AFCON
Afcon 2023 teams set up seven pre-tournament camps in the Middle East and Africa
With the clock ticking down to the 13 January kick-off date for the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the 24 teams have set up seven camps in the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa and West Africa as well as some remaining at home.
The camps are in Saudi Arabia, UAE, West Africa, South Africa, Tunisia, Algeria as well as some remaining in their home countries.
In the United Arab Emirates are six teams from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Cape Verde Angola and Guinea.
Fourth in the last edition, Burkina Faso chose to set up camp in Dubai on December 28, where the Stallions will play a mini-tournament with Nigeria and the DR Congo.
The Congolese and Burkinabes will face off on January 10.
It’s worth noting that Sébastien Desabre’s men are expected in Abu Dhabi at the end of December.
These two teams will be joined by Cape Verde, fine-tunning its preparation in Abu Dhabi before flying to Rades in Tunisia where they will face the Carthage Eagles on January 10.
Abu Dhabi is a carefully considered choice for Kaba Diawara: “Initially, we will meet in Conakry on December 28 and do everything related to flag presentation, celebration, receiving the head of state, and saying goodbye to families on our soil.
“We will be in Abu Dhabi on the 31st to start training. We will leave there for Cote d’Ivoire on January 11 or 12, 2024,” explained the Guinean coach.
Nigeria chose to set up in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates during their preparation. The Super Eagles will face the DR Congo and Burkina Faso during this period.
Nigerians will likely encounter Angola, who also chose Dubai for their training camp.
At the Saudi Arabia training camp are the quartet of Cameroon, Gambia, Zambia, and Cape Verde which also will partly be in UAE and later Tunisia.
Cameroon and Gambia, the two teams set to face each other on January 23 in Group B of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, will prepare in the same country of Saudi Arabia.
According to the Cameroonian press, a contingent of 23 Indomitable Lions will travel to Jeddah on December 27.
Gambia will stay in Saudi Arabia from December 27 to January 5 before heading to Morocco, where a match against the Atlas Lions is planned on January 7.
After a brief gathering with local players, Zambia will fly to Riyadh, with a friendly match scheduled around January 7.
South Africa is another training centre where Ghana and Mozambique will be. Ghanaians will spend New Year’s Eve together in South Africa. The Black Stars will undergo a 10-day training camp where the press and the public will not be able to attend their sessions.
A test match against Botswana is scheduled for Chris Hughton’s men on January 8 before flying to Abidjan.
Mozambicans will also travel to South Africa before the Africa Cup of Nations.
The trio of Algeria, Guinea Bossau and Namibia opted to set up camp in West Africa
Algeria heads to Togo. From January 1 to 10, the Fennecs will conduct their preparation stage in Lomé. The 2021 African champions will play against Togo on January 5 and Burundi on January 9.
Guinea Bissau will go to Mali. The Djurtus will face the Eagles on January 3 before heading to Ivory Coast on January 7. Namibia will be in Ghana.
Both Mauritania and Zambia opted to set up training camp in Tunisia. After Abu Dhabi, Cape Verde will go to Tunisia, where a match against the Carthage Eagles is scheduled.
Mauritania will start its preparation in Tabarka, a coastal city in northwest Tunisia. Amir Abdou and his team will be there until January 11 and will face Tunisia on January 6.
Tanzania will prepare on the side of Annaba in Algeria. Two friendly matches against nations participating in the AFCON are under discussion.
Eight nations have decided to carry out their preparation at home, including Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Tunisia, Mali, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, the host country of the competition.
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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