Sports
Mouloungui, Leading Gabons Black Pathner’s Charge For 2012 AFCON
Expectation is building in
Gabon as the country continues its preparations for co-hosting the 2012 CAF African Cup of Nations. Through his monthly progress reports, Gabonese Football Association President Placide Engandzas has been keeping the fans appraised of developments, though the fact is they can barely wait for next January, when the big event finally gets under way.
Coached by Gernot Rohr, who took over from French legend Alain Giresse in February last year, the Black Panthers have six warm-up matches ahead of them, including a date this Friday with joint-hosts Equatorial Guinea in Cannes, and appetising run-outs against Brazil and Morocco next month.
The Franco-German tactician claims he is 80% of the way to putting his squad together, though with the continental finals only a matter of weeks away and the team still going through a transitional phase, question marks remain about Gabon’s ability to mix it with Africa’s finest.
One man hoping to calm the fraying nerves of the home fans is striker Eric Mouloungui. “It’s a new team with a lot of young and inexperienced players,” said the Nice forward in conversation with Tidesports source “Obviously there’s uncertainty, but I don’t see any point in creating unnecessary pressure.”
That pressure has grown since the Black Panthers made a frustrating first-round exit at the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola, with a recent 1-0 win over Niger doing little to silence the doubters in the run-up to next year’s date with destiny.
“That tournament is the only one some of us have played in, which needs to be remembered,” said Mouloungui by way of mitigation. “We’ve got many new players who don’t have any international experience at all, and they’re not used to playing qualifying games or big competitions. No one knows how they’re going to react.
“There’s uncertainty there, and with the changes the new coach has made we’ve had to learn things all over again,” continued the 25-year-old, whose place in the Gabonese front line is undisputed. “Obviously the coach is expecting more from the boys who play in Europe, me more than anyone, and I’ve got to lead the way.”
Rohr’s squad for this week’s game against Henri Michel’s Nzalang Nacional contains four men who play their club football in France’s Ligue 1, with a further nine running out in the Gabonese championship, which kicks off this very weekend. Missing from the list, however, is former Hull City and Glasgow Rangers forward Daniel Cousin, who is currently unattached and has subsequently been discarded by Rohr.
“Players like Daniel or Stephane Nguema still have the chance to come back home, play for a couple of months, and get themselves back in the frame for the African Cup of Nations,” said Rohr. “It goes without saying that it’s a big shop window for African internationals. Daniel’s taking his time to think it over.”
A hard taskmaster, Rohr has also dispensed with the services of national team captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the star striker’s punishment for skipping the last get-together.
President Engandzas has been talking about “making progress” in his monthly bulletins, a process Mouloungui believes his side can continue when the time for talking stops.
“Expectation among the fans is high, and we’re going to tap into that passion when the tournament starts,” he said. “The first objective is to get through the first round and build our confidence. Then, with the fans behind us, anything is possible in the knockout rounds. There have been some surprises in the qualifiers and we’ve seen a few big teams fall by the wayside. That gives us hope.”
The Black Panthers will need to make a solid start at next year’s finals if they are to push into the last eight and beyond. “That’s essential if we want to stop negative pressure from building,” acknowledged Mouloungui. “If we get off on the wrong foot, the mood will change. And with the team we’ve got we need to avoid that.
“We have to fight as one for the same objective and with everyone doing their bit,” he concluded, setting out the Gabonese battleplan. The older players will bring their experience to the table, and the younger ones their enthusiasm.”
Nigeria’s senior national team, D’Tigress, began the defence of their continental title in brilliant fashion, following a commanding 92-45 victory over Rwanda in their opening group game on Saturday at the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket tournament currently taking place in the Ivory Coast.
The six-time African champions, who are yet to lose a game at the FIBA Women’s Afrobasket tournament since the semi-finals of the 2015 edition, continued their unbeaten run by dismissing the Rwandans in emphatic style at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan, having won all four quarters of the clash by a score of 17-8, 28-17, 26-12, and 21-8 respectively.
Coach Rena Wakama’s side registered 70 field goal attempts and recorded 35 field goals made throughout the contest. The team also made a total of 44 rebounds, 25 assists, 14 steals and two blocks in the statement win.
Rwanda, on the other hand, put up 52 field goal attempts and managed just 15 field goals made. Total rebounds stood at a paltry 28, while they recorded 11 assists, nine steals, three blocks and a whopping 22 turnovers.
Top performers for Nigeria were Elizabeth Balogun, Victoria Macaulay, Murjanatu Musa, Ifunaya Okoro, and Amy Okonkwo, who all registered double-figure point hauls. Balogun scored a game-high 18 points and four rebounds, Macaulay had 13 points, Musa chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds, Okoro added 11 points, while Okonkwo contributed 10 points and four rebounds. Every member of the D’Tigress squad scored on the day, with new entrant Vera Ojenuwa registering four points in her debut for the national team.
Meanwhile, Rwanda’s best player on the day was Destiney Philoxy, who put up 11 points and four rebounds, while Keisha Hampton also reached double figures, scoring 10 points in the heavy defeat.
Nigeria will next face Mozambique in their second and final round-robin fixture on Monday, with a win enough to see the defending champions into the quarter-finals of the competition.
The Steering Committee of the 5th Federal Education Sector Games (FEDUGAM 2025) scheduled for Lafia, Nasarawa State has warned that the engagement of mercenaries at the competition would not be tolerated.
