TheNewsGuru

Tag: CAF

  • AFCON Qualifiers: CAF rejects Sierra Leone stadium for Super Eagles match

    AFCON Qualifiers: CAF rejects Sierra Leone stadium for Super Eagles match

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rejected Sierra Leone’s request to play their 2024 AFCON qualifier against the Super Eagles of Nigeria at Bo City, stadium.

    Bo City is Sierra Leone’s second-largest town.

    Sierra Leone wrote to CAF, praying to host the African Cup of Nations matchday five qualifier at the newly built 6,000-seater Southern Arena in Bo City.

    CAF denied Sierra Leone the right to host Super Eagles at Bo city because of the poor hotel facilities.

    Sierra Leone would have to seek a new venue probably outside the country to host the Super Eagles of Nigeria next month.

    Nigeria are topping Group A of the qualifying series on nine points after three wins from four games, while Guinea Bissau, who caused a major upset when they beat Nigeria in Abuja in the penultimate game, are second on seven points after two wins and a draw.

    Sierra Leone are on five points with one win and two draws, with Sao Tome and Principe on one point with only one draw.

    Two countries will qualify from each group to feature in the 24- team format in next year’s AFCON in Cote’ d Ivoire.

    The defending champion Senegal has qualified for the championship hold January 2024 in Cote ‘d Ivoire.

     

  • Algeria 2023: CAF names officials for Nigeria/Morocco clash

    Algeria 2023: CAF names officials for Nigeria/Morocco clash

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has named Malian official Ousmane Diakate as centre referee for Wednesday’s clash between Nigeria and Morocco in Constantine.

    The match is at the ongoing Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

    Queency Clodia Victoire from Mauritius will be the match’s Assistant Referee 1, while Cape Verde’s Djêry Gomes Lopes will be Assistant Referee 2.

    Ben Amisy Tsimanohitsy from Madagascar will serve as fourth official while Negash Teklit Negassi from Eritrea will be the Match Commissioner.

    Raphael Evehe Divine from Cameroon will be in the role of Referees Assessor and Gabonese Eric Otogo Castane will be the General Coordinator.

    In the 12-team tournament, the first two top-placed teams in each of the three groups will advance to the quarter-finals.

    They are to be joined by the best two third-placed teams.

    The quarter-final matches will produce the four semi-finalists, who will also automatically qualify as Africa’s representatives at this year’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup finals.

  • U-17 AFCON: CAF okays 26 Golden Eaglets players after MRI test

    U-17 AFCON: CAF okays 26 Golden Eaglets players after MRI test

     

    Nigerian Golden Eaglets squad for the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations have all scaled through  the Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) test.

    It was gathered that all the 26 Golden Eaglets players passed the test with relative ease.

    The MRI test is mandatory for all the teams participating in the competition and it is meant to ascertain whether the players fall within the right age category.

    Golden Eaglet Media officer, Francis Achi made it known via his social media account.

    According to Achi, the process of testing the players  only lasted within one hour.

    Meanwhile, the players and their officials have departed for Constantine where they will play all their group games.

    Nduka Ugbade’s side will begin their campaign against Zambia at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium, Constantine on Sunday.

    The game will kick-off at 5pm Nigerian time.

  • AFCON 2027: CAF opens hosting right bid for interested countries

    AFCON 2027: CAF opens hosting right bid for interested countries

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has declared open the bidding process for the hosting right of 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)

    Interested countries have been urged to submit their bids to the continent’s soccer governing body.

    CAF is expected to announce the host nation later this year after inspection.

    A number of countries have expressed their interest in hosting the competition.

    The interested countries must secure the backing of their government to push their bid through.

    Nigeria and Benin Republic have submitted a joint bid to host the 2025 AFCON finals.

    Morocco, Algeria and Zambia have also put forward bid to host same edition.

    Meanwhile CAF will name the hosts for the 2025 and 2027 AFCON later this year.

  • CAF CL quarter-finals: Al-Ahly, Raja face off again as Wydad head East

    CAF CL quarter-finals: Al-Ahly, Raja face off again as Wydad head East

    Record champions Al-Ahly and Morocco’s Raja Casablanca face off in the quarter-finals of the 2022/2023 CAF Champions League for a second consecutive season.

    This fixture came up after the two North African giants were paired in Wednesday evening’s draw in Cairo, Egypt.

    The two sides also faced off at the same stage last season, with the Egyptians winning 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-1 victory at home and a 1-1 draw in Casablanca.

    Raja, who are unbeaten in the competition this season, will be out to exact revenge on Al-Ahly, who squeezed through to the last eight on the last day of the group stages.

    Al-Ahly will host the first leg in Cairo.

    Meanwhile, defending champions Wydad Casablanca will face off with Tanzanian side Simba SC, with the first leg set to be staged in Dar es Salaam.

    Simba will be familiar with the surroundings in Casablanca, as they faced off with Wydad’s arch-nemesis Raja in the group stages, losing 1-3.

    The last meeting between these two sides was in the 2011 season in a special play-off match, with Wydad winning 3-0.

    In other fixtures, 2016 champions Mamelodi Sundowns will continue their campaign for a second title with the first leg of their quarter-final in Algeria against CR Belouizdad.

