Governing Bodies
Red-hot Osimhen among CAF’s 10 to players to watch in World Cup play-offs
The goldfish has no hiding place in clear freshwater. So it is with gold-coloured haired Victor Osimhen, the quicker and more refined version of ‘Goal-Father’ Rashidi Yekini.
He is among CAF’s top 10 African players in this weekend’s World Cup play-off. With the qualifiers starting just hours away, CAFOnline.com selected 10 of the players expected to shine on the path to Qatar 2022.
Nigeria – Victor Osimhen
Moses Simon was the toast of the Super Eagles fans during the recent AFCON, but that place in the hearts of the fans will be taken by returning striker Osimhen.
The Italy-based attacker was absent when they reached the knock-out stage during the recent tournament in Cameroon, which gave the chance for Simon to demonstrate his capabilities to the admiration of the fans.
With the fit-gain attacker part of the Super Eagles team to face Ghana, Osimhen will pose more problems for the Black Stars than the winger.
His 10 goals and six assists in his 19 matches show that the striker is the man to watch in the two-legged game against their arch-rivals.
Fifteen goals in all competitions for Napoli so far this season shows that his combination with Kelechi Iheanacho and Odion Ighlo in the Nigeria attack will be deadly.
Algeria – Riyad Mahrez
The Desert Foxes will be relying on the Manchester City winger Mahrez to weave the magic against their tough opponents Cameroon to qualify for Qatar. Algeria, who were winners of the 2019 TotalEnergies, were unimpressive when defending their title last month and were eliminated at the group stage. They are hoping to appease their fans and with Mahrez in the squad the Foxes are confident he would replicate the form that has seen him score 22 goals in all competitions for the English giants so far this season. The winger, who can also play in attack, was instrumental when Leicester City won the English Premier League title for the first time in the 2018/2019 season. He has since moved to Manchester City where has also bagged several titles.
Cameroon – Vincent Aboubakar
The Indomitable Lions will be counting on the ingenuity of the Saudi Arabia-based striker who has led the side with aplomb in recent games. The attacker, who has so far scored eight times for Al Nassr in 22 outings, was instrumental in when Cameroon finished third at the country’s recent hosting of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations. With eight goals in seven matches, Aboubakar was the top scorer of the AFCON and made the Team of the Tournament. He must be at his best for Cameroon to be able to defeat the wounded Algerians in their two-legged matches.
DR Congo – Theo Bongonda
DR Congo are chasing their first World Cup appearance in 48 years with their first and only showing being in the 1974 competition when they were known as Zaire.
The Belgium-born player is widely seen as the man to steer the side to the World Cup against Morocco who have been impressive in their qualifiers.
Despite the presence of top players like Chancel Mbemba, Bongonda is the new favourite of the side having switched nationality from Belgium to play for the country of his father.
The speedy player, who has scored ten goals for Genk in the Belgian top-flight this season, will add to the already strong attacking force of the Congolese.
Bongonda, a former youth international for Belgium, applied to switch allegiance and his talent will come in handy to help the Central African nation to outwit the Atlas Lions.
Egypt – Mohamed Salah
The eagerly-awaited rematch between AFCON finalists Senegal and Egypt requires big name players and Salah is certainly among the best in the world.
The Liverpool superstar is seeking to appease the teeming fans of the Pharaohs who are still reeling from the pain of losing the final to this week’s opponent just last month.
Salah has been one of the best players for his country over the past few years and his 28 goals in 36 appearances for Liverpool this season has made him a feared striker.
With ten assists at club level this term, Egypt are confident he will come up when most needed to help them edge Senegal and qualify.
Ghana – Thomas Partey
In the absence of suspended captain Andre Ayew, Partey replaced the Al Sadd playmaker as the most influential Black Stars players.
The Arsenal star has seen some revival in his fortunes with the English side who named their Player of the Month for February.
The former Atletico Madrid has scored ten goals in 27 appearances for the Black Stars demonstrating his importance for the four-time African champions.
Against their arch rivals Nigeria, the midfielder will have the freedom to join the attack which should be a headache for the Super Eagles.
Mali – Yves Bissouma
The return of Yves Bissouma to the Mali national team has injected some confidence among the players that they can defeat Tunisia to make their first appearance at the World Cup.
The England-based midfielder returned to the Eagles squad after a three-year absence to help steer them to the knock-out stages of the recent Africa Cup of Nations.
His presence in the defensive midfield of Mali completely transformed the squad, helping them to reach the knock-out stages for the first time in nine years.
The Brighton player’s ability to effortlessly spot his attackers while effectively disrupting the attack of the opponent will be a headache for Tunisia.
