AFCON
Nigeria’s Peseiro Eyes End Of Goal Drought Against Cameroon –
Nigeria coach José Peseiro compared his team’s meagre goal tally at the Africa Cup of Nations to a bottle of ketchup, saying the goals might come all at once in the next match against Cameroon.
The Super Eagles face their old rival and five-time champion Cameroon in the last 16 on Saturday.
The lack of goals — one in each of the three games so far — are a concern for a Nigeria team boasting African player of the year Victor Osimhen and speedy wingers Samuel Chukwueze and Moses Simon.
Napoli star Osimhen, in particular, has endured a frustrating tournament by missing a host of good chances, He scored in the opening 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea, but only two of his six shots were on target. Osimhen had three shots in the 1-0 win over Ivory Coast, none of them on target, while he was unsuccessful with four efforts in the final group game, a 1-0 win over Guinea-Bissau.
“I saw some statistics that said our team until now has created more clear opportunities than the other opponents,” Peseiro said on Friday. “If you create opportunity, I cannot change our model, our game.”
The Portuguese coach said the goals will come.
“It can happen for the next match like ketchup. Sometimes the ketchup doesn’t come, but (then) all the ketchup comes at once. It’s possible, in the next match or another match, that all the goals can come with less opportunities.”
Osimhen’s 13 shots and four clear chances are the most for any Nigeria player at the tournament, but no player created more opportunities for his teammates in the group stage than Cameroon’s Georges-Kévin Nkoudou with 10.
Defense is more of a concern for Cameroon coach Rigobert Song, whose team conceded six goals in Group C and scraped into the knockout stage only with a late winner from Christopher Wooh over Gambia in their final group game.
“I want to approach this competition in relation to what happened in the last match and by correcting what did not work,” Cameroon coach Rigobert Song said. “Everything wasn’t perfect and you have to improve every day, so my players are aware. I know what needs to be done.”
Song will need to decide which goalkeeper to play after dropping Manchester United’s André Onana to the bench in favor of Onana’s cousin, Fabrice Ondoa, for the last group match. Ondoa made important saves in the 3-2 win over Gambia, while Onana produced a shaky performance in the previous match against Senegal.
“This is a country that has always had great goalkeepers,” Song said. “You remember the time of Thomas N’Kono, (Joseph-)Antoine Bell – it can be shared. They’re very good goalkeepers. I’ve no problem with the goalkeeper today, all my goalkeepers are competitive. And I’ll say it again, I’m counting on 27 players and all 27 are present and ready to respond to what we need. I don’t think there’s any controversy in picking one of these goalkeepers. They get along very well and I think everyone has a chance.”
Cameroon, the Indomitable Lions, will be playing in the same stadium where they won the first of their five Africa Cup titles by beating Nigeria 3-1 in the 1984 final. The rivals went on to play again in the deciders in 1988 and 2000, with Cameroon winning both times.
Angola plays Namibia in the first round-of-16 match earlier Saturday in Bouaké.
-AP
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially opened the bidding process for countries interested in hosting the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2028, 2032 and 2036, with several member associations already submitting proposals.
CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe disclosed that the bidding exercise is progressing smoothly and described the level of interest from prospective hosts as encouraging.
“The bidding process is progressing very well, and numerous exciting bids have been submitted by potential host countries,” CAF said, adding that announcements on successful hosts will be made in due course.
Meanwhile, CAF confirmed that its 48th Ordinary General Assembly will be held in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 21, 2026.
The continental governing body expressed appreciation to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for their cooperation in preparations for the event.
CAF said the General Assembly is expected to attract football leaders from across the continent and will play a significant role in shaping policies aimed at accelerating the development and growth of African football.
The organisation added that the Abuja gathering is expected to be one of its most significant assemblies in recent years as CAF continues implementing reforms across competitions, infrastructure development, youth football and governance.
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By Kunle Solaja
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have taken the first step towards jointly hosting the 2032 Africa Cup of Nations after submitting an expression of interest to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Nigerien Football Federation announced that CAF had accepted the joint declaration submitted by the three West African nations, marking the opening phase of the bidding process.