    Another Algerian side, JS Kabylie, will host Esperance of Tunisia in the first leg of the fourth quarter-final duel, another enticing North African duel.

    The quarter-finals are scheduled for the weekend of April 21 to April 22 and the return fixtures a week later.

    The semi-finals will be played on May 12 and May 13 with the second leg a week later.

  • CAF CC: Rivers United to play Young Africans in quarter-final

    CAF CC: Rivers United to play Young Africans in quarter-final

    Ahead of the Quarter-final fixtures in the CAF Confederations cup, Nigeria’s representative, Rivers United have been drawn against Young Africans of Tanzania.

    The draws were made at the headquarters of the Confederation of African Football in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday.

    Rivers United will host the Tanzanian champions in the first leg in Uyo on Sunday, April 23.

    The reverse fixture will be played a week later at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, Dar es Salaam.

    Rivers United finished second in Group B while Young Africans topped their group.

    The winner will face Egyptian club, Pyramids.FC or Marumo of South Africa in the semi-final.

    No Nigerian club has yet won the CAF Confederation Cup since it started in 2004.

  • AFCON bid: CAF team inspects Nigeria’s stadia facilities

    AFCON bid: CAF team inspects Nigeria’s stadia facilities

    Inspectors appointed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) are in Nigeria to inspect stadiums and related facilities that Nigeria has put forward in a joint bid with the Benin Republic to host the 35th African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2025.

    On the cards for evaluation are the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja; Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo; Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba; Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos; Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City and Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

    The team inspected the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Friday. Saturday saw them at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos while they were at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba and the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin on Sunday.

    The inspectors will also check out the Stade Charles de Gaulle, Porto Novo in Benin Republic as part of their rounds for the joint bid between Nigeria and the Benin Republic. Nigeria hosted the biennial event in 1980 and co-hosted with Ghana 23 years ago.

  • CAF appoints Sudanese officials for Nigeria, Guinea U23 AFCON qualifying match

    CAF appoints Sudanese officials for Nigeria, Guinea U23 AFCON qualifying match

    The Confederation of African Football has appointed officials from Sudan as referees for Wednesday’s Africa U23 Cup of Nations final qualifying fixture, first leg match between Nigeria and Guinea at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

    Sabri Mohamed Fadul will be the referee with his compatriots Abdelgabar Mohamed Abdelgabar and Ahmed Subahi as assistant referee 1 and assistant referee 2 respectively, while Ring Akech Malong from South Sudan will work as fourth official.

    Munkaila Nassam Adam from Ghana will be the match commissioner.

    The encounter will kick off at 4pm, and offers the Olympic Eagles the opportunity to build an impressive lead ahead of the return leg scheduled for Morocco’s administrative capital, Rabat on Tuesday, 28th March.

    CAF has appointed officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo for the second leg, which will hold at the Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay Al Hassan starting from 7pm Morocco time.

    Yannick Malala Kabanga will be referee for the encounter, with his compatriots Guylain Ngila, Rambo Neushiye and Tanguy Lopembe Tangi in the roles of assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and fourth official respectively.

    Mr. Boussairi Boujlel from Tunisia will be the match commissioner.

  • AFCON 2025: CAF to inspect facilities in Nigeria, Republique du Benin

    AFCON 2025: CAF to inspect facilities in Nigeria, Republique du Benin

    Following the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations joint host bid submitted by Nigeria and Benin Republic, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will visit both countries for inspection on March 31st and April 2nd respectively.

    Nigeria and Republique du Benin are planning to co-host Africa’s greatest football tournament initially billed for Guinea but were stripped of the hosting  right due to inadequacy and speed of progress in preparations.

    The CAF team is expected to inspect stadia, training facilities, hotels and other important facilities that will ensure smooth running of the competition.

    Morocco, Algeria, Zambia and South Africa are the other countries who have submitted bids to host the biennial event.

    Recall that the last time Nigeria hosted the tournament was in 2000 when it co-hosted with Ghana, the republic of Cameroon won the tournament defeating Nigeria 4-3 on Penalties.

    If Nigeria and Republique du Benin get the hosting rights,  two cities each from both countries will stage the competition that will take place in January 2025.

     

  • Egypt 2023: Flying Eagles awarded tournament’s most disciplined side

    Egypt 2023: Flying Eagles awarded tournament’s most disciplined side

    The flying Eagles of Nigeria have won the just concluded Egypt U-20 AFCON tourney’s Fair Play award.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Nigerian side won the 3rd place match after defeating Tunisia 4-0 on Friday at the Cairo international stadium.

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) recognized the Flying Eagles for adhering to the rules of the game.

    According to CAF, Ladan Bosso’s boys were the most disciplined team in the competition.

    Skipper Daniel Bamaiyi received the award on behalf of the team at the closing ceremony on Saturday night.

    The West Africans also showed unwavering respect for their rivals, officials and spectators.

    The Flying Eagles will now shift their attention to the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be hosted by Indonesia in May.

    According to how the competition panned out, three West African sides, Senegal, Gambia and Nigeria finished first, second and third respectively.

    Tunisia a North African side grabbed the last spot and all four will represent Africa at the World U-20 World Cup scheduled to hold in Indonesia in May.

    According to FIFA, the draws for the competition will hold on March 31st.