SPORTS

Lionel Messi, probably the greatest player to have graced a football pitch, finally laid his hands on the greatest prize in the game, as his Argentina side downed France in the Qatar 2022 World Cup Final. Meanwhile it was mixed fortune for Africa’s representatives at the Mundial, with Morocco’s Atlas Lions roaring all the way to the semi-finals. Our Contributing …

A football tournament, staged by a group supporting Africans displaced by the war in Ukraine who are currently in Germany, kicks off on Saturday, 3 December. The Indoor Soccer tournament is one of the activities currently being implemented by Horizon Resource network under the auspices of the Help for Africans from Ukraine in Germany (HAUG) initiative to support Africans from …

David Alaba has once again been voted “Sportsman of the Year” in Austria. It’s the third time in his career (after 2013 and 2014) that the professional footballer would be bestowed with the honour. The winner is chosen in a poll conducted by the members of the Austrian Sports Journalists Association. Alaba is the eighth athlete to be named Austria’s …

Two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge broke the record he set in 2018 by 30 seconds. This is the first Berlin Marathon held without restrictions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge broke the marathon world record by half a minute on Sunday. The previous record was also set by Kipchoge in Berlin. Some 45,527 runners from …

A modern toilet facility in the town of Ogere Remo in Ogun State, Nigeria, was opened with fanfare on Thursday. The facility, which serves a community market, is a gift from the Austrian football star David Alaba to support Nigeria’s efforts to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 15.3 million-Naira project was commissioned by the Federal Minster of …

Sunday Oliseh has resigned his post as head coach of German Regionalliga side SV Straelen. The former Nigerian international quit the job on Sunday due to the poor performance of club since he took over as chief trainer. SV Straelen has lost all five matches under Oliseh in the regional league, scoring just once in the five league outings. In …

Senegal and Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane has won the 2022 CAF African Men’s Player Of The Year Award. It was his second time clinching the title, having won in 2019 while he was at Liverpool. The 30-year-old, who left the Premier League club last month after signing a three-year deal with Bayern Munich, beat former Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah …

British long-distance runner Mohamed Farah has revealed for the first time in a BBC documentary that he lives under an assumed name. The four-time Olympic champion said in pre-released excerpts of the show, titled “The Real Mo Farah”. The 39-year-old, who is from Somalia, said he was born Hussein Abdi Kahin in a region that has since largely become independent …

Former Super Eagles of Nigeria captain, Sunday Oliseh, has been appointed new head coach of German club Sav Straelen. The North Rhine-Westphalia-based side plays in the ‘Regionalliga West’ league. Speaking on Monday, the club’s president Hermann Tecklenburg, the 47-year-old former Nigeria international has already signed a one-year contract to handle the side and will start work this week. Oliseh started …

The free-to-use data centre provides information on the financial performance of African clubs and leagues as well as the market value of some 700 African players contracted in top European leagues

The Fédération of International Football Association has suspended Kenyan and Zimbabwean football federations due to government interference. This was contained in a statement by FIFA on Thursday. “Without prejudice to investigations by national authorities or other judiciary bodies, the FIFA Council has decided to suspend the Kenya Football Federation and the Zimbabwe Football Federation with immediate effect for undue influence …

Africa’s footballing showpiece took place in Cameroon from 9 January to 6 February 2022.Despite a delay to the tournament originally billed to take place in 2021, there was no denying African football lovers the traditional frills and thrills of the world’s oldest continental football tournament. Contributing Editor, Michael Nnaji, reports. ——- The 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations …

The President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Dr Patrice Motsepe, received cellphone calls yesterday from numerous football Presidents of African nations supporting the speech that FIFA President Gianni Infantino delivered at the Council of Europe on Wednesday 26 January 2022; as the speech was in line with previous CAF resolutions. Several commentators unfortunately seem to have misunderstood and …

After multiple postponements and fears of an outright cancellation, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finally kicks off on Sunday. The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 is a major event on the continent and this year’s edition is eagerly awaited following its postponement in 2021 due to the Covid crisis. The competition, tagged Cameroon 2021 and which will …

President George Manneh Weah of Liberia has expressed his excitement at the election of football legend Samuel Eto’o as President of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT). Eto’o defeated Seidou Mbombo Njoya, who serves as Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), on Saturday. The Liberian Leader, a football great himself who is the only African to have won …

Former Cameroonian international Samuel Eto’o was elected president of the country’s football federation on Saturday. The four-time African Footballer of the Year defeated rival Seidou Mbombo Njoya, the fourth vice-president at the Confederation of African Football with 43 votes to 31. Seven candidates should have contested the elections, but five of them pulled out on the morning of the elections. …

Jérôme Boateng has been convicted of physical assault. According to the indictment, the former German international allegedly injured his former partner three years ago during a heated argument while on holiday in the Caribbean —- Former German national football player Jérôme Agyenim Boateng has been convicted for intentional bodily harm to his former girlfriend. For the assault, which allegedly occurred …

FIFA’s ethics committee on Tuesday handed a year ban from football-related activities to former African Football Confederation (CAF) president Issa Hayatou over a controversial $1 billion TV and marketing rights deal with France’s Lagardere Sports which infringed competition regulations. Cameroon’s Hyatou, 74, must also pay a 30,000 Swiss francs (28,000 euros/$33,000) fine after the committee’s adjudicatory chamber found the former …

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced that former President Barack Obama has joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner President Obama will help advance the league’s social responsibility efforts across the continent, including programs and partnerships that support greater gender equality and economic inclusion. In this capacity, President Obama will have a minority equity stake in the new venture, …

Belarus Premier League side FC Vitebsk have said the drowning of Nigerian footballer Kelvin Odenigbo was an “accident.” The club doctors on Monday explained that following forensic examinations, no violent marks were seen on the 20-year-old’s body. “According to the results of the forensic medical examination, no violent marks were found on the football player’s body, there are no traces …