AFCON
AFCON final qualifiers: Five matches to keep an eye on
There are only nine places left in the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023 and the slots will be filled in this week’s final round of qualifiers.
At the end of the sixth and final day of the qualifiers this week, all 24 African nations qualified for Africa’s biggest football spectacle will be officially confirmed.
CAFOnline takes a look at five key fixtures where the stakes are at an all-time high.
GROUP C
Cameroon – Burundi
Two teams with a contrasting record when it comes to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Cameroon are five-time winners of the tournament while Burundi are dreaming of a second appearance at the competition.
Closely tied on 4 points, any loser between this tie will automatically lose out on a trip to Cote d’Ivoire.
The Indomitable Lions will count on the goalkeeping presence of André Onana. The Cameroonian shot-stopper, who has come out of international retirement to bolster Rigobert Song’s squad.
Veteran striker, Vincent Aboubakar will also draw confidence from playing in front of his home crowd Garoua.
Looking at into the nest of the Swallows, Étienne Ndayiragije will be counting on dangerman, Bon Fils Caleb and Saido Berahino to get the result for the east African side.
GROUP I
DR Congo – Sudan
The Democratic of Congo were languishing at the bottom of Group I with 0 points after their first two games of the qualifiers.
This prompted emergency changes for the Leopards which saw Hector Cuper being replaced by Sebastien Desarbre.
The change immediately brought results with the Leopards getting a 3-0 win over Mauritania and 2-0 win over Gabon.
Facing Sudan will not be easy for the west Africans but will be hoping that home ground advantage plays to their favour in Kinshasa.
Mauritania-Gabon
Another crucial fixture is in Group I that will be closely contested by two sides.
Equal on points and just separated by goal difference, Mauritania and Gabon will leave everything on the field when they meet in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
The Panthers will be relying on the experience of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but will be without the services of Andre Poko as well as Lloyd Palun.
GROUP E
Ghana – Central African Republic
A tricky assignment awaits the Black Stars. Even though Ghana top Group E with nine points, Chris Hughton’s men face a Central African Republic (CAR) side that is just two points behind them.
CAR will be gunning for a full haul of points to secure their first ever CAF AFCON appearance while the four-time champions Black Stars need just a draw at home in Kumasi to advance.
Angola – Madagascar
One of the key fixtures of the group decider will be Angola against Madagascar. With the islanders already out of contention, Angola could spoil the party for the Black Stars.
The Palancas Negras are a point behind Ghana and should they win and the Black Stars lose to CAR, it could spell disaster for the west Africans in what would be a huge upset in the group.
-Cafonline
AFCON
Libyan CAF Exco member laments the heavy presence of Nigerian witnesses at botched match hearing
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani, a Libyan member of the CAF Executive Committee has lamented that the Libyans did not present strong evidence at the CAF hearing of the controversy-ridden Libya-Nigeria match.
According to a statement he made in the Libyan publication, Libya Akhbar, Al-Shalmani remarked that the trial scenereflected the great disparity in support provided to the two contesting teams.
He pointed out that more than 20 people represented the Nigerian team in the case, including the Minister of Sports, members of the Nigerian Parliament, and other prominent figures.
On the other hand, Al-Shalmani expressed his dissatisfaction with the absence of any official Libyan support, as he found himself alone in representing Libya in this case, which he described as “national. ” He expressed his disappointment at the Libyan officials’ neglect of this vital file.
Al-Shalmani stressed: “While I was representing Libya alone, this issue was supposed to be an opportunity to unite ranks and support the homeland. It is unreasonable for me to address the responsible authorities individually without having an official position that would enable me to do so. This is an issue that affects Libya’s dignity and sporting reputation and requires everyone’s intervention.”
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Libya’s CAF Exco member, Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani has voiced out his disappointment over the testimony of the pilot who flew the ValuJet aircraft that took the Nigerian delegation to the botched Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match earlier this October.
Libya’s CAF Exco member, Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani has threatened to sue ValueJet pilot for giving evidence in Nigeria’s favour
Captain, Abdellatif Merchergui, a Tunisian pilot who flew the ValueJet aircraft was a key witness Nigeria presented at the hearing of the episode.
He is the Acting Head of Flight Operation at ValueJet.
Al-Shalmani who is not an aviation expert, described Merchergui’s testimony as “false and slanderous,” noting that the pilot provided testimony that served his Nigeria’s interests “instead of adhering to diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries of Libya and Tunisia.”
He has threatened to follow-up with legal action against Merchergui, as an official memorandum of complaint will be filed against the Tunisian pilot who, according to Al-Shalmani, “violated the rules of integrity and honesty.”
He also claimed that Nigeria latched on the fame of its star-studded squad to sway global support for the Super Eagles.
According to Libya Akhbar publication, Al-Shalmani pointed out that the Nigerian team exploited the fame of its professional players in international leagues to create the impression that they were victims of Libyan attacks or conspiracies.
Despite this media pressure, Al-Shalmani expressed his denunciation of this strategy, stressing that the facts on the ground are completely different from those that the Nigerian team is trying to present. He added: “What the Nigerians are trying to portray as injustice on our part is in fact an attempt to cover up the truth, as the testimony presented was completely false.”
KUNLE SOLAJA.
As both Nigeria and Tunisia await the verdict of CAF over the Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifying match which failed to be held last 15 October in Benina, Libya, the two contesting countries are depending on Tunisians to get favourable verdict.
Libya engaged a Tunisian lawyer. Nigeria in turn presented as key witness, the Tunisian pilot who was the captain of the ValueJet aircraft that conveyed the Super Eagles to Libya.
Sports Village Square gathered that CAF listened to the Libyan and Nigerian sides via Zoom, specifying its questions about the plane landing at Labraq Airport and the reasons for diverting it from Benina Airport.
The Libyan Football Federation, through Secretary General Nasser Al-Suwai’i, Assistant Secretary General Mohamed Qrimida, and the Tunisian lawyer, presented the technical reasons related to air navigation.
Nigeria on the other hand, presented the plane’s captain, Abdellatif Merchergui, a Tunisian, as a witness to the incident. He is the Acting Head of Flight Operation at ValueJet and he piloted the aircraft.
He offered the details that preceded the plane’s landing in Al-Abraq and his contact with the navigation control tower at Benina Airport.
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