Sports
How African Stars Played In Europe
This concludes our cov
erage for Saturday, 27 August. Please join AfricanFootball tomorrow for more coverage of the continent’s best players in Europe at the weekend.
Full time in the Ligue 1 matches, where Thievy Bifouma’s Bastia went down 2-0 away to Caen, Benoit Assou-Ekotto has made a sub appearance for Metz in a 2-0 win over Angers, Ryad Boudebouz provided an assist for Montpellier in their 1-1 draw with Rennes, Mustapha Diallo scored for Guingamp in a 2-0 win at Nancy and Yassine Benzia provided an assist for Lille in their 1-1 draw at Nice.
Closing in on full time in France’s Ligue 1, while we’re half an hour away from kick-off in the late La Liga game which sees Leganes (who have Algeria’s Carl Medjani on the bench) host mighty Atletico Madrid.
News of another goal for Faouzi Ghoulam and Kalidou Koulibaly’s Napoli, who are now 2-0 up against AC Milan thanks to a second goal from Arkadiusz Milik.
Past the hour mark in the Ligue 1 games, Mustapha Diallo has scored to put Guingamp 1-0 up away to Nancy.
News of a goal in Italy, where Arkadiusz Milik has scored to put Faouzi Ghoulam’s Napoli 1-0 up at home to Italy. No further goals in the second half in France’s Ligue 1.
Back underway in the second half in the Ligue 1 games, while in Italy it’s still 0-0 between Kalidou Koulibaly’s Napoli and AC Milan.
Half time in France, no African goal scorers as yet, here are the scores so far: Caen 0-0 Bastia, Metz 1-0 Angers, Montpellier 1-0 Rennes, Nancy 0-0 Guingamp and Nice 1-1 Lille (where Algerian Yassine Benzia provided an assist for the latter’s goal).
Ten minutes from the second and last Serie A game of the day which sees Napoli host AC Milan. The former feature Faouzi Ghoulam and Kalidou Koulibaly in their starting XI.
Finished in the Premier League, where Eric Bailly’s Manchester United snatched a late, late 1-0 win over Hull City. In the Bundesliga, Ibrahima Traore’s Monchengladbach beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1.
We’re also finished in Spain’s early games, where Aymen Abdennour’s Valencia lost 1-0 at Eibar, while Real Sociedad won 2-0 at Osasuna. Kicking off now is the third La Liga match, Real Madrid v Celta Vigo, which has no African involvement.
Done and dusted in Italy, where Kwadwo Asamoah, Mario Lemina and Mehdi Benatia have helped Juventus win 1-0 at Lazio.
We’re underway in France’s Ligue 1 evening games, where we are sure to have a few African scorers…
Nancy v Guingamp sees Guy N’Dy Assembe and Youssouf Hadji start for the former, while Mustapha Diallo features for the latter. Nice have Jean-Michael Seri in their XI for the visit of Lille, who feature Adama Soumaoro, Younousse Sankhare, Vincent Enyeama and Yassine Benzia.
Kwadwo Asamoah’s Juventus have a lead at Lazio thanks to Sami Khedira’s goal, while Aymen Abdennour’s Valencia are 1-0 down at Eibar. Further team news from France: Montpellier feature Ryad Boudebouz and Steve Mounie for their home match against Rennes, who have Rami Bensebaini, Giovanni Sio and Sitoe Mexer in their XI.
Let’s start looking ahead to French Ligue 1 matches kicking off at 20h00. Caen feature Syam Ben Yousseff for their home clash with Bastia, who have Thievy Bifouma and Mehdi Mostefa in their starting XI, while Georges Mandjeck and Cheick Doukoure start for Metz at home to Angers, who have Karl-Toko Ekambi, Cheick N’Doye and Ismael Traore in their run-on team.
Half time in the Premier League, Ahmed Elmohamady’s Hull are holding Man United 0-0. In the Bundesliga, Ibrahim Traore’s Monchengladbach are 1-0 up against Leverkusen.
Not many goals at the moment… still 0-0 between Hull and Eric Bailly’s Man United in the Premier League, as well as between Lazio and Juve in Italy, and Ibrahim Traore’s Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen.
Full time in the early Ligue 1 game, where Dijon have beaten Lyon 4-2 at home. The victors featured two African goal scorers: Julio Tavares of Cape Verde and DR Congo substitute Dylan Bahamboula.