With many young g talented players in the squad, Bissouma and his team-mates provide a real threat to Tunisia’s quest to return to the global tournament.
Morocco – Achraf Hakimi
The Paris St Germain defender has not only been one of the outstanding players for the French sides, he has also been phenomenal for Morocco in their recent successes.
The right-back was the key player for the Atlas Lions in their recent international assignment when they reached the quarter-finals of last month’s AFCON in Cameroon.
Indeed, Hakimi has been influential for Morocco since 2016 when he started playing in the national team, culminating in 36 caps and seven goals.
Having played for some of the biggest clubs in the world including Real Madrid, where he trained as a child, Dortmund and Inter Milan before switching to PSG, Hakimi is certainly one of the key players DR Congo must stop.
Senegal – Sadio Mane
Liverpool star Mane is living one of the best moments of his football career having played a key role for his country to win their first AFCON title just last month.
He is desperate to add another chapter to his international football record by steering the Teranga Lions to defeat Egypt – the team they defeated in the final in Cameroon.
The diminutive striker scored three goals, made two assists in the seven matches Senegal played in Africa’s flagship competition.
His winning penalty helped them to defeat Egypt to seal the title and was named Player of the Tournament.
This shows he will be influential in their rematch with the Pharaohs despite the presence of other top players like Kalidou Koulibaly and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy in the Senegal squad.
Tunisia – Youssef Msakni
Even though a lot of focus has been on striker Wahbi Khazri, the main man of Tunisia has been long-standing striker Msakni who plays for Qatari top-flight Al Arabi.
He scored the only goal that eliminated highly-fancied Nigeria at the Round of 16 at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon demonstrating his importance to the team
His overall contribution makes him the feared player of the Carthage Eagles as his seven goals in 14 matches in Qatar show that he can also contribute goals to his midfield duties.
The 31-year-old, who is a left winger, is already the 19th highest scorer in the history of the AFCON and also on course to equal the record number of tournament appearances.
The record is held by Rigobert Song and Ahmed Hassan of Cameroon and Egypt respectively, after eight appearances from 1996 to 2010.
With seven appearances and at 31, he is likely to catch the record but first he will be keen on helping his country to defeat Mali and qualify for the World Cup.
Kirsty Coventry became the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the most powerful person in sport, on Monday in a handover ceremony with her predecessor Thomas Bach.
The Zimbabwean is the first woman and African to head the body, and at 41, the youngest since Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who is credited with founding the modern-day Olympics.
Coventry accepted the Olympic key from Bach, who, like her, is an Olympic champion — he won a team fencing gold in 1976 and she earned two swimming golds in 2004 and 2008.
Stepping down after a turbulent 12-year tenure, Bach expressed his confidence that the Olympic movement was “in the best of hands” and Coventry would bring “conviction, integrity and a dynamic perspective” to the role.
Coventry, who swept to a crushing first-round victory in the election in Greece in March, leans heavily on her family.
Aside from her parents, who were present at the ceremony in Lausanne, there is her husband Tyrone Seward, who was effectively her campaign manager, and two daughters, six-year-old Ella, who Bach addresses as “princess”, and Lily, just seven months old.
“Ella saw this spider web in the garden and I pointed out how it is made, and how strong and resilient it is to bad weather and little critters,” said Coventry, who takes over officially at midnight Swiss time Monday (2200 GMT).
“But if one little bit breaks it becomes weaker. That spider web is our movement, it is complex, beautiful and strong but it only works if we remain together and united.”
‘Pure passion’
Coventry said she could not believe how her life had evolved since she first dreamt of Olympic glory in 1992.
“How lucky are we creating a platform for generations to come to reach their dreams,” she said to a packed audience in a marquee in the Olympic House garden, which comprised IOC members, including those she defeated, and dignitaries.
“It is amazing and incredible, indeed I cannot believe that from my dream in 1992 of going to an Olympic Games and winning a medal I would be standing here with you to make dreams for more young children round the world.”
Coventry, who served in the Zimbabwean government as sports and arts Minister from 2019 to this year, said the Olympic movement was much more than a “multi-sport event platform.”
“We (IOC members) are guardians of this movement, which is also about inspiring and changing lives and bringing hope,” she said.
“These things are not to be taken lightly and I will be working with each and every one of you to continue to change lives and be a beacon of hope in a divided world.
“I am really honoured to walk this journey with you.”
Bach, who during his tenure had to grapple with Russian doping and their invasions of the Crimea and Ukraine as well as the Covid pandemic, said he was standing down filled with “gratitude, joy and confidence” in his successor.
