Ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games qualifying tournament, FIBA has released power rankings for the tournament.
Nigeria’s D’Tigress are among the countries that will slug it out for a place in this Paris 2024 Games.
The Nigerian side booked their automatic spot in the qualifier after they emerged as the winner of the last Women’s Afrobasket championship in Rwanda.
According to the power rankings released on Tuesday afternoon, Nigeria’s D’Tigress is placed in 12th position on the ranking table while the United States is placed number One.
And apart from Nigeria, Senegal is another African team in the top 16 of the power ranking.
The FIBA Olympics qualifying tournament is scheduled to kick start from February 8 to 11 in Antwerp with 16 teams competing for 12 places at this summer’s 2024 Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, D’Tigress forward Elizabeth Balogun has declared her readiness to secure the ticket for Nigeria.
The Belgian-based player is among the 15 players called upon by the team coach Rene Wakama for the qualifiers.
“I am thrilled about this, it’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase our team’s talent and demonstrate our national prowess.
“I am preparing to assist the team in qualifying for the 2024 Olympics”, she said.
Egypt have sacked head coach Rui Vitoria after the national team’s underwhelming performance at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) confirmed on Monday.
Vitoria’s dismissal follows Egypt’s dramatic 8-7 penalty shootout defeat against DR Congo in San Pedro in the last 16, dashing their hopes of a record-extending eighth AFCON title.
Egypt had struggled in the tournament, failing to win a game.
Egypt were held to three successive 2-2 group-stage draws – against Mozambique, Ghana and Cape Verde – before their loss to DR Congo.
They were also hampered by an early injury to talismanic captain Mohamed Salah.
In a statement, the EFA board thanked Vitoria and his staff for their service but indicated they were exploring options among foreign coaches to fill the vacant position. The statement also announced former Al Ahly coach Mohamed Youssef as the interim manager.
Former Benfica and Spartak Moscow manager Vitoria was appointed as Egypt’s head coach in 2022, succeeding Ehab Galal. He signed a four-year deal that would have taken him through to the 2026 World Cup.
His reign with the Pharaohs started well, winning 12 out of 14 games in charge before the start of Afcon 2023.
This included their two wins at the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Meanwhile, coach Rui Victoria, is the best-paid national team coach in Africa, getting $2.4m per year is going home.
Egypt however remains the most successful team in the Nations Cup with seven titles in the kitty, the Pharaohs were seeking their eighth title at the 34th AFCON in Cote d Ivoire, a dream which hit the rocks with a bang.
Vitoria’s dismissal follows the departure of several other coaches at Afcon 2023.
Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi, Gambia’s Tom Saintfiet, Ghana’s Chris Hughton, Tunisia’s Jalel Kadri, Tanzania’s Adel Amrouche, and Ivory Coast boss Jean-Louis Gasset all parted ways with their teams.
There is serious panic in the camp of the Elephant of Coted’Ivoire after the African soccer ruling body officially ruled out 4 of its players for the semi-final.
The two-time champions set up a semi-final clash against DR Congo on Saturday after their 2-1 win over the Eagles of Mali.
Meanwhile, CAF on Monday confirmed that the quartet of skipper Serge Aurier, Oumar Diakiate, Christian Kouamé and Odilon Kossounou will not be available for the game.
The players were ruled out due to the accumulation of cards in the previous matches.
The most recent was Diakite who removed his shirt after scoring the winning goal against Mali in the quarter-final, he was sent for the second bookable offence and also won the Man of the Match award.
The game against DR Congo is slated for Wednesday at the Alassanae Quattarra stadium, 8pm Ivory Coast time.
Gabonese referee Pierre Ghislain Atcho has been dismissed from the AFCON 2023 by the CAF Referees Committee headed by Ivorian Désiré Doué Noumandiez.
During the round of 16 match between Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, referee Atcho gave a yellow card to Sadio Mane for a critical foul which many believed should have earned a red card.
Also, he equally refused a pénalty to Senegal for a fault committed on Senegalese Saar.
His case will be reviewed at CAF’s headquarters and his chances of taking part in any CAF tournament this year is very slim.
Meanwhile, all VAR referees present that day have all been suspended while Senegalese winger, Krepin Diatta may also face disciplinary action after accusing CAF of being corrupt.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles were the first side to book a semi-final berth at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations after Ademola Lookman’s first-half goal ensured a 1-0 win over Angola’s Palancas Negras in the last eight on Friday.
Lookman has now scored in back-to-back games after bagging a brace against Cameroon in the round of 16.
