International Football
NIGERIA TO FACE TOGO IN WAFU CUP
Home-based Super Eagles team has been drawn to face Togo in the WAFU Cup. The draw was made in Senegal, which will host the competition at the refurbished Stade Lat Dior in Thiés (90 kms from Dakar.
It runs from September 28 to October 12. The format of the tournament been amended from the first edition which was a straight knock out but this time teams will at least play two matches at the tournament.
The winners of the first phrase will qualify for the tournament proper whiles the losing sides will battles for the plate competition.
The first match pairs hosts Senegal against their neighbors Guinea Bissau whiles Gambia renew their rivalry against Ghana at this tournament.
Twice African footballer of year El Hadji Diouf is one of many legends for the tournament organised by WAFU in collaboration with Fox Sports.
“It will not be a party of pleasure, it will be difficult but we must not falter in this competition which is played at home” said the former Teranga Lions captain.
His former club and international teammate, Salif Diao, added: “It would be nice to start stuffing our trophy cupboard with this competition.”
And besides the Senegal-Guinea Bissau match, the draw of the preliminaries gave the following result: Mali-Niger, Côte d’Ivoire-Cape Verde, Burkina Faso-Mauritania, Nigeria-Togo, Ghana-Gambia, Guinea-Benin and Morocco-Liberia.
The Kingdom of Morocco are invited to the tournament following the absence of Sierra Leone due to their FIFA ban for government interference.
The eight winners of the preliminaries will compete for the main competition while the eight others will be entitled to a new chance in the form of play-off plate competition.
“The teams in the tournament will play at least two games during the tournament,” said WAFU Zone A president Augustin Senghor.
“In any case, there will be 22 games between the 16 teams present on a single stadium, the Lat Dior Thies” said WAFU Zone A Secretary General Jammeh El Bojang.
Each participating team will receive $ 6000 as participatory fees while the winner of the tournament pockets $ 100,000.
The winner of the plate competition will receive $75, 000.
“This formula won the support of the Organizing Committee to allow the show and we must as a host country succeed in terms of organization and participation,” added Augustin Senghor.
The first edition was hosted and won by Ghana in September 2017.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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