AFCON
Afcon hopeful, Salah makes final shortlist for Fifa Best award
Egypt national football team received a major boost ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations as their star player, Mohamed Salah along with Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi were named on Friday (Jan 7) as the three finalists for the Fifa Best Men’s Player award, while Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas was nominated for the women’s prize.
Poland star Lewandowski won last year’s Fifa award but had to settle for second in the 2021 Ballon d’Or voting behind Messi, winner of the accolade for a record seventh time.
The awards ceremony will be held virtually from Fifa’s headquarters in Zurich on Jan 17.
Putellas, Barcelona team-mate Jennifer Hermoso and Chelsea’s Australian striker Sam Kerr are the finalists for the Fifa Best Women’s Player award. The trio were also the top three vote-getters for the Ballon d’Or.
The winner will succeed England’s Lucy Bronze, who took home the previous award.
The prizes for the best men’s and women’s player, coach and goalkeeper are voted for by the captains and coaches of all national teams around the world, as well as an online ballot of fans and a select number of journalists.
Voting closed on Dec 10.
Manuel Neuer, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Edouard Mendy are in the running for best men’s goalkeeper honours, while Roberto Mancini, Thomas Tuchel and Pep Guardiola are the three nominees for best men’s coach.
Lluis Cortes, who led Barcelona’s women to a treble last season, is up against Chelsea coach Emma Hayes and Sarina Wiegman, the former Netherlands boss now in charge of England, for top women’s coach.
–AFP
AFCON
Libya sacks coach ahead of AFCON qualifying back-to-back matches with Nigeria
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.
This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.
Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.
His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.
Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.
The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.
According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach, Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.
He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience.
According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
AFCON
CAF president blasts Ghana, others over stadium ban
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,
After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.
Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti, Chad, Niger, Eritrea, Gabon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, São Tomé and Burundi.
Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.
“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.
He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”
Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.
“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.
AFCON
Present and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen
The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.
Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.
Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.
Peseiro left his position after the Africa Cup of Nations
-
AFCON1 week ago
Austin Eguavoen remains the ‘Big Boss’, says NFF
-
AFCON1 week ago
Rwanda newspaper gives 5 lessons gleaned from Rwanda-Nigeria clash
-
AFCON1 week ago
Present and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen
-
CAF Confederation Cup1 week ago
Enyimba continues unbeaten run against Burkina Faso clubs
-
AFCON4 days ago
Libya sacks coach ahead of AFCON qualifying back-to-back matches with Nigeria
-
CAF Champions League1 week ago
Enugu Rangers in slim CAF Champions League win over Angola’s Sagrada Esperanca
-
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL1 week ago
Falconets crash out from U-20 Women’s World Cup
-
Governing Bodies6 days ago
Storm in CAF over proposed statutes amendments