Angola, who made their third quarter-final appearance and first AFCON clash with the Eagles, went into the game on the back of a nine-game unbeaten run.
Troost-Ekong made a timely block for a comer from a cross on four minutes to deny Angola an early advantage.
From the corner, Stanley Nwabali made a superb one-on-one save from a corner.
Meanwhile, Lookman finished off a flying run down the left by winger Moses Simon, who skipped the challenge of defender Kialonda Gaspar to break free and then teed up his teammate for his third goal of the tournament.
The 1-0 scoreline flattered Angola, who were second best for long periods of the game, and Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen had a 75th-minute header ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee (VAR).
Angola’s best chance fell to Zine, who rolled the ball against the base of the post when clean through on goal just before the hour mark.
It was another impressive defensive performance by the William Troost-Ekong-led backline who have now gone four consecutive games without conceding a goal.
Angola, ranked 117th in the world, had surprisingly won their group ahead of 2019 champions Algeria and Burkina Faso, but their wait for a first appearance in the last four goes on.
Super Eagles of Nigeria has been to 19 AFCON tournaments and reached the semi-finals 16 times.
Nigeria will face the winner of the quarter-final match between Cape Verde and South Africa on February 7 by 6pm at the Stade de la Paix, Bouaké.
Bay FC, the Bay Area’s new women’s professional soccer franchise in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), has signed Nigerian international Asisat Oshoala from FC Barcelona, the club announced on Thursday
Agba Baller has her teeming fams called Oshoala signed to a contract through the 2026 season with an option for the 2027 campaign.
Oshoala will join the team and be added to the roster pending the receipt of her P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC). Oshoala will occupy an international roster spot.
Professionally, she began her career in Nigeria with Rivers Angels FC before making the move to Europe and signing with Liverpool on Jan. 23, 2015. Oshoala spent time with Liverpool and Arsenal, winning the 2016 FA Cup with Arsenal before signing with Chinese club Dalian in Feb. 2017. She won two league titles in China (2017, and 2018) and went on loan to Barcelona on Jan. 31, 2019, before making the permanent move in May 2019.
At Barcelona across five seasons (2019-23), Oshoala scored 107 goals in 149 appearances, including a record-setting season in 2022, when she was the joint-top scorer in the league with 19 goals. The two-time Ballon d’Or nominee led the team in scoring three times, helping the club win the UEFA Women’s Champions League twice (2020-21, 2022-23), earn four league titles, three Spanish Super Cups and the Copa de la Reina three times. She became the first African woman to win the UEFA Champions League final in 2021 and the first African woman to score in the Champions League final in 2019.
A six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year, Oshoala has appeared in three FIFA Women’s World Cups (2015, 2019, 2023) with Nigeria, helping the team advance to the Round of 16 in both the 2019 and 2023 tournaments. As a youth international, she was the Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, scoring seven goals in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Bay FC, set to debut in the NWSL’s 2024 season, will play their home games at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, and kick off their inaugural NWSL campaign against Angel City on March 17.
The potential transfer for the Africa Women’s Footballer of the year could command a fee of approximately €150,000 ($162,000).
“To have the opportunity to add a player of Asisat’s quality, experience and winning pedigree to our roster is an exciting and important day for the club and the NWSL,” said Bay FC General Manager Lucy Rushton. “She brings a top-class mentality to the field combined with pace and technical ability that allows her to lead the line, while also giving those players around her the license to be creative and thrive in space. Asisat is a proven goal scorer at the most elite levels of World football, and she comes here to continue that with Bay FC.”
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Board has announced a new kick-off date for the second stanza of the league.
They have set aside February 14th as the day action resumes in the NPFL. This decision comes after the initial resumption date of February 4th was postponed, with the league citing public demand influenced by the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast.
In a letter addressed to various clubs on Wednesday, the NPFL Board explained the reason behind the delay, emphasizing the need to capture the undivided attention of players, fans, and stakeholders amid the prime African football spectacle that is the AFCON. Nigeria’s progression to the quarterfinals after a stellar 2-0 victory against Cameroon in the round of 16 has undoubtedly heightened football fever across the nation.
The league body stated, “Be informed therefore that a new date of February 14th has been decided for the commencement of the second stanza of the season. This decision was reached to capture the full attention of players, fans, and all other stakeholders at this time of prime African football tournament.”
Former Super Eagles forward, Daniel Amokachi popularly called The bull has said there is a remarkable improvement in the level of football at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Countries like Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea and Angola have make big impression in the competition, while there have been major upset too.
