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Matchday 2 of AFCON 2025 begins today

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Namibia Ruins Tunisia Captain’s 100th Cap Mark -

The road to the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, continue from Sunday, September 8, as 48 national teams across the continent embark on their qualifying campaigns. 

The Matchday Two of the qualifiers continue as teams are divided into 12 groups to battle it out in a series of exciting encounters, with 24 matches scheduled.

The race will be tough as the top two finishers in the eleven (11) groups that do not involve tournament hosts Morocco, are set to gain qualification to the competition.

The qualifiers will determine the 24 teams that will contest the 35th edition of Africa’s biggest sporting spectacle set to take place in the North African nation between 21 December and 18 January. 

Here’s the full schedule for Matchday 2 of the AFCON 2025 Qualifiers (all times in GMT):

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Sunday, September 8, 2024

15:00: Gambia v Tunisia

Monday, September 9, 2024
13:00 Burundi – Senegal
15:00 Equatorial Guinea – Togo
15:00 Niger – Ghana
16:00 Madagascar – Comoros
16:00 Uganda – Congo
18:00 Lesotho – Morocco
19:00 Angola – Sudan
19:00 Ethiopia – Congo DR

Tuesday, September 10, 2024
13:00 Botswana – Egypt
13:00 Rwanda – Nigeria
13:00 Mozambique – Guinea-Bissau
13:00 Eswatini – Mali
13:00 South Sudan – South Africa
16:00 Gabon – Central African Republic
16:00 Liberia – Algeria
16:00 Guinea – Tanzania
16:00 Namibia – Kenya
16:00 Zimbabwe – Cameroon
19:00 Cabo Verde – Mauritania
19:00 Benin – Libya
19:00 Zambia – Sierra Leone
19:00 Chad – Côte d’Ivoire
19:00 Burkina Faso – Malawi

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

AFCON

Libya sacks coach ahead of AFCON qualifying back-to-back matches with Nigeria

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Milutin Sredojević

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.

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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.

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AFCON

CAF president blasts Ghana, others over stadium ban

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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.

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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.

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AFCON

Present and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen

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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

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