International Football
‘Jollof Derby’ enters scene 2 and 3 as Nigeria face Ghana again in WAFU B U20 & U17 Championship
After last month’s keenly contested battle for Qatar 2022 World Cup tickets in which Ghana had a technical advantage, both countries are meeting again at U17 and U-20 levels to round up what will be a trilogy of two-long term rivals.
Title holders of the WAFU Zone B U20 Cup of Nations, Ghana are to face next month.
The Black Satellites were drawn to take on the Flying Eagles in Group B of the tournament to be played in Niger Republic.
The Ghanaians will also play Burkina Faso in the three-team group of the tournament to be held in Niamey, the capital of the West African country.
Hosts Niger were drawn in Group A to face Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin following the draw conducted at the headquarters of the Niger Football Federation.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals of the seven-team competition reserved only for youth footballers.
The WAFU B U20 tournament will be staged in Niamey from May 7 to May 20.
While the teams will compete for the ultimate title, they will also be vying for places at the 2023 edition of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations.
The top teams in the tournament will qualify for the competition to be held in Egypt from February 18, 2023 to March 12, 2023.
The top four teams from the Egypt tournament will then qualify to play in the FIFA U20 World Cup which will be staged in Indonesia later in 2023.
Meanwhile in the U17 draw, host country Ghana were pitted against Nigeria in Group A of the competition.
The Black Starlets will also face Togo in the three-team group while Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger will make up the other group.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
The championship, which serves as qualifiers for the 2023 edition of U17 Africa Cup of Nations, will be hosted in the Ghanaian city of Cape Coast.
It will be staged from Saturday June 11 to Friday June 24, 2022.
The participating teams will challenge for the trophy as well as tickets to the Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria next year.
The full WAFU B U20 draw:
GROUP A – Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin.
GROUP B – Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
The full WAFU B U17 draw:
GROUP A – Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.
GROUP B – Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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