contention for the topmost award, there are other Nigerians who hope to begin 2019 with accolades. Asisat Oshoala is hoping to win the women’s version of the African Footballer of the Year. She is the reigning queen of the pitch. Contending with Oshoala are two other Nigerians; Francisca Ordega and Onome Ebi.
Nigeria still eyes awards in other categories. Super Eagles’ Wilfred Ndidi who features for Leicester City in the English Premiership is in line for the Youth Player of the Year Award. His challengers are Achraf Hakimi of Morocco and Borussia Dortmund as well as Franck Kessie of Cote d’Ivoire and AC Milan.
Nine time African champions, Super Falcons are shortlisted along with Cameroon and South Africa for the Women’s National Team of the Year Award.
The three teams will be at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France next year. Nigeria beat the other two countries via penalty shoot-out in the semi finals and final respectively of the CAF Women’s Nations Cup in Ghana.
The coaches of the three women’s teams are also in line for the Women’s Coach of the Year Award. For the Men’s National team of the Year, the big teams are glaringly absent. The shortlisted are Madagascar, Mauritania and Uganda.
Madagascar, the home country for CAF president, Ahmad, got into reckoning by becoming the first team to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. The team will make a debut at the competition which venue remains undecided.
Hard playing Uganda qualified back-to-back for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since their 1976 and 1978 qualifications.
Mauritania is another surprise qualifier for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, profiting from the disqualification of Sierra Leone. Like Madagascar, Mauritania will be debuting at 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
SHORTLIST FOR AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR 2018
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Arsenal)
- Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)
Women’s Player of the Year Nominees
- Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Dilian Quanjian)
- Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa & Houston Dash)
- Francisca Ordega (Nigeria & Washington Spirit)
Youth Player of the Year
1. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Borussia Dortmund)
2. Franck Kessie (Cote d’Ivoire & AC Milan)
3. Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria & Leicester City)
Men’s Coach of the Year
1. Aliou Cisse (Senegal)
2. Herve Renard (Morocco)
3. Moine Chaabani (Esperance)
Women’s Coach of the Year
1. Desiree Ellis (South Africa)
2. Joseph Brian Ndoko (Cameroon)
3. Thomas Dennerby (Nigeria)
Men’s National Team of the Year
1. Madagascar
2. Mauritania
3. Uganda
Women’s National Team of the Year
1. Cameroon
2. Nigeria
3. South Africa
Uncategorized
Morocco Handed Boost as Brazil Lose Only Specialist Right Back Ahead of World Cup Clash
Morocco have received an early boost ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C opener against Brazil after the South Americans lost their only specialist right back, Wesley, to injury.
The AS Roma defender was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a left thigh muscle injury during Brazil’s 2-1 international friendly victory over Egypt in Cleveland on Saturday.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) confirmed on Sunday that medical examinations revealed damage to the adductor muscle in Wesley’s left thigh, forcing him to withdraw from Carlo Ancelotti’s 26-man World Cup squad.
His absence leaves Brazil with a significant selection headache ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Morocco. Wesley was the only natural right back in the squad, meaning Ancelotti may now have to rely on makeshift options such as versatile defenders Danilo and Ibanez to fill the position.
“The MRI scan revealed a muscle injury to the adductor muscle in his left thigh,” the CBF said in a statement.
“The CBF regrets the injury. Wesley is a player much loved by the squad and will always be considered part of this team as it seeks to win its sixth World Cup title.”
Brazil have moved quickly to replace the injured defender, calling up Atalanta midfielder Ederson, who is expected to join the squad in the United States on Monday.
For Morocco, the development could offer a tactical advantage as the Atlas Lions prepare to face the five-time world champions in what is expected to be one of the most eagerly anticipated matches of the group stage.
The North Africans, who reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and continue to be regarded as one of the strongest teams outside Europe and South America, will be looking to exploit any defensive uncertainty on Brazil’s right flank.
Brazil, chasing a record-extending sixth World Cup title, are grouped alongside Morocco, Haiti and Scotland in Group C. The opening encounter between Morocco and Brazil is expected to play a key role in determining the eventual group winner.
