The Conclusion Of The Afcon Qualifiers

The last of the 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifiers games were concluded on Wednesday, all over the continent, with the shocking result in Group A of Nigeria, the defending champions failing to qualify to the tournament after playing a 2 - 2 draw at home with South Africa.

The visiting South African team, popularly known as the Bafana - Bafana had already qualified to the tournament, but Nigeria needed a win in the match to seal up their qualification.

While the third placed Congo which had 7 points as Nigeria before the games began, needed to win to qualify if only Nigeria fail to win their match.

Nigeria Vs South Africa

Before the matches began, Nigeria was second on the Group A table as a result of CAF rule of head to head advantage between two teams that have the same points.

Anyway, Nigeria failed to get a win, while Congo playing away in Sudan got a 1 - 0 win to finish second on the table.

Nigeria still failed to clinch the best third finisher on the tables as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) beat them to it with 9 points to their 8 points.

In Group B, Mali made it through to the second position by beating Algeria 2 - 0 which had already qualified with 15 points. Mali finished with 9 points.

The Group C qualifiers was already decided last weekend, when the two teams of Gabon and Burkina Faso went through. So the Wednesday match was just to know, which team will finish on top of the table.

So Gabon finished on top of the table with 12 points after beating Lesotho 4 - 2.  Burkina Faso came second after playing a 1 - 1 draw with Angola, finishing with 11 points.

In Group D, Ivory Coast needed a draw while hosting Cameroon the table leader with 14 points, which had already qualified.

Ivory Coast qualified after playing a 0 - 0 goalless draw, and finishing second with 10 points to the third placed DRC with 9 points. Fortunately, for the DRC they also qualified, after beating Sierra Leone 3 - 1. 

Before the Wednesday matches, the Group E was more or less open to the four teams to qualify. Ghana was on top of the table with 8 points, while Guinea and Uganda had 7 points and Togo had 6 points.

So you see, the home teams of Ghana and Guinea had to fight hard to win in order to make sure of their qualifications. And they both did not disappoint their fans, as the Nigerian team did. Ghana won Togo 3 - 1 to finish top with 11 points while Guinea defeated Uganda 2 - 0 to finish second with 10 points.

In Group F, Cape Verde and Zambia had already qualified last weekend first and second respectively. Zambia beat Cape Verde 1 - 0 in their last match on Wednesday, but that did not change their positions on the table. Cape Verde top the table with 12 points and Zambia Finished with 11 points.

The last group which is Group G, already had Tunisia and Senegal qualified, before the Wednesday games. Senegal won Botswana 3 - 0 to finish second on the table with 13 points, while Tunisia defeated Egypt 2 - 1 and finished on top of the table with 14 points.

As I mentioned earlier on in this article, the Democratic Republic of Congo, completed the 16 teams to participate in the January 17 to Febrary 8 tournament in Equatorial Guinea. The DRC finished as the team with the best result of all the teams, that finished third on the table.
Read also: Melvinsports.blogspot.com




 

AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS QUALIFIERS RESULTS (14 & 15/11/14)

The African Cup of Nations qualifications matches today have been virtually completed all over of the continent. There were no surprises in the games of today except probably that Malawi defeated Mali 2 - 0.

After today's games six countries qualified for the tournament, which is now slated to be hosted by Equatorial Guinea in January to February next year.

The six countries that qualified for the tournament today after the games are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal, Zambia and South Africa. They join the three that have already qualified - Algeria, Cape Verde and Tunisia.

The last qualification matches will be played Wednesday next week by which time the remaining teams will know whether they qualified or not. The following are the results of the games today.

        Group  A                                    Group  B

Congo           0  -  2  Nigeria      Malawi  2  -  0  Mali        
South Africa  2  -  1  Sudan        Algeria      -       Ethiopia  

        Group  C                                    Group  D

Lesotho      0  -  1  Burkina F     Cameroon  1  -  0   DRC
Angola       0  -  0  Gabon        Sierra Leone 1 -   5   I. Coast

        Group  E                                     Group  F

Uganda     1  -  0  Ghana      Mozambique 0  - 1 Zambia         
Togo         1  -  4  Guinea     Cape Verde   3  - 1  Niger

                                     Group  G

                      Egypt           0   -   1    Senegal
                      Botswana     0   -   0    Tunisia

As at the time of writing this article Algeria which has already qualified is leading Ethiopia by 3 to 1 goals.
Read also: Africanfootie.blogspot.com




    

AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS WEEKEND QUALIFIERS

This weekend the first of the last two qualifier games will be played all over the African continent, amid the cloud of uncertainty over where the 2015 biannual tournament will be held.

Morocco the nation that was slated initially to hold the event was disqualified, because the country wanted Confederation of African Football (CAF), to move the tournament to 2016 as a result of the fear of the ebola virus in West Africa.