Former champions Black Stars of Ghana and Desert Foxes of Algeria, Carthage Eagles of Tunisia failed to make it beyond the group stage.
Holders Senegal, most ranked football nation in Africa Morocco and Egypt all exited the competition in the Round of 16.
The competition has been a sexy one, it’s good for African football. All the teams that qualified for the last World Cup as well as the teams that made it to the last stage in Cameroon have been knocked out.
Amokachi while speaking at an event in Abidjan on Wednesday said
“The number of goals scored in the group stage is also more than what was recorded in the last two editions. That’s an indication that football is growing in Africa.
The technical crew of the Indomitable Lions are set to experience enmasse following their Round of 16 to defeat Nigeria in the ongoing AFCON in Cote D’Ivoire.
The five-time African champions suffered a 2-0 defeat to Super Eagles in Abidjan on Saturday courtesy of Ademola Lookman brace.
Meanwhile, the update coming from the camp of the Cameroonian side indicated the technical crew except the coach Rigobert Song are set to through in the towel citing the undue interference of the FA president Samuel Eto’o in the team.
It was gathered that the former FC Barcelona forward has been massively involved in the day-to-day running of the team.
Some of the crew believed that the massive influence of the former striker in the team was responsible for the unrest and below-par performance of the team.
Super Eagles number one Stanley Nwabali was not involved in training as the Super Eagles begin preparation for their quarter-final clash against the Black Antelopes of Angola.
The Chippa United goalie sustained an injury in Nigeria’s 2-0 victory against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon last week Saturday and was replaced by Francis Uzoho 10 minutes from time.
All the remaining 24 players took part in the training session. Monday’s training session was open to the media.
The Super Eagles will intensify preparations for the clash with the Black Antelopes at the Ecole Nationale de la Police on Tuesday.
Jose Peseiro’s side will take on Angola at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan on Friday.
African no 1 Table Tennis player, Quadri Aruna has raised concerns over the clash in the schedule of the 2023 African Games and the 2024 Singapore Smash Event.
The 13th African Games is scheduled for 8th to 23rd March 2024 in Ghana while the Singapore Smash Event is billed for 7th to 17th March 2024
Aruna appealed to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and World Table Tennis (WTT) to prevail on the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) in order to play the Table Tennis event at the African Games between 15th to 23rd March.
The Commonwealth Silver medallist said, “The African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) has made the move to play during Singapore smash events and this means that several African players that qualified for Singapore smash won’t be able to participate.
“African players are begging the ITTF and WTT to look into this issue and help convince the ATTF to appeal to the organisers of the African Games to move the Table Tennis event from the planned date to 15th to 23rd March.
“The Singapore Smash Event is as big as the World Championships and everyone is always excited to participate. The players do not want to get injured with the tight schedule and miss Singapore events at the same time. “We want to play at the Singapore Smash Event first before heading to the African Games”.
“It will definitely look so bad for our sports if no player from Africa participates in this year’s Singapore smash”.
The Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, has moved up in the ranking of men’s football leagues in Africa.
The ranking was conducted by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, IFFHS.
IFFHS is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football, founded in 1974 by Alfredo Poge in Leipzig.
It rates the competitive edge of leagues and for the current rating, the Italian Serie A is the global strongest league, while Egypt tops Africa and is rated 20 in the world.
In the latest ranking in Africa, the Morocco Botola League ranks next to Egypt and is trailed by Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa and Tanzania. Behind Nigeria are Angola, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire, the only other West African leagues in the top 10.
The top five strongest leagues in the world are Italian Serie A, the English Premier League, Spanish LaLiga, Brazil’s Serie A and the German Bundesliga.
Former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has rated Stanley Nwabali better than Francis Uzoho.
The Chippa United goalkeeper has now become the first choice for the Super Eagles despite not playing in the qualifiers.
Though Nwabali has reiterated that Uzoho remained Nigeria’s first choice and that he’s only privileged to be in goal.
While speaking to the former BBC Reporter Osasuo Obayiuwana, The Benin Republic coach said Neabali is calm and controls his area better.
“I have to say that Nwabali Bobo is better than Francis Uzoho,” Rohr said.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will take on the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in their Africa Cup of Nations’ Round of 16 encounter in Abidjan on Sunday,
The winners of Saturday’s AFCON Round of 16 epic clash between the Super Eagles and Cameroon will in the quarterfinal take on the winners of the clash between Angola and Namibia.
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