Every Premier League manager’s nightmare, but spectators and a scouts dream. With some of the best and hottest worldwide talents on display the African Nations Cup is always a delight to watch. The tournament illustrates the strength of talent Africa can offer top clubs around the world.
With competition in the tournament improving hugely every two years that it’s staged a lot of teams will feel they can make a push to win it. Ivory Coast always seems to be favourites as they feature an array of Premier league stars such …
Much has been discussed about the impact losing the top tier of African players will have over the next month.. Teams as carefully self-sufficient as Arsenal, even those with the infinite riches of Manchester City and Chelsea, will feel the brunt of losing key players for a crucial period of their campaign. The argument rages on, fuelled before every tournament by the laments of high-profile managers and the grumblings of their fanbase: should these players be encouraged, or allowed, to desert their clubs in times of need? Should the tournament …
Inspired by African culture the match ball for the 2012 African Cup of Nations takes its name from the Como River which runs through both host nations – Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and the Equator which runs throughout Africa and unites both host countries. It will be used in play from 21st January when at the Estadio de Bata in Equatorial Guinea the hosts will play Libya in the tournament’s opening game.
The ball itself has a bright yellow base with links to the flags of both Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, …
At the same time as Morocco were announced hosts for 2015, South Africa were revealed as African Nations Cup host in 2017.
The were the only two candidates to host the tournaments after DR Congo dropped out, so it was just a case of who would get which. Kirsten Nematandani, President of the South African Football Association, said he was happy that they were awarded the 2017 edition.
“We are not disappointed at all, it gives us more time to prepare our national team for the event…. This time we also want …
The executive committee meeting at the Confederation of African Football (Caf) in Lubumbashi, DR Congo decided that Morocco will host the 2015 event, they and South Africa were the only countries bidding to stage the tournament after DR Congo withdrew from the process.
Casablanca, Agadir, Marrakech and Rabat are due to host tournament games, with a new 80,000 capacity stadium being designed and built by 2014 to host the final in Casablanca.
President of the Moroccan Football Association; Ali Fassi Hihiri said he was satisfied with the way things had gone at …
Saturday saw the draw for the 2012 Cup of African Nations, the winners of each of the eleven groups will be at the tournament along with the best three runners up and co hosts Equatorial Guinea (who will be making their first finals appearance) and Gabon.
Group 1: Mali, Cape Verde Islands, Zimbabwe, Liberia
Group 2: Nigeria, Guinea, Ethiopia, Madagascar
Group 3: Zambia, Mozambique, Libya, Comoros Islands
Group 4: Algeria, Morocco, Tanzania, Central African Republic
Group 5: Cameroon, Senegal, DR Congo, Mauritius
Group 6: Burkina Faso, Gambia, Namibia, Mauritania
Group 7: Egypt, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Niger
Group …
A brief glance at the scoreboard may suggest that Nigeria cruised to victory, with Mozambique rarely threatening the ‘Super Eagles’ defence. But, in reality, Mart Nooij’s side dominated the first half, with only a combination of Nigeria ‘keeper Vincent Enyeama and some poor defending eventually seeing Shaibu Amodo’s side through.
The ‘Mambas’ started tentatively, with the positivity of the Nigerians’ leaving Nooij’s side camped in their own half for the first ten minutes. John Obi Mikel’s defence-splitting pass found Everton’s Yakubu, but the powerful frontman was unable to make a clean …
The situation facing Mozambique coach Mart Nooij is simple. A win against Nigeria will see them qualify – bar a shock result for Benin against Egypt – whilst a draw or defeat will send them home. But can the ‘Mambas’ pull off one of the victories of the tournament against the ‘Super Eagles’?
Why not? Shaibu Amodu is under severe pressure to save his job, and Nigeria lack the youthful exuberance that most of the African sides have, with the majority of their squad ‘old campaigners’. However, this experience has proved …
Angola and Algeria are confirmed as qualified from the knock out stages, Angola won Group A and Algeria squeezed past Mali for 2nd place, even though the had an worse goal difference, thanks to their better head to head record, having defeated Mali 1-0. This year is the first that the African Cup of Nations has used the team’s head to head record rather than just goal difference, to split teams on equal points.
Angola & Algeria Quarter Finalists
Ghana beat Burkina Faso on Tuesday, meaning Ivory Coast top the three team …
MINNOWS Malawi can “shock the world” according to coach Kinnah Phiri, after his side thrashed a woeful Algerian team 3-0 in their opening match of the African Nations Cup.
‘The Flames’, who are ranked 99th in the world, stunned a near empty Estádio 11 de Novembro with three goals in 50 minutes to despatch of ‘The Desert Foxes’ and move top of Group A.
Malawi may be nicknamed the Flames, but they took to the field far from fired-up given the scorching heat inside the stadium, with both sides opting to start …