CAF refused to change the date of the event, and gave them an automatum to decide by Saturday, whether they will host the event or not. So Morocco decided that they will not host the event next January.

Ghanian Fans

CAF disqualified them from participating, because as host they were not involved in the qualification series, because they had automatic qualification as host. So since they are not hosting the event anymore, it was withrawn.

Anyway, CAF announced on Tuesday, that there were three countries ready to host the event, and that they will make the decision on which country will be given the right to host the tournament in 2 or 3 days time.

After this weekend matches, the last of the qualification series will be played on Wednesday, the 19th of November.

Without much ado, before I digress once again, the following are the matches for Friday and Saturday.

Friday, 14/11/14

                       Group  D

Sierra  Leone     -      Ivory Coast    (Time: 15.00)

                       Group  G

Botswana          -      Tunisia            (18.00 hours)

Saturday,  15/11/14

                      Group  A

South Africa        -         Sudan             (15.00)
Congo                  -         Nigeria           (15.30)

                      Group  B

Malawi               -         Mali                  (14.30)
Algeria               -         Ethiopia            (20.30)

                       Group  C

Angola              -         Gabon                (18.00)
Lesotho            -          Burkina Faso     (16.00)

                       Group  D

Cameroon       -          DRC                    (15.00)

                        Group  E

Togo               -          Guinea                 (15.30)
Uganda           -          Ghana                  (16.00)

                        Group  F

Mozambique  -          Zambia                (16.00)
Cape Verde     -         Niger                    (16.00)

                        Group  G

Egypt              -         Senegal                (19.00)

Read also: Melvinsports.blogspot.com

THE 2014 BBC AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST

The shortlist of five players has been released by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), for the 2014 BBC African Footballer of the Year.

The list included the title holder Yaya Toure who is Ivorian international and Manchester City player. Toure has been nominated for the award for the past 6 years.

He was in the summer World Cup with Ivory Coast and is the new captain of the Ivory Coast national team.



Yaya Toure

Vincent Enyeama is Nigeria international goalkeeper and captain of his national team. He ply his club football with French Ligue 1 top club FC Lille, where is the first choice goalkeeper and has performed well. He was with the Nigeria national football team at the World Cup.

Another player on the list is the Algeria international and FC Porto player. The former FC Granada hitman was named the best African player in Spain last  season, which contributed to Porto signing him this season. Brahimi was also at the World Cup in Brazil with Algeria.

Next on the shortlist is Ivorian international and AS Roma forward Yao 'Gervinho' Gervais. The former Arsenal striker was at the summer World Cup with Ivory Coast. He is currently enjoying a good form in his career with his club.

The last but not the least on the list is the Borussia Dortmund and Congo international, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He is the only player on the shortlist that was not at the World Cup in Brazil. He is enjoying good form in his game at the moment.

Voting is open to members of the public from the 10th to the 24th November. The winner will be announced on the 1st  of December.

People can vote online or through Sms to this phone number,
+447786202008. Note that voting is limited to one vote per mobile phone number.

To vote for the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2014, text the number of the footballer to the above listed phone number.

Text 1. for  Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang
Text 2. for  Yacine Brahimi
Text 3. for  Vincent Enyeama
Text 4. for  Gervinho
Text 5. for  Yaya Toure
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NOMINEES OF THE AFRICAN PLAYER OF THE YEAR (BASED IN AFRICA)

The following are the 20 names of the African based footballers, that has been nominated for the African Footballer of the year Award. The names are listed in an alphabetical order.

1.   Amr   Gamal                (Egypt, Al Ahly)
2.  Abdelrahman Fetri        (Libya, Ahly Benghazi)
3.  Akram Djahnit               (Algeria, ES Setif)
4.  Bernard Parker               (South Africa, Kaizer Chiefs)
5.  Bogani Ndulula              (South Africa, Amazulu)
6.  Ejike Uzoenyi                 (Nigeria, Enugu Rangers)
7.  El Hedi Belamieri           (Algeria, ES Setif)
8.  Fakhereddine Ben Yousef    (Tunisia, CS Sfaxien)
9.  Ferdjani Sassi                     (Tunisia, CS Sfaxien)
10. Firmin Mubel Ndombe      (DRC Congo, AS Vita)
11. Geoffery Massa            (Uganda, Pretoria University)
12. Jean Kasusula               (DRC, TP Mazenbe)
13. Kader Bidimbou            (Congo, AC Leopards)
14. Lema Mabidi                 (DRC, Congo AS Vita)
15. Mudathir Al Taieb        (Sudan, Al Hilal)
16. Roger Assale                (Ivory Coast, Sewe Sport)
17. Senzo Meyiwa              (South Africa, Orlando Pirates)
18. Solomon Asante           (Ghana, TP Mazembe)
19. Souleymane Moussa    (Cameroon, Coton Sport)
20. Yunus Sentamu            (Uganda, AS Vita)

Read also: Melvinsports.blogspot.com

THE 2014 NOMINEES OF THE AFRICAN FOOTBALLERS OF THE YEAR

The Confederation of African Football (CAF), the body governing football in Africa has just released the names of 25 players, as the nominees for the 2014 African footballer of the year.