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Algeria have extended the contract of national team coach Vladimir Petkovic and his technical staff until 2028, the country’s football federation said on Sunday, days before the World Cup in North America, with his previous deal due to expire immediately after the tournament.
Petkovic, who took charge in February 2024, has overseen a strong turnaround, leading Algeria to 21 wins, four draws and three defeats in 28 matches and guiding the team to qualification for the 2026 World Cup, after their absence from the 2018 and 2022 editions.
Algeria also reached the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after consecutive group-stage exits in 2021 and 2023, while climbing from 43rd to 28th in the FIFA world rankings and from seventh to fourth in Africa during the Bosnian’s tenure.
The federation said the extension reflected “stability and confidence in the work accomplished”, with Algeria set to open their World Cup Group J campaign against Argentina on June 17 before facing Jordan and Austria.
-Reuters
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Multi-champions Brazil, Argentina and Germany all won their preparatory games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Saturday, although by small margins, with former champion England and hopeful Portugal also securing victories.
The busy day of friendlies saw some of the biggest stars on display, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Vini Jr and Mohamed Salah playing, but three-time champion Argentina opted to rest Lionel Messi against Honduras in Texas in a game where forward Lautaro Martinez shone with a goal and one assist for a 2-0 win. Simeone scored the second for Argentina.
Five-time champion Brazil beat Egypt 2-1 in Cleveland with Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes scoring early from inside the box and Lyon forward Endrick adding in the second half after an assist from Barcelona’s Raphinha. Zico scored for Egypt, while Salah played the first half and seemed to be in good form.
There was some drama with Brazil and AS Roma right back Wesley leaving the field in tears after what appeared to be a serious muscle injury in the left leg, which might take him out of the World Cup. Teams can change players up to one day before their first games.
Harry Kane’s first-half header earned England a 1-0 win over New Zealand in Tampa, while there were also victories for Scotland and Belgium as teams fine-tune ahead of the tournament’s kickoff next week.
With England manager Thomas Tuchel rotating his entire team at halftime and handing minutes to 22 players in the scorching 32-degree Celsius (90-degree Fahrenheit) heat, the result was secondary to the process.
But Kane’s clinical finish with a glancing header into the bottom corner from Djed Spence’s cross offered a timely reminder of the skipper’s importance to their hopes of winning a second Cup.
Four-time world champions Germany secured a ninth win in a row with a 2-1 victory over World Cup co-hosts the United States in Chicago.
Germany’s Kai Havertz (left) challenges United States captain Tyler Adams during the international friendly match between the USA and Germany at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, on June 6, 2026. Photo: Talia Sprague/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters.
Kai Havertz headed in Joshua Kimmich’s free kick to give them a second-minute lead, but the Americans snatched a stunning equaliser when Antonee Robinson thundered in a volley after defender Jonathan Tah had headed away a corner.
But Leroy Sane rifled in from 12 metres to restore Germany’s lead in the 57th minute.
Portugal defeated Chile 2-1 in an ill-tempered clash in Oeiras, where both teams finished with 10 men as Rafael Leao and Ivan Roman received their marching orders.
Goncalo Guedes gave the home side the lead before Bruno Fernandes added a second from outside the box. Lucas Cepeda scored a late consolation for Chile.
“We were superior in the 90 minutes, we managed to control the game very well, especially having a lot of the ball in the last third,” Fernandes told RTP.
Striker Romelu Lukaku continued his comeback from injury for Belgium with 25 minutes off the bench as they enjoyed a 5-0 victory over 10-man Tunisia in Brussels.
Leandro Trossard, Charles De Ketelaere, Kevin De Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin scored the goals as Lukaku grabbed an assist.
“We wanted a good performance in front of our fans,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said. “It is a good preparation for the World Cup, we know this team can do great things.”
A much-changed Scotland scored all their goals in the first half as they romped to a 4-0 success over Bolivia in New Jersey.
Che Adams bagged two to go with strikes from Lawrence Shankland and Scott McTominay in an impressive performance.
Switzerland and Australia drew 1-1, while Bosnia and Herzegovina were held to the same scoreline by Panama.
-Reuters
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