Sports

2017 AFCON: Cranes Need To Make Ugandans Happy …As Defending Champions, Ivory Coast Crash Out

Published

9 years ago

January 25, 2017

Uganda Cranes coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic has said they need to make Uganda happy by winning the last Group D game against Mali today.
“We want to give our best and make Ugandans happy,” said the coach who also made it clear that he still has a contract with Uganda to 2018.
The Serbian born coach has been linked to the South African coaching job that is vacant.
He, however, said he is happy with the way the Uganda FA is handling his contract and added that he is now looking ahead to the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers where Uganda is in the group stage.
Sredojevic said although they lost narrowly 1-0 to Ghana and by the same margin to Egypt – he is glad that his team has learnt a lot and will never be the same again after playing in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Team captain Geoffrey Massa also pointed out that the team is hungry to come out of the tournament with a win.
“Expect big performances from the players,” added the South African based professional.
Interestingly the Ugandan team is staying 75km away from the Stadium in the town of Oyem that will host the game.
Meanwhile, Mali midfielder Mamoutou N’Diaye has explained that his team will do everything to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Eagles take on Uganda in their final Group D match on Wednesday night, knowing that they need to win and hope that Ghana defeat Egypt in the other match.
“All matches are important but this one will be special because we play for our qualification, God willing,” N’Diaye declared.
“We will do everything to win as we have no choice but victory or else we will have to get into calculations for goal-difference.”
Similarly, the defending champions, Ivory Coast yesterday crashed out of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon, after losing their last Group C game by a lone goal to Morocco.
Morocco beat Ivory Coast 1-0 to reach the AFCON quarter-finals and knock out the champions.
Rachid Alioui scored with a terrific shot from 24 yards to earn the win for Morocco and their coach Herve Renard, who led the Ivorians to the 2014 title.
Ivory Coast needed a win to go through but gave a listless performance, creating only two notable chances.
Wilfried Zaha shot weakly from 12 yards, while Salomon Kalou’s header from a tight angle clipped a post.
The Elephants lacked urgency in their play and will now go home after appearing not to put up a fight.
Even after going behind, they were unable to cause the organised and disciplined Moroccan defence any problems.
Morocco went into the game knowing that a draw was very likely to be enough to qualify from Group C and their game plan from the start was to stay compact and hit on the counter-attack.
It served to frustrate their opponents, who opted for the long-ball approach but failed to find any penetration.
Morocco could have added a second goal on the counter-attack but 19-year-old full-back Hamza Mendyl shot into the side netting after running half the length of the pitch.
They will play the winner of Group D in the last eight on Sunday.
Our correspondent also reports that DR Congo reached the AFCON last eight as Group C winners with a victory that eliminated Togo.
Tournament top scorer Junior Kabananga converted Chancel Mbemba’s pass for the opener, his third goal in three games.
Kabananga hit the post with a flicked header before Ndombe Mubele doubled the lead after the break, looping the ball over the keeper amid static defending.
Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba’s tidy finish gave Togo hope, but Paul-Jose M’Poku’s free-kick secured a deserved DR Congo win.
DR Congo will go on to play the Group D runners-up in the quarter-finals, which will be either Mali, Ghana or Egypt.

Sports

New W.W. Whyte Tournament Focuses On Talent Discovery – Engr. Alabere

Published

3 days ago

November 19, 2025

The Tide

The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative, Engr. Promise Alabere has reiterated that the New W.W. Whyte Secondary Football Tournament was to discover hidden players from the grassroots and groom them to stardom.

He stated that the his organisation is partnering with the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) for the football tournament, adding that in the first edition 32 players were discovered and NDDC, and his organisation are to fixing them into various clubs.

Engr. Alabere said this while briefing sports journalists last Tuesday, in Port Harcourt, and expressed optimism that the second edition which have 22 secondary schools participating would be exciting and impressive.

” The essence of this tournament is to catch them young because in the 1980s and 1990s most of the players that played for NNPC, Sharks and other big clubs in the country were discovered through this competition.

” Even me I was a product of the W.W. Whyte tournament, as I started playing for the Nigerian Police football club when I was in class four. But this competition stopped about 20 years when two schools resort to bloody clash during one of their games.

According to him the second edition expanded to schools in six Local Government Areas, saying that it will be better than the previous in terms of organisation and others.

“We want to make this edition more exciting and beneficial to all participating schools because the first edition was on experiment but this edition is no longer an experiment” he stated.

The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative,used the forum to advice all participating schools to conduct themselves in a good manner and adhere to rules of the competition.

He equally thanked NDDC for being its major sponsor of the tournament.

Tonye Orabere

Sports

Hoopers Ready For NPBL Title Defence – Captain

Published

4 days ago

November 18, 2025

The Tide

Rivers Hoopers captain Victor Anthony Koko has said that his team is mentally ready for the challenge of retaining their Nigeria Premier Basketball League title when the 2025 season Final Four phase holds from November 21 – 23 in Port Harcourt, Tidesports source reports.
The Kings Men, who won back-to-back NPBL titles in 2023 and 2024 unbeaten, are chasing their seventh title.
They will be up against Lagos Legends, Gboko City Chiefs, and Nigeria Customs, as they hope to retain the title they won last year and also pick the ticket to next year’s Basketball Africa League.
Following the conclusion of the Final Eight earlier this month, the KingsMen have had time to fine-tune preparations ahead of their title defence at the Final Four, with the skipper stating that he and his teammates are fully prepared to retain the championship.
“This time around, everyone is ready; everyone is mentally ready. We understand what is at stake, so we need to go all out. And right now, with the level of energy I’ve seen from my team during practice, I don’t think we’re going to be a team that just wants to have fun [on the court]. We’re a championship-winning team, and we want to retain that championship,” he stressed.
Koko has won the league seven times in his career, and he is looking to help the Port Harcourt club reach its height.
“I want us to win the 2025 NPBL title. It’s on my mind, day and night: Hoopers Champions. And I’m assuring our fans that we’re not going to let them down. It’s happening here in Port Harcourt, and we’re going to make them proud.”

Sports

Barau Beat Rangers To Move Out Of Relegation Zone

Published

4 days ago

November 18, 2025

The Tide

Nigeria Premier Football League newcomers, Barau FC have zoomed out of the drop zone after they defeated Rangers International FC 2-0 on Sunday in a rescheduled tie played in Kano.
The Maliya Boys got their goals through Muhammed Umar and Joseph Kemin in the 26th and 76th minutes to record their third win of the season
They have moved to the 16th spot with 13 points from 12 games but the loss by the Flying Antelopes see them slid to the seventh spot with 19 points from 13 games.
The home win is no doubt a relief to Barau FC head coach, Ladan Bosso who has seen his job brought under scrutiny following the Maliya Boys impressive start to the season.