Almost up to half time in Serie A, where Kwadwo Asamoah’s Juventus are being held 0-0 at Lazio.
Underway in both the Premier League and Bundesliga, while in France’s Ligue 1 Nicolas N’Koulou’s Lyon are 3-2 down away to Julio Tavares’ Dijon with about 20 minutes to play.
Fifteen minutes until the final Bundesliga game of the day, where Ibrahima Traore starts for Borussia Monchengladbach at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
In five minutes we have the first two La Liga matches of the day kicking off in Spain. Tunisian defender Aymen Abdennour starts for Valencia at Eibar, while Osasuna host Real Sociedad in the other fixture.
The six Premier League matches have wrapped up, here are the full time scores: Chelsea 3-0 Burnley, Palace 1-1 Bournemouth, Everton 1-0 Stoke, Leicester 2-1 Swansea, Southampton 1-1 Sunderland and Watford 1-3 Arsenal. The final game of the day in England kicks off in half an hour and sees Hull City host Manchester United. Ahmed Elmohamady starts for the former, while the latter have Ivorian defender Eric Bailly at centre-back.
Julio Tavares has scored for Dijon, who are holding Lyon 2-2 at half time in the early Ligue 1 game.
Victor Moses has a goal for Chelsea, making it 3-0 over Burnley as we approach full time in the Premier League matches which kicked off at 16h00.
We’re done and dusted in the Bundesliga, with the highlight from an African perspective the two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to see Dortmund win 2-1 against Mainz. Here are the other results: Koln 2-0 Darmstadt, Augsburg 0-2 Wolfsburg, Frankfurt 1-0 Schalke and Hamburger 1-1 Ingolstadt. Modou Barrow has provided an assist to see Swansea pull a goal back against Leicester, it’s 2-1 to the champions at King Power Stadium.
The first Italian Serie A match of the day kicks off in 25 minutes and sees Lazio host champions Juventus. The home side has Angolan Bastos in their starting line-up, while Juve’s run-on XI features Moroccan Mehdi Benatia as well as Mario Lemina and Kwadwo Asamoah of Gabon and Ghana respectively.
Lyon lead 1-0 away to Dijon, with Clorentin Tolisso scoring to put Nicolas N’Koulou’s team ahead in the early Ligue 1 match. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has a second goal for Dortmund today, netting from the penalty spot to give them a 2-0 lead against Mainz.
Riyad Mahrez has just had a penalty saved, it remains 2-0 to Leicester against Swansea, while Watford have a goal back against Arsenal, with Odion Ighalo playing a role in a strike from Roberto Pereyra.
Everton lead 1-0 against Mame Biram Diouf’s Stoke after a penalty from Leighton Baines, while Wes Morgan has scored to put Riyad Mahrez’s Leicester City 2-0 up against Swansea.
We’re back underway in the second half of the Premier League matches, while in Germany Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Dortmund remain 1-0 up against Mainz thanks to the Gabon attacker’s goal.
We’ve hit half time in the Premier League matches, here are the scores at the break: Watford 0-3 Arsenal, Chelsea 2-0 Burnley, Southampton 0-0 Sunderland, Leicester 1-0 Swansea, Everton 0-0 Stoke and Crystal Palace 0-0 Bournemouth. No African scorers as yet.
It’s not a great day for Odion Ighalo’s Watford, who now found themselves 2-0 down at home to Arsenal, while Victor Moses’ Chelsea have gone 2-0 up at home to Burnley.
Riyad Mahrez’s Leicester City have the lead at home to Swansea, with Jamie Vardy netting his first Premier League goal of the new season.
We have some early team news from the first Ligue 1 match of the day, which will see Dijon host Lyon at 17h00. Morocco’s Fouad Chafik and Cape Verde’s Julio Tavares start for the home side, while the visitors have Cameroonian Nicolas N’Koulou in their XI.
We have our first goals in the Premier League, with Eden Hazard putting Chelsea ahead against Burnley, while Nordin Amrabat gave away a debatable penalty which has seen Arsenal take a 1-0 lead at Watford.
