SPORTS

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 …

Nigerian footballer Kelvin Odenigbo has been found dead after the 20-year-old drowned in a lake in Belarus. His Belarusian club FC Vitebsk confirmed the sad incident, explaining that he drowned in Lake Beloye. The football club “Vitebsk” reported that on June 5, 2021, on the lake “Beloye”, in the area of ​​the tourist base “Verasy”, OSVOD employees found the drowned …

Ex-Wolves and Nigeria midfielder, Seyi Olofinjana, has been named technical director at Switzerland’s most successful club Grasshopper Zurich. The 40-year-old will oversee the football department at the newly-promoted Super League outfit and immediately find the right candidate to fill the ‘position of the head coach’ . The former Stoke City, Hull City and Cardiff City player was snapped from English …

Formula1 team McLaren has signed Ugo Ugochukwu, a promising teenage driver who was recently crowned FIA European karting champion. The agreement provides McLaren Racing with an option on Ugochukwu services into the future, supporting the driver’s development and evolution as he progresses through the junior categories of motorsport. McLaren, in press release, said: “McLaren Racing today [22 March 20221] announced …

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have signed a deal for two world heavyweight title unification fights, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said on Monday. Confirming the agreement, Hearn told ESPN, a US television channel that broadcasts exclusively sports programmes round the clock: “The hard part is always getting everybody to put pen to paper. “But this was a major effort from …

Leading South African businessman Patrice Motsepe emerged on Friday as the new President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). He took over from Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar, whose tenure ended in controversy. “Africa needs collective wisdom, but also the exceptional talent and wisdom of every (national football association) president and every member nation,” Motsepe, Founder and Executive Chairman of …

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have agreed to a world title unification fight, promoter Bob Arum confirmed on Wednesday evening. The all-British bout between 32-year-old WBC champion Fury and Joshua, 31 – who holds the IBF, WBO and WBA titles – will see all four belts contested in a heavyweight fight for the first time. After Joshua beat Kubrat Pulev …

  Two-time Unified World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua has stepped up the fighting talk and warned Tyson Fury he relishes going to war in the ring as the pair moves closer to a heavyweight mega-fight. ”I’d rather die in battle, so I can go to the heavens where the warriors lie than go to battle and try to hide and …

By retaining his IBF, WBA, and WBO titles, Anthony Joshua has given boxing lovers around the world, and particularly in Nigeria, something to cheer, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has said.  Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said Buhari made his feelings known while celebrating the decisive victory of the Nigerian-born boxer over Kubrat Pulev …

The Argentine football legend, Diego Armando Maradona, died aged 60 on Wednesday, after a life that showcased the good, the bad and the ugly of the human condition. But he will mostly be remembered for his footballing exploits which transcended the sport. Our Contributing Editor, Michael Nnaji, looks back on his life. My first recollections of Diego Maradona were during …

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has passed away at the age of 60 after suffering a cardiac arrest, according to multiple reports. He had a heart attack at his home just two weeks after leaving hospital where he underwent brain surgery. Days after celebrating his 60th birthday, the Gimnasia coach had been hospitalised after complaining of low spirits and fatigue …

Confederation of African Football (CAF) president, Ahmad Ahmad, has been banned for five years by FIFA for breaching various codes of ethics, according to a statement released by the global football body’s ethics committee on Monday. The 60-year-old, who is also a vice-president of FIFA, was found guilty of breaching four separate articles of the organization’s ethics code, including abuse …

Didier Drogba – one of the greatest players ever to come out of Africa – received the 2020 UEFA President’s Award from UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin at the UEFA Champions League draw ceremony in Geneva on Thursday (1 October).  The 42-year-old former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker, described by Čeferin as “a leader and pioneer”, follows famous names such as …

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the year 2020 has been characterised by irregular European football schedules, cancellations and new rules. For the fans it has meant their not being able to support their favourite teams in person at stadiums across Europe. Not forgetting that in the German Bundesliga, Bayern Munich emerged domestic champions and as well as dominating …