International Football
2023: A prosperous year for African football
With less than a few hours before the dawn of another year, CAFOnline reviews what has been another exceptional and memorable year for African football.
Senegal at the summit of Africa
An expression that resonated three times this year. 4 February 2023, Senegal lifts the CAF African Nations Championship, for the first time in its history. The team led by Pape Thiaw won on penalties against Algeria, host country of the competition.
A collective success in which several individuals stood out, including the red-hot Lamine Camara who was voted best young player in the competition along with Pape Mamadou Sy crowned best goalkeeper.
A few weeks later, it was the turn of their U-20 team coached by Malick Daf to shine, as they edged Gambia 2-0 at the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations final in Egypt to be crowned U-20 champions for the first time. Not only did they lift the title, but they impressively did also so without conceding a goal.
Motivated by the performances of their elders, the U-17s then followed suit and edged Morocco 2-1 in the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations final in Algeria. A tournament in which Amara Diouf was crowned top scorer of the competition with five goals.
CAN U-23: Morocco, Egypt and Mali qualified for the Olympic Games
For the first time in their history, Morocco were crowned champions of the CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations. They did so in front of their fans when they played host to the tournament and defeated Egypt 2-1 after extra time.
The result meant both Morocco and Egypt gain automatic qualification and would then be joined by Mali who finished third at the competition.
CAF Champions League: Al Ahly get eleventh star
Egyptian giants, Al Ahly secured their 11th CAF Champions League in style after winning the first leg 2-1 to travel to Casablanca where they came from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw which saw them crowned African champions on aggregate.
The final was one of most talked about African club competition matches across the globe and set the tone for what promises to be another exciting edition of the competition in the current season.
CAF Super Cup: USM Alger, the champion of champions
CAF Confederation Cup winners, USM Alger came face to face with Champions League champions, Al Ahly at the King Fahd stadium in the Saudi city of Taif in a match that attracted millions of viewers globally.
An evenly contested encounter was separated by Zineddine Belaid in the 43rd minute which saw the Algerians do the unthinkable by beating Al Ahly in a cup final.
FIFA Women’s World Cup: Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Morocco shine
Suffice to say that the four African teams entered in the Women’s World Cup have left their mark on this tournament.
Africa shone bright at the FIFA Women’s World Cup as for the first time in the history of the competition, three African nations made it through to the Round of 16.
Looking at some of the stand out performances, Zambia star player, Barbra Banda made history by scoring the 1000th goal of the competition when playing against Costa Rica.
Zambia’s African counterparts at the tournament, Nigeria, South Africa as well as debutants, Morocco all did well to fly the African flag high in their impressive performances in the group stages that saw them all advance to the knockout stages – a first in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Sundowns crowned African Football League champions
The African Football League has been the new attraction on the Pan-African football calendar. On the starting line, the eight most prestigious teams in African football and at the end a winner: Mamelodi Sundowns. The South Africans won at home in the second leg 2-1 against Wydad.
A first in the history of African Football, the African Football League lifted off in style this year with eight strong African clubs battling it out for the inaugural title.
After a fierce contest across the participating clubs, it was a north versus south battle at Mamelodi Sundowns edged Wydad AC in an exciting two-legged final that saw the South Africans crowned champions.
Mamelodi Sundowns regain CAF Women’s Champions League title
In 2022, they left their throne to AS Far. For the second time in history, Mamelodi Sundowns won the CAF Women’s Champions League by beating Sporting Club de Casablanca 3-0.
U17 World Cup: Mali sweeps Argentina and finishes third in the competition
After surrendering the title to AS Far in 2022, Mamelodi Sundowns regained their continental crown in style after being crowned CAF Women’s Champions League winners without conceding a single goal.
The final saw them comfortably cruise past SC Casablanca 3-0 to officially reclaim their title.
U17 World Cup: Mali sweeps Argentina and finishes third in the competition
The next generation of African football talent shone bright at the world stage during the FIFA U17 Word Cup.
After narrowly losing out to France in the semi-finals, Mali crushed Argentina 3-0 to win the bronze medal at the global showpiece thanks to goals by Mamadou Doumbia, Ibrahim Diarra and Hamidou Makalou.
-CAF
International Football
Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat
Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.
Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.
Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.
FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.
Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.
By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.
Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.
“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.
“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”
LONGER HALFTIMES
Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.
“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.
“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”
The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.
“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.
FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.
“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.
“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”
FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.
“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.
“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.
-Reuters
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Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.
Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.
“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.
“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”
Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.
After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.
-Reuters
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International Football
From garbage collector to Starman of Ancelotti’s Brazil team: the story of Ribeiro
“I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me.!” Alex Ribeiro
Alexsandro Victor de Souza Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, 1999) was, until a few days ago, a semi-unknown to the general public in Brazil.
However, Carlo Ancelotti, impressed by his strong performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League, insisted on calling up the Lille centre-back… and giving him his debut.
Not only that. He started alongside Marquinhos against Ecuador (0-0) and Paraguay (1-0) and helped the Seleçao keep two consecutive clean sheets for the first time in the qualifying rounds.
Alex, as he likes to be called, impressed with his 1.92 meters (6′ 1″) frame and confidence. According to ‘R10Score’, he was the Brazilian player who completed the most actions with the ball (186) and the second with the most cuts (11).
He completed 154 of the 166 passes he made (92% accuracy) and won 12 of the 16 duels he was involved in: 5 of 7 at ground level and 7 of 9 in the air. “A gentleman defender,” boasted the official Ligue 1 Portuguese account.
His path to the elite wasn’t easy. “I don’t think you know this, but this is my first game as a professional in Brazil. Strange, isn’t it? There’s nothing better. To debut in Brazil like this, with a win and qualification,” he boasted after defeating Paraguay.
These first few days with Ancelotti have been unique; I’ll remember them for the rest of my life. I’ve responded well not only to myself, but also to the coach and the Brazilian people. I was able to demonstrate my ability to those who had doubts. Few people give me the opportunity that the manager has given me,” he insists
The Lille centre-back took his first steps in Flamengo’s youth system, where he even met Vinicius.
“When we played against Real Madrid, Vini came up to me and hugged me. He said, ‘I’m glad to see you here, brother.’ That inspired and motivated me even more,” he told ‘Globo Esporte’.
‘Fla’ cut him off. He had to make a living as a street vendor. He also collected trash, especially cans. “I was without a team for a year and a half, doing trials… and no club in Brazil wanted me, so I went to Europe to play in Portugal’s Third Division.”
Praiense (2018-20), Amora (2020-21), and Chaves (2021-22)—the latter already in the Second Division—were his springboard to Lille. The Bulldogs signed him in 2022-23 for €2 million. He has become a more than worthy successor to his compatriot Gabriel Magalhaes.
“Little by little, my name is spreading. My football is reaching everywhere. This includes Brazil,” he said before making his debut with the Seleçao. Now that he’s made it, he has another challenge: “I want to continue it.”
-Marca
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