We are underway across the Premier League matches, let’s hope for plenty of African goals and assists in England’s top flight this afternoon…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored for Dortmund to give them a 1-0 lead at home to Mainz. The Gabonese striker is continuing where he left off last season…
Let’s move onto team news ahead of the 16h00 Premier League matches. Victor Moses is on the bench for Chelsea, who host Burnley; Pape Souare starts for Crystal Palace at home to Bournemouth, who have Max Gradel on the bench; Yannock Bolasie and Idriss Gueye start for Everton at home to Stoke, who have Mame Biram Diouf playing up front; Leicester City feature Riyad Mahrez and Daniel Amartey in their XI (Ahmed Musa’s on the bench) at home to Modou Barrow’s Swansea; Southampton host Sunderland, who have Steven Pienaar, Lamine Kone and Papy Djilobodji in their starting team and Wahbi Khazri on the bench; and finally Watford feature Nordin Amrabat, Adlebe Guedioura and Odion Ighalo (with Isaac Success on the bench) against Arsenal, who have Mohamed Elneny waiting in reserve.
We’re 10 minutes into five Bundesliga matches, here is the African involvement: Tunisia’s Anis Ben Hatira starts for Darmstadt away to Koln, Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will come up against Nigerian defender Leon Balogun for Dortmund v Mainz, Cameroon’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting starts for Schalke at Frankfurt and his compatriot Marvin Matip features for Ingolstadt at Hamburger.
We begin with news from the Premier League, where Kenyan Victor Wanyama played the full 90 minutes for Tottenham as they were held 1-1 at home by Liverpool, who had Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Cameroonian Joel Matip in their line-up. We have a further six matches in England’s top flight coming up at 16h00…
The 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist spoke to Tidesports source her desire to defend her para singles title in the women’s category and to also secure a qualification berth for both the regional West Africa para table tennis event in Abeokuta in September and the continental championship billed to hold in Cairo, Egypt in November.
The multiple Paralympian said, “My expectation is to come out great at this wonderful tournament and to qualify for the forthcoming tournament that is coming up in Nigeria and Egypt in September and November. Last tournament, I won the singles. I won three golds at the last ValueJet tournament. And I want to believe and hope that I will maintain my position by coming in first position.”
Ugwueke had featured in the para event at the 56th Molade Okoya-Thomas National Table Tennis Championships, held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in January, where she suffered a stunning defeat to eventual finalist and tournament runner-up Taiye Oyinloye, who in turn was beaten 3-1 (11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9) by Commonwealth Games medallist, Kate Oputa, to become the women’s class 1-5 champion.
The ValueJet Lagos Para table tennis Open, which is in its seventh edition, is an event sanctioned by the governing body ITTF Africa and put together by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation in partnership with Lagos State Sports Commission.
The event will come to a close on July 11, with the competition serving as qualifiers for the country’s players for the regional tournament in Abeokuta.
A total of 98 athletes—57 men and 41 women—from Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Togo are competing in the singles events.
Notable performances have come from Alabi, Agunbiade, Ogunkunle, and Commonwealth Games medallists Kate Oputa and Faith Obazuaye, who have showcased their class against emerging talents across various classifications.
Their presence has intensified the battle for podium finishes, with top seeds asserting dominance in their respective singles events.
The AIU announced in the June 2025 sanctions list on July 1 that 21-year-old quarter-miler Uko was found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation committed on June 5 2024. Her infraction falls under whereabouts failures, having missed three tests within a 12-month period.
The AIU confirmed that her period of ineligibility will run until 23 July 2026 and all results recorded from the date of the infraction have been officially disqualified.
Uko rose to fame after clinching three gold medals at the 2021 World U-20 Championships in Nairobi, winning the women’s 400 metres, 4x400m relay, and the mixed 4x400m relay.
Stephen Eloji (June 2028)
Sprinter and hurdler Stephen Eloji tested positive for dehydrochloromethyl-
The 25-year-old was active in the American collegiate circuit, recording strong performances in the 110m hurdles and relay events as recently as April 2024, including at the Pepsi Florida Relays and Music City Challenge.
Ada Princess Bright (September 2027)
Ada Princess Bright is serving a four-year ineligibility period after testing positive for Metenolone during the National Athletics Trials held on July 6 2023 in Benin City.
She had an active season prior to her suspension, competing in national meets in Lagos, Uyo, and Benin, and earning a relay gold at the African U20 Championships in Ndola, Zambia.
