Sports
Heavy Weights In Action As Champions Leaque Race Begins In Africa
While Esperance and Wydad Casablanca still bicker over who is winner of the last edition of the African Champions League, the campaign to find the 2020 winner gets underway, today.
Last season’s finalists are still embroiled in a boardroom dispute over the identity of the 2019 winner and are not involved in the first round after being handed a bye into the next round.
So, too TP Mazembe Englebert of the Democratic Republic of Congo but for the rest a stellar cast of competitors, including 11 former champions, begin their bid for glory this weekend.
Record winners Al Ahly of Egypt have been handed two ‘home’ matches against Atlabara of South Sudan, where a lack of facilities means they have to forfeit home advantage.
Sunday’s match at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria is actually Atlabara’s home game but they have asked the Egyptians to host the game there and then they will return in a fortnight and play again at the same venue.
It will be the same for Zamalek, when they take on Somali club Dekadaha at the Petrojet Stadium in Cairo onSunfaya and then host them again in two weeks.
It is the first time in 30 years that a Somali club participates in African club competition.
JS Kabylie of Algeria, who have won Africa’s top club prize twice, have a potentially difficult start against Al Merreikh of Sudan in Bejaia on Friday but French-born coach Hubert Velud said last week he was already confident he knew 90 percent of the composition of his team, even though they are yet to begin domestic competition.
USM Alger must do without four key players, who were not registered in time, for their meeting in Niamey with Niger’s champions AS SONIDEP.
The absence of Hichem Belkaroui, Karim Benkhalifa, Mohamed Benkhemassa and Adem Redjhimi presents a problem for coach Bilel Dziri, who will be ken to minimize their absence and play a conservative game.
South Africa’s Orlando Pirates will be seeking to redress the disappointment of going out in last season’s group stage and have an improved squad to take to Zambian rookies Green Eagles in Lusaka on Saturday.
Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevich is promising that after two seasons without bagging any silverware, he will now start to deliver: “People could speak this or that, we will just say visible trophies are around the corner. Invisible trophies that we’ve succeeded in is that we lifted our criteria and standards of our team,” he said.
Three-time winners Raja Casablanca travellde to the Gambia on Tuesday where they begin their title bid under 49-year-old Frenchman Patrice Carteron, who previously won the Champions League with TP Mazembe but was fired by Al Ahly of Egypt when they lost in the 2018 final to Esperance.
It has been almost four decades since Asante Kotoko last won the prize and they begin away at Nigeria’s Kano Pillars on Saturday.
“I’m very excited because this is what we all lived for, this is the real thing and we are going to give our all and hopefully it will be enough to bring home good result,” said Kotoko coach Kjetil Zachariassen. The Norwegian has only been in the job for a month.
Nigeria’s other representatives Enyimba begin away at Rahimo of Burkina Faso, who are based in Bobo-Dioulasso and won their first national title in May. In fact, they completed the double by beating AS Sonabel 3-2 in the cup final.
Nigeria has won the bid to host the next edition of the prestigious All Africa Challenge Trophy in 2026.
The AACT is a biennial continental ladies’ golf championship in Africa that had its inaugural edition in May 1992 in Zimbabwe.
Nigeria hosted the AACT in 1996 at the Ikoyi Club 1938, while in 2010, the AACT was played at the IBB International Golf and Country Club, in Abuja.
This would be the third time Nigeria will be hosting the championship.
Interestingly, the West and Central Africa Challenge Trophy (a regional version of the championship) was held for the first time in Nigeria at the Lakowe Lakes Golf Estates and Resort, Lagos, in 2023.
Evelyn Oyome, the President of the Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria, who was the leader of the Nigerian delegation to the championship’s 16th edition in Morocco, said Nigeria emerged winner amongst the 20 countries that took part in the bidding process.
“Nigeria had earlier hosted the West, Central Africa Challenge Trophy in October last year at the Lakowe Lakes Golf Estate and Resort in Lagos, showcasing its outstanding golfing facilities, with no fewer than 10 countries participating.
“So, hosting that championship successfully last year gave us the edge amongst so many other countries that also bidded and winning was a huge victory for Nigeria,” she said.
Oyome revealed that the Federal Capital Territory would be the host city for the AACT 2026 edition, with no fewer than 30 countries expected to participate in the championship.
Super Eagles B co-handler Fidelis Ilechukwu has revealed that Kano Pillars duo Ahmed Musa and Shehu Abdullahi were initially listed in the 30-man squad for the 2024 CHAN qualifiers double header clash against Ghana, but were dropped over their ineligibility.
Musa and Shehu, who made sensational returns to Kano Pillars this season, were conspicuously missing when the Nigeria Football Federation revealed the names of 30 Nigeria Premier Football League stars for the assignment.
The CHAN Eagles are currently camping in Ikenne, Ogun State. They will play the first leg of their encounter in Accra on Sunday, December 22 before returning to Uyo for the return leg on Saturday, December 28.
“I was told he (Musa) didn’t meet up with the conditions of playing in the CHAN tournament or qualifiers,” Ilechukwu told our correspondent.
“Ahmed Musa was on our list, there is no way we wouldn’t have included him in the list with his performances in the league but they told us to replace him due to eligibility.
When asked if the same applied to Shehu, the coach replied in the affirmative.
According to CAF regulations, only footballers playing in their country of birth are eligible.
While the above rule favours both Musa and Shehu, their participation was perhaps made difficult by another CAF regulation which says, “Only players with a permanent contract registered in a local club affiliated to their national association are eligible to participate in the African Nations Championship” – as both players are in the NPFL under the Elite Player Scheme.
According to section 9.91 of the NPFL Framework and Rules, “There shall be an Elite Player Scheme wherein each Club shall be allowed to register a maximum of two players who in the opinion of the NPFL will add value to the league.”
The Federal Capital Territory is set to host the 2024 Annual General Assembly (AGA) of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
In a statement released yesterday, the Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, confirmed that all arrangements have been finalised for the AGA, which will take place at Fabino by Toprank Hotels, Abuja.
The AGA meeting promises to be a significant gathering in charting a way forward for the women’s football rising agenda and the women’s football leagues in Nigeria.
Key stakeholders, including board members and representatives of Premiership and Championship clubs, will review the successes and challenges of the outgone 2023/2024 season.
Notably, Edo Queens emerged champions of the NWFL Premiership for the first time, while Honey Badgers and Ibom Angels secured promotion to the Premiership from the NWFL Championship.
The AGM will also focus on sustaining the league’s growing credibility and improving operations while setting the calendar and start date for the 2024/2025 NWFL Premiership and Championship campaigns.
This pivotal meeting aims to further strengthen women’s football in Nigeria and lay the groundwork for the league’s continued growth.
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