Sports
Senegal Banks On Ba, Cisse
Resurgent Senegal boasts one of the most potent attacks at the 2012 CAF African Cup of Nations and a first title could well be within their grasp.
After losing a penalty shoot-out to Cameroon in the 2002 Bamako final, the Teranga Lions gradually fell away and did not even qualify for the previous tournament in Angola two years ago, but after several coaching changes appear to be on pace to challenge for the African title.
Amara Traore has taken post as head coach and rebuilt the team around the likes of Moussa Sow, Mamadou Niang, Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba. Sow was the leading scorer in Ligue 1 last season and also helped Lille to a league and cup crown. Cisse, meanwhile, finished second in scoring in the Bundesliga.
Although Niang may have entered the autumn of his career at Asian champions Al-Sadd after spells in France and Turkey, he was the leading Senegalese marksman in the qualifiers with five goals, including a hat-trick away to Congo DR.
But the man of the moment is Newcastle United darling Ba, whose English Premier League goal against defending champions Manchester United last week was a lesson in simplicity, positioning, skill and raw, unstoppable power.
A long clearance, a flick-on, and Ba struck with a volley that flew into the net to open the scoring in a memorable 3-1 triumph for the Magpies amid the electric St James’ Park atmosphere.
The physically imposing 26-year-old is the second highest scorer in the Premier League this season with 15 goals, just two less than Robin van Persie of Arsenal, but two more than United’s Wayne Rooney.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew rates the footballer who operated in France, Belgium and Germany before moving to West Ham last year among the top four or five Premier League strikers. “His biggest asset is his personality. Demba is a winner. I have given him two or three different roles and he has done them all to the best of his ability,” said Pardew.
Ba oozes pride as he talks about his Senegalese team-mates: “I just love these guys. They are good on and off the field. Training camps are intense, but great fun because we behave like brothers.”
Strikers alone cannot assure Senegal of winning the continental showpiece, and France-based pair Kader Mangane and Souleymane Diawara marshal a defence that have kept five clean sheets in six qualifying matches, including two against a Cameroonian attack spearheaded by Samuel Eto’o.
Topping co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, Libya and Zambia and winning Group A is imperative for the Lions as this would set up a likely quarter-final clash with Angola or Burkina Faso. A second-place finish in their pool could set up for an earlier than hoped match against Côte d’Ivoire.
Zambia are first up on 21 January for the Senegalese in round five of an enduring African Cup of Nations rivalry that has seen each country win once and draw twice, followed by Equatorial Guinea and Libya.
Sports
CAA Wants Ghana To Host 2026 Athletics Champions
The Confederation of African Athletics has invited Ghana to bid for the hosting rights of the 2026 African Athletics Championships, following a successful athletics event at the just concluded 2023 African Games.
President of Ghana Athletics, Bawa Fuseini, stated this and expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the Legon Stadium for athletes and Ghana’s bid to host international competitions.
With a capacity of 11,000, the Legon Stadium played a pivotal role in the recent African Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies as well as various sporting events including athletics, football, and rugby.
Fuseini highlighted the success of the athletics events held at the stadium, which contributed to Ghana winning six medals.
“We have already started getting requests from the Confederation of African Athletics to bid for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.
“When they came and saw what we have put in place and the level of organisation, they told me that for the last 20 years, they’ve never seen any organisation like this before. We did three official courses. And the last one, we had 110, all of them passed. We had a lot of officials and equipment.”
Since its establishment in 1979, Ghana has never hosted the African Athletics Championships, with Nigeria being the host country twice, in 1989 and 2018.
This year, Cameroon will take the reins as the host nation, with the event set to be held at the Olembe Stadium.
Sports
Onigbinde Not Sacked – Chairman
Chairman of Doma United, Suleiman Umar, has said head, coach Akinade Onigbinde was not relieved of his duties after the club announced former Kwara United, Niger Tornadoes and Katsina United coach, Abubakar Bala, as an addition to their technical crew.
Bala was announced as the technical adviser by the club on Wednesday.
According to the club, Bala’s appointment was necessitated by the dwindling fortunes of the team in the second stanza of the Nigeria Premier Football League, which has seen them drop to 13th in the table with 34 points after 27 matches.
“The appointment of Coach Bala is imperative given our recent challenges in the second half of the season. We believe his extensive experience in managing teams within the league will significantly contribute to our objective of maintaining our status,” Umar said in a statement.
“It’s worth noting that coach Bala will be collaborating closely with Coach Onigbinde and our dedicated coaching staff. The technical department is not open to all, and we caution against unwarranted meddling as we remain focused on our objectives.”
The Savannah Tigers are winless in eight matches since the start of the second stanza with their last win in the league being their 2-0 win over Katsina United in January.
Their performance is a stark contrast to the first half of the campaign, when they ranked in the top three.
With 11 matches to the end of the season, Bala and Onigbinde must find a way to rescue the club as they sit just three points above the relegation zone.
Sports
‘I’m Not Under Pressure To Coach Eagles’
Finidi George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis.
Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February.
In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football.”
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Tidesports source, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
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