Grace Nwokocha (August 2025)
Nwokocha is serving a three-year ban after testing positive for SARMS substances including Ostarine and Ligandrol during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The fallout was significant, as Nigeria was stripped of its women’s 4x100m relay gold medal at the Games. Prior to her suspension, she had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, posted a personal best of 11.00s in the 100m, and reached the semi-finals in the 100m and 200m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She is ineligible to compete until 2 August 2025.
Yinka Ajayi (January 2030)
Ajayi, a 400m specialist and one-time Olympic representative, is currently serving an extended eight-year ban for multiple anti-doping violations.
The first sanction, issued after she tested positive for Metenolone in an out-of-competition test in Iowa, USA, led to a four-year ban starting in December 2021. However, further findings of tampering led to an additional four-year penalty in 2024, extending her suspension until January 25 2030.
Glory Okon (January 2026)
Glory Okon is serving a four-year ban for testing positive for Metenolone following an out-of-competition test conducted on December 2 2021 in Nigeria.
She previously won gold in the 400 metres at the 2019 African U-20 Championships in Abidjan and featured prominently at the 2021 National Sports Festival in Benin City.
Blessing Okagbare (July 2031)
Once the face of Nigerian athletics, Okagbare is now serving a 10-year ban following multiple anti-doping rule violations. She tested positive for human growth hormone and EPO in an out-of-competition test in June 2021.
Her suspension came while competing at the Tokyo Olympics and was announced in February 2022. It was later extended by an additional year in June 2022 due to further breaches.
Divine Oduduru (February 2029)
Oduduru’s career was derailed by anti-doping violations linked to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On October 12 2023, a Disciplinary Tribunal of the AIU imposed a six-year ban on Oduduru after he was found guilty of possessing and attempting to use prohibited substances and methods. The case stemmed from the wider investigation into Eric Lira, the first individual convicted under the US Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, who supplied banned substances to athletes, including Okagbare, ahead of the Tokyo Games.
Oduduru’s ban is effective from February 9, 2023 and will run until February 8, 2029.
Henry Azike (Lifetime ban)
Azike is one of two Nigerian athletes currently serving a lifetime ban after testing positive for Metenolone, an anabolic steroid. His case was classified as a second ADRV, automatically triggering a lifetime suspension from the sport.
Azike last competed in 2011, including at the Doha Amir Cup and Nigerian Championships in Calabar.
Vivian Chukwuemeka (Lifetime ban)
Two-time Olympian and African shot put record holder Vivian Chukwuemeka is serving a lifetime ban for a second doping offence after testing positive for Stanozolol at the 2012 National Championships in Calabar.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games champion and multiple-time African gold medallist had previously served a two-year ban following a 2009 positive test. Her personal best of 18.43m remains the African record in women’s shot put.
Invited players into the Super Eagles B camp ahead of the rescheduled African Nations Championship tournament are feeling the pressure of selection, three days into their training camp at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State.
The eighth CHAN tournament is taking place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda between August 2 to 20.
Ahead of the tournament, head coach Eric Chelle had invited an initial 35 players to camp and they began training on Monday with 21 players.
Five more players arrived on Tuesday to take the number to 26 while 28 players trained on Wednesday morning with the rest expected before the end of the week.
Captain of the team through the qualifiers, Junior Nduka, spoke about the intensity of the sessions and the jostle to make the final squad.
“Everybody is under pressure but definitely the coaches want the best among the 35 players,” Nduka said.
River United and former Flying Eagles forward, Aniekeme Okon, also admitted the pressure.
“It puts pressure on us, 35 players being invited, everybody is going to give out their best with an expectation of being selected. So we keep pushing.”
Ikorodu City defender, Leonard Ngenge also said, “Obviously, it puts everyone under pressure even myself. But I just need to do my best to be on the coaches’ radar.”
Nigeria, the 2018 runners-up, are in group D of the 19-team tournament, alongside Cup holders Senegal, Sudan and Congo.
The Super Eagles B will play their first two matches of the competition, against Senegal and Sudan, at the Amman Stadium on the island of Zanzibar, before taking on Congo at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Nigeria has never won the tournament, having finished third at the 2014 edition in South Africa before losing the final against hosts Morocco four years later.
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