However, the acceptance of the expression of interest does not amount to an award of the hosting rights, as the countries must still undergo CAF’s comprehensive evaluation process before a final decision is made.
The three football federations unveiled their joint project following a meeting with CAF President Patrice Motsepe in the United States during the closing stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The proposed bid brings together the three members of the Alliance of Sahel States, reflecting their ambition to co-host one of Africa’s biggest sporting events and strengthen regional cooperation through football.
Earlier this month, CAF officially opened the bidding process for the 2028, 2032 and 2036 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, inviting all 54 member associations to submit expressions of interest. The continental governing body said all bids would be assessed based on strict technical, financial and legal criteria.
As the next stage of the process, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso must prepare a comprehensive bid dossier outlining the proposed host cities, stadiums, training facilities, transport infrastructure, accommodation capacity and security arrangements.
CAF has yet to announce the timetable for selecting the 2032 host nation(s) or reveal the full list of countries expected to compete for the hosting rights.
Should the joint bid eventually succeed, the tournament would return to Mali for the first time since it staged the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations. It would also mark a historic first for both Niger and Burkina Faso, neither of which has previously hosted the continent’s flagship football championship.
The bid underscores the growing trend of joint hosting arrangements for major football tournaments, allowing neighbouring countries to pool infrastructure and resources while expanding the reach of the competition across multiple nations.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA, Brooklyn, NY
A document circulating widely on social media claiming that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has stripped Morocco of its 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and declared Senegal champions appears to be fabricated, with official CAS records showing no evidence that a final ruling has been issued.
The claim emerged months after the Senegalese Football Federation appealed a decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to award Morocco a 3-0 victory in the controversial AFCON final. While Senegal’s appeal is genuine, the latest official information indicates that the case remains unresolved.
One of the clearest indications that the viral document is not authentic is its case number. The circulating image bears the reference CAS 2026/A/10857, whereas CAS officially confirmed that Senegal’s appeal was registered under CAS 2026/A/12295. Such a discrepancy would not be expected in a genuine final award.
The document also incorrectly identifies the dispute as being solely between the Senegalese Football Federation and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. CAS has officially stated that the appeal was lodged against both CAF and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, since the challenged decision originated from CAF’s Appeals Board.
The purported ruling further claims that CAS issued its verdict on June 10, 2026, accepting Senegal’s appeal, overturning CAF’s decision and restoring the result achieved on the field, effectively awarding the continental title to Senegal.
However, a review of CAS’s official communications reveals no statement, judgment or announcement issued on that date regarding the AFCON final dispute.
The latest public update from CAS remains the statement released on March 25, 2026, in which the court confirmed only that Senegal’s appeal had been registered and that an arbitration panel had been appointed. CAS also stated that it was too early to determine a hearing date or indicate when a final decision might be delivered.
In the same communication, CAS disclosed that Senegal had requested an extension to file its appeal brief until it received the full written reasons behind CAF’s ruling. The court also reiterated that arbitration proceedings remain confidential while ongoing.
That timeline directly contradicts the claims contained in the viral document.
Further doubts about the document’s authenticity stem from the fact that it does not appear in CAS’s official database of published decisions. The image circulating online also excludes CAF from the list of respondents and exists only as a low-quality graphic featuring signatures, stamps and an Arabic translation without any verifiable official source.
CAS typically publishes non-confidential rulings through its official database or recent decisions section. No ruling relating to the AFCON final dispute has been published.
Until CAS announces otherwise, CAF’s Appeals Board decision remains the only valid and enforceable ruling in the matter.
On March 17, 2026, CAF’s Appeals Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the AFCON final after its players left the field during the match. Invoking Articles 82 and 84 of the competition regulations, the board awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory, overturned an earlier disciplinary decision and upheld Morocco’s protest.
Senegal subsequently challenged that ruling before CAS, but the appeal has yet to produce a publicly announced outcome.
As things stand, there is no official evidence that CAS has revoked Morocco’s AFCON 2025 title or declared Senegal champions. Unless and until the Lausanne-based court issues a formal decision, CAF’s ruling remains in force, making the viral document misleading and highly likely to be fake.
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