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AFRICA FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Osimhen may become next big name to miss out on prime prize of African Footballer of the Year

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Palais des Congrès, Movenpick, Marrakech, MOROCCO

The local television stations here in Morocco has been vocal in beaming the exploits of home boy, Achraf Hakimi the right back who played a crucial role in pushing Morocco to an historic World Cup semi-finals last year in Qatar.

Hakimi took the winning kick in the penalty shoot-out against Spain which launched  Morocco, Africa and the entire Arab World into a historic World Cup semi-finals for the first time ever.

Clips of Hakimi’s exploits, at the Paris St-Germain are also being aired in apparent motive of shaping the awards’ outcome.

He now stands as the main obstacle to the apparent front runner, Victor Osimhen.

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Should Hakimi wins, it will be the second time a Moroccan had beaten a Nigerian at the last hour, bringing in the memory of the 1998 episode when Mustapha Hadji edged out the front-runner, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha.

But with Osimhen ranking highest among the African players at the 2023 Ballon d’Or, he still looks the most likely winner of the prime CAF Award ahead of the duo of Hakimi and Mohamed Salah.

If he wins, he becomes the first Nigerian to do so since the 1999 award to Nwankwo Kanu.

He will also become the first winner to have previously won the

Best Young Player of the Year. He was the African Best Young player in 2015 courtesy of his performances at the FIFA U17 World Cup that year.

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In the Women’s category, record-extending Asisat Oshoala had previously won the Best Young Player of the Year (Women) in 2014.

But sometimes, expectations don’t square up with results. In the past, there have been frontrunners who stumbled on the last day as exemplified by Mikel Obi who was expected to win the title, on home soil in 2013 after Nigeria had won the Africa Cup of Nations that year.

Similar examples are that of Okocha in 1998 and Ghana’s Michael Esssien who  made the CAF award shortlist every year from 2005 to 2009, and finished second behind Mali striker Frederic Kanoute in 2007.

His compatriot and Ghana’s all-time leading goalscorer Asamoah Gyan is another notable name to miss out, finishing behind Eto’o in 2010, while Bayern Munich and Black Stars centre-back Samuel Kuffour was second in both 1999 and 2001.

Other notable misses are those of  Egypt’s Mohamed Aboutrika  in 2006 and 2010 as well as South Africa’s Benni McCarthy in 1996.

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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.

AFRICA FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Tobi Amusan in nervy wait

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World record holder in women’s 100m hurdles will have to wait till all the semifinals are concluded to know if she is qualified for the final.

She finished third in her race when she clocked 12.55 seconds. She will have to wait to find out if any third placed person will not have a better time.

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AFRICA FOOTBALL LEAGUE

All eyes on Ofili in Women’s 200m final race

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Nigeria’s Favour Ofili will be the centre of attraction tonight as she attempts to show the world what they could have seen if she had taken part in the 100m women’s race at the Paris 2024.

She has the winner of the race, Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia to beat and make a bold statement.  Both clashed in the first semi-finals of the race on Monday night where Alfred took first over Ofili. The time difference between the two was just 0.07 seconds. Alfred ran 21.98 seconds while Ofili returned after 22.05.

But a semi-final race is not the same as the final race as both may have just ran the earlier one for qualification reserving energy for the big race.

Also lined up are McKenzie Long, Brittany Brown and Gabrielle Thomas of the United States,  Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita (both British), Jessika Gbai of Cote d’Ivoire,

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AFRICA FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Neugebauer maintains decathlon lead

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Decathlete Leo Neugebauer at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (© Getty Images)

MIKE ROWBOTTOM,  FOR WORLD ATHLETICS

The morning session on Saturday (Day 3 of Athletics) ended with drama in the decathlon as Canada’s defending champion Damian Warner and Norway’s Sander Skotheim were both unable to register a mark in the pole vault.

An Olympic decathlon best of 53.91m in the discus had lifted Grenada’s Lindon Victor to within one place of a medal after seven events, with Germany’s overnight leader Leo Neugebauer remaining in pole position ahead of Warner and Skotheim after that discipline.

But the medal dreams of Warner and Skotheim were dashed following the pole vault, as they failed to clear their opening heights.

US sprinters Kenny Bednarek, the Tokyo 200m silver medallist, and Fred Kerley, the 2022 world champion, were top qualifiers in the men’s 100m heats as they both clocked 9.97.

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The key challengers, including Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson who leads this year’s 100m world list with 9.77, plus USA’s world champion Noah Lyles and defending champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy, also all progressed.

Meanwhile, the first of the newly created repechage rounds, in the women’s 800m, created races of huge excitement, with home athlete Anais Bourgoin generating ear-splitting noise from another packed morning session crowd as she progressed to tomorrow’s semifinals.

Warner, Canada’s defending champion in the decathlon, got his second day of competition off to a successful start as he produced the fastest 110m hurdles time of 13.62, with Ken Mullings of The Bahamas registering 13.70 and France’s Makenson Gletty, massively encouraged by the buzzing crowd, clocking the third best effort of 13.96.

That bunch of 1024 points moved Warner, fourth at the end of the first day, into the lead on 5585, 14 points clear of Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme, with Neugebauer, who leads this year’s world list with 8961, staying in touch in third place on 5560, one place ahead of Norway’s European silver medallist Skotheim on 5543.

Victor’s was the winning flourish in the discus. But Neugebauer, who holds the decathlon world best in the discus of 57.70m, did enough with a second-place 53.33 to retain gold-medal position with 6500 points, 72 ahead of Warner, with Skotheim third on 6326 and Victor fourth on 6311.

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But it was all change after the pole vault, as first Skotheim failed all his three attempts at his opening height of 4.50m and then Warner did the same at his opening height of 4.60m. Neugebauer cleared 5.00m and Victor 4.90m, but there were PBs for Estonia’s Janek Oiglane and Norway’s Markus Rooth, who both managed 5.30m.

That took Rooth to 7271 points and he finished the session in second place, behind Neugebauer on 7410 and ahead of Victor on 7191, with only the javelin and 1500m to go.

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