AFCON
CHRISTIAN CHUKWU AND CO STILL SPECIAL EVEN 40 YEARS AFTER!
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
How time flies! It is 40 years today since Nigeria first won the Africa Cup of Nations.
At the time, the football populace was not bugged down with English and other countries’ football, which could only be monitored then by weekly delayed transmission on television or through journals like Shoot! Magazine.
The stars known them were the heroes spreading excitements in the domestic league and making great impacts in continental competitions.
For the first time on 22 March 1980, the whole country was united under the glue of one accord provided by national sport – football.
It was truly the moment everyone had dreamt for. In a country shaken to its foundation by a 30-month civil war, recurring military rule, socio-economic problems as well as many diverse ethnic, religious and interest groups, winning the Africa Cup of Nations proved not just an event, but a glue that held the country together.
Sadly, not all the 22 members of the then Green Eagles are alive today to celebrate the 40 years of the winning of the premier continental competition.
Six of them, among them five starting XI players have gone beyond human touch.
These include goalkeeper Best Ogedegbe, Tunde Bamidele, Okey Isima, Aloysius Atuegbu and Muda Lawal. Eyo Martins, a player on the bench has also passed on.
Even the coach of the team, Professor Otto Gloria of Brazil has also gone to the world beyond.
The other great players of the squad living are craving for attention as most have long been forgotten.
They are: Skipper Christian Chukwu (69), Segun Odegbami (67), Felix Owolabi (64), David Adiele (65), Godwin Odiye (63), Adokiye Amiesimaka (63) and Emmanuel Okala (68).
Also in the epoch-making squad are: John Orlando (59), Sylvanus Okpala (58), Ifeanyi Onyeadika, Shefiu Mohammed (63), Henry Nwosu (56) and Kadiri Ikhana (68).
Others are Moses Effiong (59), Charles Bassey and Frank Onwuachi. Those are the heroes of the 12th Africa Cup of Nations in 1980, most of whom are living in obscurity now.
On the final match day, there was apprehension on the possibility of Nigeria overcoming Algeria. The fears were rooted on goal-scoring efforts of the Green Eagles who had not scored more than a goal in the preceding three matches.
The defence of the Algerians was believed to be water-tight and ably marshaled from the left rear by short Moustapha Kouici.
In one of his accounts, Segun Odegbami wrote on how he had to go for a bottle of cold beer at their Trade Fair complex to douse tension.
He reported that coach Otto Gloria too was having sleepless night as the Brazilian was seen in his chalet drawn possible opening moves by the Green Eagles.
Whatever starting moves he may have plotted apparently worked.
Within the opening two minutes of the final game, Nigeria was already a goal up. Adokie Amiesimaka took a fairly long throw, which was headed backwards to an unmarked and well-positioned Segun Odegbami in the penalty box.
The tall elegant striker just controlled the ball and lopped it over the defenders for a cheeky opening goal under two minutes of the game. Never before had a goal been scored so fast in the preceding 11 final matches.
It took another 39 years before a goal was scored within the opening two minutes of an Africa Cup of Nations final match. That was at the last year’s final involving Algeria and Senegal.
Baghdad Bounedjah stunned the Senegal Lions of Teranga with a shot, which took a wicked deflection off Salif Sane and looped over the bewildered goalkeeper Alfred Gomis and into the net.
In the 1980 final match, the fast opening goal boosted the confidence of the Green Eagles as Segun Odegbami made the Algerian defence ace, Kouici looked ordinary as he outpaced and easily dribbled past the hitherto rock of defence.
Odegbami increased the tally midway into the first half before Muda Lawal wrapped up the game to give Nigeria a 3-0 win. It was the widest margin win since Ghana’s 3-0 defeat of Sudan in 1963.
DID YOU KNOW?
That when Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time on 22 March 1980, it was an eternal tribute to certain Joseph Mead, the founding secretary of the country’s football governing body, NFA (now NFF). If Mead were alive, he would have been 73 on the day Nigeria beat Algeria to win the trophy for the first time.
Senegal defiantly displayed the Africa Cup of Nations trophy to their supporters on Saturday before going on to beat Peru 2-0 in their World Cup warm-up game at the Stade de France.
Nicolas Jackson scored four minutes before halftime, and Ismaila Sarr added a second in the 54th as Senegal won their first game since January’s Cup of Nations final, when they beat Morocco only to be stripped of the title this month.
The Confederation of African Football’s Appeal Board awarded Morocco the Cup of Nations title after Senegal had staged a 14-minute walk-off during the final in Rabat, a decision that Senegal is contesting at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
An hour before kick off in Paris on Saturday, Senegal’s players and coach Pape Bouna Thiaw walked around the pitch with the trophy to a delirious reception from a near-capacity crowd as they continue to scoff at the CAF decision.
Thiaw had declared on Friday that “we know we’re African champions” and the team wore a newly designed strip featuring two stars above their badge, representing success in the Cup of Nations in 2021 and again this year.
Jackson had an easy put-away for the first goal after a storming run down the right wing by Senegal’s teenage starlet Ibrahima Mbaye, taking over the attacking mantle with Sadio Mane absent.
