Sports
DR Congo Secures Quarter-Final Ticket
Title holders Democratic Republic of Congo left it late to secure an African Nations Championship quarter-finals place in Sudan on Monday.
Striker Mulota Kabangu, one of 11 stars from FIFA Club World Cup runners-up TP Mazembe in the Congolese squad, equalised eight minutes before full-time against lowly Mali and a 1-1 draw proved just enough.
But the 2009 champions and competition favourites owe a debt of gratitude to Cameroon, whose 2-0 victory over the Ivorians condemned the losers to an early exit from Group C in a biennial tournament for home-based footballers. Had the Ivorians won they would have reached the knockout phase this weekend while DR Congo licked their wounds and headed home from a tournament that has already seen fancied Ghana depart without securing a single point.
Cameroon became the second team after shock Group B winners South Africa to finish the three-match mini-league schedule boasting a one 100 per cent record and a maximum nine points. DR Congo collected four, the Ivorians three and Mali one. Hosts Sudan dropped two points when winning Group A from Algeria while none of the candidates to top Group D — Angola, Senegal, Tunisia — have perfect records going into their final fixtures Tuesday.
Cameroon will face the Group D runners-up in Omdurman Saturday and DR Congo confront the Group D winners three hours later in Khartoum, across the river Nile from the other match venue.
The Congolese were rocked with 10 minutes left in cooler-than-usual Omdurman as striker Alou Bagayoko from the Djoliba club in Bamako scored the first Mali goal of the tournament and broke the deadlock. Falling behind stung the Congolese and they levelled just 120 seconds later through Kabangu and Mali had to settle for a point following solitary-goal defeats by the Ivorians and Cameroonians last week.
Midfielder Arnaud Monkam from perennial Cameroon club champions Cotonsport Garoua put his team ahead on 58 minutes, but they did not clinch victory until one minute into stoppage time when defender Jean-Paul Ngah added a second goal. While neutral football followers enjoyed the thrilling group climax, DR Congo coach Muntubile Santos must be concerned at the failure of his Mazembe-bolstered squad to get going in Sudan.
Outplayed by Cameroon in their first outing, the Central Africans needed to come from behind to edge Ivory Coast and hopes that the corner had been turned were dashed as they struggled against Mali. Officials close to the defending champions blame fatigue with continuous national team and club commitments taking their toll on Mazembe stars like goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba and frequent-scoring midfielder Dioko Kaluyituka.
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, in Rivers State, will be at the centre stage on Wednesday as the VC Cup final, both male and female categories will be played at the prestigious Stadium in the school.
The both final matches promises to be exciting, as arrangements have been concluded to watch one of the best VC football Cup finals in the history.
VC Cup tournament is an annual sporting event that involves all students in various facilities.
According to the Chief coach of the University football team, David Egbiri, the female will final will kick off 2pm between faculty of Human Kinetics and Management Sciences, while the male will kick off by 4pm between Social Science and Natural Applied Science
Egbiri, who was former coach of Abiola Babe FC and Concord FC, lauded the Vice Chancellor. Prof. Okechukwu Onuchukwu for releasing funds on sports development, saying that he has never also failed the School in terms of infrastructural development.
“The VC who is also a sports personality has not failed to release funds for this tournament, apart from that he has not also disappointed in terms of developing the school in all ramifications.
“I want to say that my major reason for accepting to coach the school football team is to develop the youth through sports”, Coach Egbiri said.
The former Eagle Cement Coach, explained that he was not encouraged the way and manner the young ones are going about sports because there is no discipline and so much quest for quick money.
” Honestly, the way young players are looking money was just too much. Looking for short cuts always to make money that is more reason some of them don’t go far and end up badly
” In our days we first of all think about how to make name and we are passionate about it. I went to school and saw myself in sports, while my initial intention was to read electrical engineering” he stated.
Tonye Orabere
The Delta State Sports Commission has come under scrutiny following the state’s disappointing performance at the just-concluded National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, where Lagos dethroned Delta to clinch top spot.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, visibly displeased with both the poor outing of Team Delta and the organizational lapses witnessed during the Games, summoned an emergency meeting with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) immediately after the closing ceremony.
Delta, which had dominated the NYG by finishing first in the last eight editions, only managed second place this time — a result the governor described as “totally unacceptable,” especially given the state’s significant investment in the event.
According to a reliable source privy to the meeting, Governor Oborevwori expressed deep disappointment, stressing that his administration had provided all necessary support to the Sports Commission and the LOC to ensure Delta retained its traditional top position.
In a decisive move, the governor demoted his Executive Assistant on Sports and former Director-General of the Sports Commission, Festus Owhojero, under whose leadership the Games were organized. Owhojero was reassigned from Executive Assistant (EA) to Senior Special Assistant (SSA) with immediate effect.
The governor’s action, our source revealed, reflects his zero-tolerance stance on incompetence and underperformance within his administration. Mr. Owhojero thus becomes the first high-profile casualty of the governor’s resolve to reposition sports in Delta State.
Furthermore, Oborevwori directed the Sports Commission and LOC officials to submit a detailed report on the Games, outlining what went wrong and providing recommendations for improvement. The governor emphasized the need for urgent reforms to restore Delta’s dominance, especially as the state is set to host the next edition of the Games under an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The Nigeria Football Federation has distanced itself from a post-match statement that criticised some Super Eagles players following the team’s 1-1 draw with South Africa in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The statement, issued by the NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, singled out forward Cyriel Dessers and captain William Troost-Ekong for criticism.
It accused Dessers of being sluggish and faulted Ekong for the own goal that gave Bafana Bafana the lead.
However, NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said on Wednesday that the statement did not represent the official position of the Federation.
“I saw the release just like everyone else did. Nobody in the Federation is happy with it,” Sanusi said.
“The NFF did not authorise that statement. We have great respect for all the players. Blaming an individual for a team result is unfair.”
He added that the Federation regards the South Africa match as a collective effort and will not support attempts to scapegoat any player.
“When we win, it’s a team victory. When we lose, it’s also collective. No player should be singled out,” Sanusi said.
He described the targeted criticism of Troost-Ekong as unjustified, noting that the defender had previously been celebrated as the Most Valuable Player at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
“It was an unfortunate own goal. His intention was to clear the ball. Anyone who knows football understands that such things happen,” he said..
Sanusi also expressed confidence in the team’s unity, revealing that efforts were ongoing to regroup and refocus ahead of the remaining qualifiers and AFCON.
“Our house is in order. We’re preparing for the rest of the qualifiers and the AFCON in Morocco,” he said.
“There’s no problem with our players or coaching crew. Our relationship remains cordial. The government and the NFF are proud of the players’ efforts.”
The Federation had initially praised Calvin Bassey for his equalising goal and lamented the team’s failure to convert second-half chances.
But Sanusi made it clear that internal disciplinary action would be taken over the unauthorised release.
“I can assure you the NFF will take action on the matter,” he said.
Nigeria currently sit third in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers with 11 points from eight matches. South Africa lead the group with 17 points.
The Super Eagles must now win their remaining games against Lesotho and Benin Republic and hope other results go their way to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.