The award is divided into two categories - the first is only for Africans plying their trade outside Africa, while the second category is for players playing their club football in the continent.

Vincent Enyeama

Among the nominees of the foreign based players is Yaya Toure of Manchester City and Ivory Coast, who has won the last three of the award and is among the favourites to win the honour again.

Without much ado, the following names are the full list of the foreign based players, listed alphabetically.

1.  Ahmed Musa        (Nigeria, CSKA Moscow)
2.  Asamoah Gyan     (Ghana,  Al Ain Club)
2.  Dame N'doye       (Senegal, Lokomotiv Moscow)
4.  Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo, Tottenham Hotspur)  
5.  Eric Maxim Choup-Moting (Cameroon, Schalke)
6.  Fakhreddine Ben Youssef (Tunisia, CS Sfaxien)   
7.  Ferdjani Sassi      (Tunisia,  CS Sfaxien)
8.  Yao Kouassi 'Gervinho' Gervais (Ivory Coast, Roma)
9.  Islam Slimani           (Algeria, Sporting Lisbon)
10. Kwadwo Asamoah   ( Ghana, Juventus )  
11. Mehdi Benatia          (Morocco, Bayern Munich)
12. Mohammed El Neny  (Egypt, Basel)
13. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang  (Gabon, Dortmund)
14. Rais M'bolhi            (Algeria, Philadelphia Union)
15. Sadio Mane              (Senegal, Southampton)
16. Seydou Keita            (Mali, AS Roma)
17. Sofiane Feghouli      (Algeria, Valencia)
18. Stephane M'bia         (Cameroon, Sevilla)
19. Thulani Serero           (South Africa, Ajax)
20. Vincent Aboubakar    (Cameroon, Porto)
21. Vincent Enyeama       (Nigeria, Lille)
22. Wilfried Bony             (Ivory Coast, Swansea)
23. Yacine Brahimi           (Algeria, Porto)
24. Yannick  Bolasie         (DRC, Crystal Palace)
25. Yaya Toure                  (Ivory Coast, Manchester City)

Read also: Melvinsports.blogspot.com 

KILLER OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOALKEEPER CHARGED

A 25 year old man, Zanokuhle Mbatha, has been charged to court with the murder of the South African goalkeeper -  captain, Senzo Meyiwa (27).

He will appear again in the court on the 11th of November, 2014.

The national football goalkeeper, Senzo, was shot dead when three men came into the home of his girl friend, and demanded for their mobile phones and valuables, in Vosloorus, Johannesburg.

 

Senzo Meyiwa

Meyiwa, the slained keeper played his club football with the Orlando Pirates, a top football club based in Johannesburg.

The South African Police Services had put up a financial reward for anyone that has information that will lead to the arrests and conviction of the perpetrators.

The Police appealed to the public to keep on assisting them with vital information concerning the case.

They said that they are still investigating and searching for the other two men involved in the murder of the footballer.

Read also: Melvinsports.blogspot.com

ZAMBIA WOMEN FOOTBALLERS PROTESTS AGAINST FAZ

The Zambia Women National Football team has occupied the Football Association's technical centre and refused to leave until they are paid their allowances due to them for representing the country in the just concluded CAF African Women Championships in Namibia.

The ladies have been at the centre since they came back from participating in the 9th African Women Championships in Namibia two weeks ago.

Kenneth Kalusha Bwalya President of (FAZ)

 

One of the players who did not want to be named, said that they were in camp for a month in preparation for the tournament and was two weeks at the mondial.

She also said that they only got US$15 for transportation. She further stated that since over one week they returned the officials of the Football Association (FAZ) did not see anything wrong in paying them just $15 for their services.

The player added that they made history by being the first set of women to qualify the country to the Championships.

One of her team - mate who was listening to the discussion
added, "Football is everything to us and we have families to support.''

''If these people (FAZ) have a heart for us, they should give us at least $2,000 for qualifying for the tournament for the first time in our country's history.''

The spokesman for the Zambia Football Association (FAZ),
Nkweto Tembwe, said that they know that they owe them money, but it will only be paid to them, when the money is ready.

''We owe them money - and we have never said we don't owe them. The money shall be paid to them as and when it is ready,'' Mr Tembwe said.

Read also: Melvinsports.blogspot.com