Sarr latched onto a ricocheted ball that fell perfectly into his path but had to power past two defenders before scoring the second goal.
There was also a convincing win for the Ivory Coast as they hammered South Korea 4-0 at Stadium MK, north of London, on Saturday.
Like Senegal, the Ivorians are among the nine African countries that will compete at the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S starting in June.
Evann Guessand scored the first goal in the 35th minute after being set up by debutant Martial Godo, who then scored the third himself from a rebound at a corner after 62 minutes.
In between, Simon Adingra announced his return to the team with a rasping shot on the stroke of halftime to make it 2-0.
He had been omitted from the squad for the Cup of Nations in Morocco at the turn of the year, where the Ivorians were defending their title but went out in the quarter-finals.
Defender Wilfried Singo, another player back in the squad, side-footed the fourth goal with the last kick of the game.
The Ivorians next face Scotland at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, while Senegal head home to play neighbours Gambia in Dakar on Tuesday, where they are expected to again brandish the golden trophy in front of their home support.
Reuters
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Burundi took a commanding step towards the next round of the Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 qualifiers with a convincing 4-0 away win over Chad in the first leg of the preliminary round on Friday.
Goals from Jordi Liongola, Bienvenue Kanakimana, Abdoul Karim and Mossi Nduwumwe secured a dominant win at the Stade Olympique Maréchal Idriss Déby Itno in N’Djamena, giving Burundi a strong advantage ahead of the return leg in Bujumbura.
The result puts Burundi firmly in control of the two-legged tie as they look to progress to the group stage qualifiers of the next continental finals, set to be hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Burundi made a fast start and were rewarded as early as the sixth minute when Liongola opened the scoring, capitalising on defensive uncertainty to give the visitors an early lead.
Chad struggled to recover from the setback and found themselves further behind just after the half-hour mark when Kanakimana doubled Burundi’s advantage in the 32nd minute.
Trailing 2-0 at the break, Chad needed a strong response but it was Burundi who continued to dictate proceedings in the second half.
Karim extended the lead in the 63rd minute, effectively putting the tie beyond the hosts, before Nduwumwe added a fourth goal in the 74th minute to cap a clinical performance.
Meanwhile, Abel Yalew scored twice as Ethiopia secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Sao Tome & Principe to take firm control of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 preliminary round tie.
Kenean Markneh had earlier set Ethiopia on their way with a 22nd-minute opener at El Abdi Stadium in El Jadida, Morocco, before Yalew struck nine minutes later to double the lead and silence any hopes of a response.
Yalew added his second of the night late on, finishing confidently in the 78th minute to hand Ethiopia a commanding advantage ahead of the return leg on 31 March.
The result puts Ethiopia in a strong position as they seek to progress to the group stage of the qualifiers for the 2027 finals.
Elsewhere, Somalia and Mauritius played out a goalless draw in their first-leg clash, leaving their tie finely balanced heading into the return fixture.
The preliminary round marks the beginning of the road to the Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027, with 12 of the continent’s lowest-ranked teams competing for six places in the group stage qualifiers.
With a four-goal cushion, Burundi will head into the second leg full of confidence, while Chad face a daunting task to overturn the deficit and keep their qualification hopes alive.
-Cafonline
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French journalist Romain Molina has claimed that interference influenced proceedings in a high-profile case involving Morocco and Senegal, handled by the Confederation of African Football.
In a video clip circulating online, Molina rejected accusations that he holds anti-Moroccan views, insisting instead that the facts available to him point to developments that, at one stage, went against Morocco’s interests.
“I’m telling you, in the first instance, there was interference against Morocco… I stand by it,” Molina said, adding that his position is based on what he described as behind-the-scenes information.
Molina revealed the existence of a message allegedly sent by Augustin Senghor, President of the Senegalese Football Federation and a member of CAF’s Executive Committee, to CAF President Patrice Motsepe prior to the appeals committee’s decision.
According to Molina, Senghor expressed concern over reports of a “secret meeting” that was allegedly aimed at influencing the case in favour of Morocco and against Senegal.
The journalist argued that the message raises serious questions about internal dynamics within CAF, suggesting that Motsepe could not claim ignorance of tensions within the governing body if such communication had indeed been received.
Molina also pointed to what he described as a contradiction in Senghor’s position—raising concerns privately while remaining publicly silent on the alleged meeting.
“On one hand, he warns about a secret meeting… on the other, he does not come out publicly to explain what he knows,” Molina said, questioning why such claims have not been openly addressed.
While the claims have sparked debate within football circles, there has been no official confirmation from CAF regarding the alleged interference or the existence of any secret meeting.
The case itself, which has already generated significant attention across African football, continues to highlight concerns over governance, transparency and decision-making processes within the continental body.
Molina’s remarks are likely to intensify scrutiny on CAF’s disciplinary and appeals procedures, particularly at a time when African football governance is under increasing global attention.
Whether the allegations will prompt further investigation or official clarification remains to be seen, but the controversy has once again brought internal decision-making within CAF into sharp focus.
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