TheNewsGuru

Tag: ACL

  • Enyimba, others set to feature in inaugural African Football League

    Enyimba, others set to feature in inaugural African Football League

    All is now set for the Inaugural African Football League (AFL) to kick start on the continent.

    Africa’s highest-ranked football clubs will compete in the exciting new ‘Super’ competition will kick off as from October across centers in Africa.

    It is designed to showcase the best of African club football and provide football fans in Africa and around the world, the opportunity to see and enjoy the very best of the beautiful game on the African Continent.

    The AFL tournament is a partnership between CAF and FIFA. The Inaugural edition of the AFL will feature 8 of Africa’s most famous and successful teams from the 3 African Regional Blocks which are: the North Region, the Central-West Region and the South-East Region.

    Egyptian giants Al Ahly Football Club, Tunisia’s Espérance Sportive de Tunis and Wydad Athletic Club from Morocco are the football clubs from the North Region.

    The clubs from the Central-West Region are: Nigeria’s Enyimba Football Club and the DRC’s Tout Puissant Mazembe.

    Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club from South Africa, Angola’s Atlético Petróleos de Luanda and Tanzania’s Simba Sports Club are the football clubs from the South-East Region.

    The draw for the Inaugural AFL competition will be held in Cairo, Egypt, on 2 September 2023, at 19H00, Cairo Time and will be streamed live on the AFL website and televised by CAF’s broadcast partners.

    The fixtures of the Inaugural AFL competition are structured on a home and away basis. The competition starts with knock-out quarter finals and will be followed by the semi-finals and the final; all of which are played over two legs.

    This historic Inaugural edition of the AFL will take place over four weeks, kicking off with the Opening Ceremony and the first match on 20 October 2023 in Dar es Salam, Tanzania.

    The semi-finals will take place between 29 October and 1 November.

    The final matches which will determine the winner of the Inaugural AFL competition will take place on 5 and 11 November 2023.

    The Inaugural AFL is a precursor to the fully-fledged AFL competition which will feature the 24 highest ranked football clubs on the African Continent and will commence during the 2024/2025 football season.

  • Super Eagles striker, Sadiq suffers lengthy injury lay-off

    Super Eagles striker, Sadiq suffers lengthy injury lay-off

    Super Eagles forward and Real Sociedad New acquisition Umar Sadiq has ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament  (ACL) according to reports from his Spanish club side.

    The lanky Nigerian striker was subbed out in the La Liga clash against Getafe after going down on the turf over the weekend.

    Findings have shown that Sadiq could be out for a lengthy period.

    Sadiq has only played just two games for new club Sociedad before sustaining the ACL injury.

    A statement on the club’s official website read, “He suffered a torsion in his right knee during the Getafe-RS match, held yesterday, 09-11-2022.

    “The MRI done this morning shows a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament. It is a subsidiary lesion of surgical treatment. In the next few days, it will be reported.”

    He walked off the pitch on his own after landing awkwardly as a result of a dribble by an opponent.

    Initial reports suggested it was a minor injury but Monday morning scans show that the striker would need surgery.

    Umar Sadiq Mesbah is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Real Sociedad and the Nigeria national team. Sadiq formerly represented the Nigeria national under-23 team and was an important member of the squad that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.