African Games
AFRICAN GAMES’ WOMEN’S FOOTBALL FINAL MATCH REIGNITES NIGERIA-CAMEROON RIVALRY
BY KUNLE SOLAJA, RABAT
If comparative weight is anything to go by, the gold medal of the women’s football African Games is just waiting for Nigeria to pick it. But in competitive sports, there have been incidents of lower ranked upstaging the favourites.
That is the setting for the encounter of the Nigerian Super Falconets as they confront their eastern neighbours Cameroon at theBoubker Aamar Stadum in the outskirt of Rabat, Morocco.
It is the battle for gold medal. Nigeria will be going for the gold medal for the third time after the victory in 2003 and 2007. While Cameroon hope to follow up their 2011 win in Maputo, Mozambique.
They were 0-1 losers to Ghana four years ago in Brazzaville. At the time, the competition was not age-graded. In their march to the final, they beat Nigeria 2-1 in the semi-final.
Can they do it again? This time around, the contest is between the U-20 teams. Only thrice in history has Cameroon and Nigeria met in the women’s under-20 football event.
That was in 2008 when they met in the FIFA U-20 World Cup qualifiers. Nigeria won both legs, 1-0 in Abuja and 3-0 in Yaounde. Last week in the African Games, both played a 1-1 draw.
Can Nigeria’s U-20 ladies do it again as they did in 2008? It is a contest that evokes great passion considering the rivalry at almost all levels of football.
In the men’s senior category, the rivalry looks ageless as Cameroon last beat Nigeria in regulation time exactly 20 years ago two days ago.
The rivalry was palpable when both met at the Round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations two months ago in Egypt.
At the women’s level, Nigeria depended on the lottery of penalty shootout to overcome Cameroon last December in Ghana when both met at the semi-finals of the CAF Women’s Nations Cup.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS AT U-20 WOMEN’S LEVEL
- April 6, 2008: Nigeria 1-0 Cameroon
- April 19, 2008: Cameroon 0-3 Nigeria
- August 21, 2019: Cameroon 1-1 Nigeria
ROAD TO THE FINAL
Cameroon
- Aug. 18, 2019: Cameroon w/o Zambia
- Aug. 21, 2019: Cameroon 1-1 Nigeria
- Aug. 24, 2019: Cameroon 1-0 South Africa
- Aug 26, 2019: Morocco 1-3 Cameroon
Nigeria
- Aug. 18, 2019: Nigeria 3-0 South Africa
- Aug. 21, 2019: Cameroon 1-1 Nigeria
- Aug. 24, 2019: Nigeria w/o Zambia
- Aug 26, 2019: Nigeria 3-0 Algeria
Dr. Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, who superintended the 13th African Games held in Accra Ghana in February has died.
He was the Chief Operating Officer of the Accra 2023 Local Organising Committee (LOC).
According to sources in Ghana, Dr. Owusu-Ansah was a sports administrator and coach, and thus left behind, a significant legacy in the world of sports.
Dr Owusu-Ansah, a former Chief Executive of the National Sports Authority (NSA), was widely regarded as an encyclopaedia of sports knowledge.
Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Owusu-Ansah, a former national chief athletics coach, authored the best-selling book “Principles of Abundant Living.”
He played a pivotal role in establishing the Department of Sports Studies at the College of Education at the University of Ghana. Additionally, he served as the Director of the Sports Directorate at the University of Ghana, Legon.
The Africa Students Football Union (ASFU) has expressed condolences over the passing of a patron of the union, Dr Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, who served as the COO of the just concluded 13th Africa Games held in Ghana.
Dr. Owusu-Ansah’s death was announced on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
According to a release by the executive secretary of the union, Femi Abioye, Owusu-Ansah until his death contributed immensely to sports development on the continent and the world at large.
He left an indelible impact on the lives of students-athletes coupled with sports administration across Africa countries.
The ASFU’s President, Prof. Oluwaseun Omotayo, who was shocked at the news of the demise of Dr. Owusu-Ansah described the deceased as a pillar, saying his departure has left a great vacuum in sports management.
He relished the deceased contribution and unwavering dedication to ASFU, saying the Union would miss the deceased.
“We will miss Dr. Owusu-Ansah, whose contribution to sports, knew no bounds. He was always ready to serve. He helped build the Union and was pivotal to the Union programmes. We will surely miss him,” he said.
He extended the Union condolences to all those affected by this loss, praying God grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.
African Games
A milestone as Egypt becomes the first country to get 100 gold medals in African Games
As the curtain is drawn on the 13th African Games in Egypt, the traditional overall winners, have this time hit a milestone.
They have become the first to hit a 100 gold medal mark in the 59 year history of the games.
As at Saturday morning, they have amassed 101 gold medals, 54 more than that of the second placed Nigeria
The biggest star of the Egyptian team is swimmer Marwan Elkamash, who won five gold medals in the men’s 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 4x200m relays, all in freestyle.
But medal haul is still short that that of his compatriot, Faten Afifi who fished out seven gold medals from the pool.
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