“With her election it sends out a powerful message, that the IOC continues to evolve,” said the 71-year-old German, who was named honorary lifetime president in Greece in March.
“It has its first female and African to hold this position, and the youngest president since Pierre de Coubertin. She represents the truly global and youthful spirit of our community.”
Bach, who choked back tears at one point during his valedictory speech, was praised to the rafters by Coventry, who was widely seen as his preferred candidate of the seven vying for his post.
After a warm embrace, she credited him with teaching her to “listen to people and to respect them,” and praised him for leading the movement with “pure passion and purpose.”
“You have kept us united through the most turbulent times.
“You left us with many legacies and hope, thank you from the bottom of my heart for leading us with passion and never wavering from our values.”
-AFP
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Former Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry took over the leadership of the International Olympic Committee from Thomas Bach in a ceremony on Monday with the 2028 Los Angeles Games already threatening to fill her in-tray to overflowing.
Coventry, who starts her eight-year spell officially on Tuesday as the most powerful sports administrator in the world, became the first woman and first African to be elected head of the Olympic ruling body in March.
Much of the discussion during campaigning focused on the IOC’s need for change in its marketing strategies with several top Olympic sponsors having left in the past 12 months.
However, with Los Angeles hit by protests against immigration raids, and relations tense between state and city officials, and the U.S. government, the 2028 Games have become the major talking point in the movement that would ordinarily be focusing on next year’s Milano-Cortina Winter Games.
Coventry has long-standing ties with the United States, dating back to her time as a leading swimmer at Auburn University in Alabama. That will prove useful ahead of LA 2028, and she has said she will seek to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the Games.
Coventry will also need to find time to help secure the long-term finances of the movement. The IOC, which generates billions of dollars in revenues each year in sponsorship and broadcasting deals for the Olympics, has secured $7.3 billion for 2025-28 and $6.2 billion for 2029-2032. More contracts are expected for both periods.
COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
Coventry is also expected to continue the IOC’s plans to expand commercial opportunities for sponsors at the Olympics with the organisation’s finances in a robust state and the privately-funded LA Olympics a good place to start.
Coventry needed only one round of voting to clinch the race to succeed Bach, beating six other candidates, making history for the African continent, with the IOC having been ruled for 131 years by European or North American men.
Her background and being the first female president will be assets in a diverse IOC membership and the international makeup of Olympic stakeholders.
On Monday she was handed the golden key to the IOC by Bach, who was the organisation’s president for 12 years.
“I am really honoured I get to walk this journey with you. I cannot wait for anything that lies ahead,” Coventry said in her address to IOC members and other Olympic stakeholders.
“I know I have the best team to support me and our movement over the next eight years.”
Coventry will hold a two-day workshop this week to get feedback from members on key IOC issues.
“Working together and consistently finding ways to strengthen and keep united our movement that will ensure that we wake up daily… to continue to inspire,” she said.
A seven-time Olympic medallist, Coventry won 200m backstroke gold at the 2004 Athens Games and in Beijing four years later.
“With her election, you have also sent a powerful message to the world: the IOC continues to evolve,” Bach said in his speech. “With Kirsty Coventry, the Olympic movement will be in the best of hands.”
-Reuters
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Penalties scored when a player accidentally touches the ball twice must be retaken, world soccer’s lawmaking body IFAB has said after Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez had his spot kick disallowed in a Champions League last-16 match.
During a tense shootout with Real Madrid in March, Argentine forward Alvarez slipped and the VAR spotted that his left foot touched the ball slightly before he kicked it with his right.
Although Alvarez converted the penalty, the goal was chalked off and Atletico went on to lose the shootout and were eliminated from the Champions League.
European soccer’s governing body UEFA said the correct decision was made under the current laws but IFAB (International Football Association Board) has said that in such cases the penalty must be retaken.
Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid – Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain – April 14, 2025 Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez scores their first goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
“(When) the penalty taker accidentally kicks the ball with both feet simultaneously or the ball touches their non-kicking foot or leg immediately after the kick: if the kick is successful, it is retaken,” IFAB said in a circular.
“If the kick is unsuccessful, an indirect free kick is awarded (unless the referee plays advantage when it clearly benefits the defending team). In the case of penalties (penalty shootout), the kick is recorded as missed.”
The decision to disallow Alvarez’s penalty left Atletico boss Diego Simeone livid and the club’s fans outraged.
IFAB added that if the penalty taker deliberately kicks the ball with both feet or deliberately touches it a second time, an indirect free kick is awarded or, in the case of shootouts, it is recorded as missed.
The new procedures are effective for competitions starting on or after July 1, but IFAB said it may be used in competitions that start this month.
-Reuters
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