The event Consultant, Chief Okeyinka Matt, stated this yesterday at the football draw ceremony while addressing the press with the Deputy Chairman of the FEDUGAM Steering Committee and a Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Education, Olapade Suleyman.
Okeyinka emphasized that any agency caught using non-bonafide staff at the games would be summarily disqualified from the games.
“What’s the essence when you are bringing non-staff to come and compete with members of staff? It doesn’t make any reasonable argument. The idea of the game is to bring the staff together to unwind at the end of the day. So, in specific terms, any agency found infringing on the rules by the Organizing Committee would be sanctioned and the persons involved would be reported to their agencies,” Okeyinka warned.
His position was also reinforced by Suleyman, who noted that the engagement of mercenaries would be counter-productive to the set objective of the games, which was to promote interaction and love among the agencies and the Ministry of Education.
He warned agencies against the temptation of circumventing the directive, noting that doing that would be considered a great offence that would not be taken with levity.
Suleyman similarly assured that resources for organizing the games had been allocated by the Ministry of Education, while the Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa has personally signed a strongly worded letter to all the agencies of the ministry to ensure full participation.
“It has never happened. The highest used to be the Director Human Resources signing, but this time to show some commitment and level of commitment, that has been done,” Suleyman said.
FEDUGAM would hold from August 4-10, with the Minister of Education expected grace the opening ceremony billed for August 5.
Earlier Okeyinka said the purpose of FEDUGAM is to bring unity, synergy, and friendship among all the agencies of Federal Ministry of Education and by extension, keep the workforce fit and enable the discovery talents.
The first edition of the games was held in 2017 while the last edition was held in Bauchi.
Thirteen sports will be featured in Lafia, including football, where only six agencies Tetfund, National Commission of Colleges of Education (NCCE), National Teachers Institute (NTI), Ministry of Education, National University Commission (NUC) and National Library are participating.
President Bola Tinubu has extended a warm congratulations to the Super Falcons of Nigeria after the national womens football team produced a sensational second-half comeback to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 and seal a record-extending 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title at the weekend.
The Atlas Lionesses led 2-0 at the break in Rabat through Ghizlane Chebbak’s fine curling effort and a scuffed shot from Sanaa Mssoudy.
But Esther Okoronkwo inspired the Nigeria after the break, pulling a goal back from the penalty spot in the 64th minute after Nouhaila Benzina handled Folamide Ijamilusi’s cross.
Nigeria had dubbed their campaign as ‘Mission X’, and President Bola Tinubu sent his congratulations to the squad in a video call after the match.
He hailed the side’s “spectacular” performance as one that exemplifies the “determination that defines the Nigerian spirit”.
“You have lifted our spirits. You are a pride to your generation,” Tinubu told the team.
“You have achieved the mission the nation dreamed of and prayed for. Nigeria celebrates you.”
Okoronkwo, who ended the tournament with two goals and six assists, said Nigeria’s approach had been “all or nothing” after the break.
“We knew we had to come up [with a] different strategy. We knew we needed to fight,” the forward said.
“We talked over it in the locker room [and said] we have to change the way we are playing. It just shows resilience in us.”
Former Super Falcon Desire Oparanozie, herself a four-time Wafcon winner, said her compatriots showed “the mentality of a champion”.
“I did not expect them to come back in that manner,” she told news men.
“I think the motivation for them would have been: ‘This cannot be the first time we’ll lose in a final’.
“Nigeria have been in the final 10 times and they’ve won all 10 times. That mental toughness and fight is something else.”
Morocco, meanwhile, will have to go back to the drawing board after losing a second successive Wafcon final on home soil.
The Atlas Lionesses had hired 2023 Women’s World Cup-winning coach Jorge Vilda in a bid to land their first continental title.
Forward Sakina Ouzraoui hopes the side can bounce back ahead of the 2026 edition, which will also be hosted in the North African kingdom.
“We don’t understand what happened, but Nigeria are a good team,” she told the news men.
“They knew how to change the game and that’s why they are the champions.
“It’s painful because we touched this cup with our hands, but not strongly enough.
“For sure we will come back stronger. We are Morocco, so for sure we will win this cup.”
The scorer of the Nigerian winner, Jennifer Echegini has said her Women’s Africa Cup of Nations-winning goal for Nigeria will remain a highlight to look back on for the rest of her career.
The 24-year-old midfielder swept home Esther Okoronkwo’s free-kick in the 88th minute to complete a stunning second-half comeback as the Super Falcons beat hosts Morocco 3-2.
“I’m just going to carry this moment close to me,” she told our source.
“If I’m ever doubting myself as a player, I just think of this to encourage me and give me confidence.
“It’s my first trophy I’ve ever won in my career, so definitely a memorable one that I’ll keep in my heart forever.”
A record-extending 10th continental title for the West Africans had looked a distant dream at half time, as goals from Ghizlane Chebbak and Sanaa Mssoudy put Morocco 2-0 up at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat.
But Okoronkwo pulled a goal back from the penalty spot midway through the half and then laid on two more goals in a compelling team display of mental strength.
“We’re 2-0 down in the final, it’s half-time, you absolutely have nothing to lose,” Echegini said.
“It’s either you play with fear and you lose the game or you put everything into the game and you hope you win – and we did so.”
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