CHAN 2014 Review

The  African Nations Championship(CHAN) kicked off in South Africa on Saturday 11th January 2014. The biennial event was inaugurated in 2009 to enhance the development of African football. This tournament is meant for players that are based in their country's local leagues. Any player that is playing in another African league apart from his country of origin is not eligible to partake in this competition. For example, a Nigerian player that is on the payroll of a Tunisian club won't be allowed to play in this kind of competition.

The idea of having a "nations cup for home based players" is to give such people the chance to gather international exposure and serve as a breeding ground to raise formidable senior national teams.

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The 2013 edition was postponed to 2014 after the Confederation of African Football(CAF) switched the African cup of nations to odd-number years.

In the opening match of South Africa 2014, the host nation defeated Mozambique by 3-1. Parker scored a brace for the rainbow nation after the visitors had taken the lead through a deflected effort in the first half.

In the other group A match, Mali overcame Nigeria by 2-1 in Cape Town. The Nigerians are debutants at this tournament after the failed to qualify for the previous two editions. Gbolahan Salami of Shooting Stars FC scored the consolatory goal for Nigeria after the Malians had taken a 2-0 lead. Stephen Keshi's team was depleted after players Sunday Mba and Godfrey Oboabona left for greener pastures just before the end of 2013. The country also withdrew from West African Football Union(WAFU) cup in December. That competition would have served as a perfect preparation for Nigeria.

On Sunday, Zimbabwe and Morocco played a goalless draw in group B, while Uganda defeated Burkina Faso by 2-1. Ghana overcame Congo-Brazzaville by 1-0 on Monday before Libya dispatched the antelopes of Ethiopia by 2-0 in the second group C match.

In group D, Democratic Republic of Congo beat Mauritania by a lone goal at the Peter Mokoba stadium in Polokwane. The Congolese scored the only goal of the game in the second half. In the last match of the first round of group matches, Gabon and Burundi played a dull goalless draw at the same venue.

African teams turned apart in Turkey

The African teams at the ongoing FIFA under 20 world cup in Turkey have started on a poor note. The 2009 World youth champions,Ghana lost 3-1 to France in their opening group match. The West Africans were losing finalists at the African youth championship in Algeria.

Nigeria were also beaten by another European opposition. Portugal defeated John Obuh's tutored team by 3-2 on Friday. The 2011 African youth champions came from 2-0 down to tie the game at 2-2 after 67 minutes of action, but they conceded a third goal two minutes later.

Mali surrendered their 1-0 lead against Paraguay on Saturday. The West Africans settled for a 1-1 draw.

On Sunday, Egypt were beaten 2-1 by Chile. The African youth champions took the lead in the 10th minute,but goals from Cuevar and Bravo ensured that the South Americans grabbed all three points despite playing with a man down in the last 10 minutes of the game.

U-20 African Youth Championship roundup

The 2013 edition of the under 20 African Youth Championship started on Saturday 16th March,2013.

In the opening match, Algeria played a goalless draw against Ethiopia. The junior 'Desert Foxes' failed to impress their home fans that were expecting a victory.

2009 World Youth Champions, Ghana lost to Egypt by 2-1.

The biggest shock of the tournament was recorded on Sunday. Nigeria,defending champions lost by a lone goal to the junior 'Eagles' of Mali. The Flying Eagles failed to convert any of their numerous chances.

Gabon and Congo played a 0-0 draw in the second group B match.

Nigeria's next game will be against Gabon on Wednesday night.

Nigeria qualifies for South Africa 2013 final

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for the final of the African cup of nations in South Africa. The former champions defeated the 'Eagles' of Mali by 4-1 in Durban.

The semi final match started with plenty of errors from both sides. There were a lot of uncompleted passes. Despite the slow start to the game,Nigeria's Mikel Obi was the first player to have a meaningful goal attempt. His well taken shot drifted off the target by some few inches.

Victor Moses' effort was equally blocked by the Malians. However, the Chelsea player broke down the right flank and lost his marker with nice dribbles. Elderson Echiejile produced a flying header that gave Nigeria the lead.

Some few minutes later,Emmanuel Emenike released Brown Ideye with an inch-perfect cross that was bundled in by the ex-Bordeaux striker.

Emenike stepped up to fire a free kick that was deflected by Sissoko to make it 3-0 at half time.

The war-turned Malians tried to score an early goal in the second half, but it was the Nigerians that jubilated again.

Ahmed Musa latched on to the ball from the midfield before putting the ball between the legs of the Malian keeper.

The 'Eagles' managed to score a consolatory goal in the 75th minute.

Vincent Enyeama made some stunning saves to keep Nigeria in the game.

The AFCON final will be played on Sunday in Johannesburg. This is Nigeria's first appearance in the final since 2000.

Battle of Durban

The Super Eagles of Nigeria prevented the Elephants of Cote d' Ivoire from reaching the semi final stage of the on going African cup of nations in South Africa.

The Nigerian team paraded some inexperienced players like Godfrey Oboabona,Keneth Omeruo,Onazi and Sunday Mba against the Ivorians.

On the other hand, the 'Eagles' of Mali defeated South Africa 3-1 on penalties after playing a 1-1 draw for 120 minutes. The Malians also got to this stage of the competition in 2012.

The two teams will fight for the final ticket on Wednesday. Seydou Keita is the biggest player in the current squad. The veteran scored his nation's equaliser against South Africa.

Mali has never beaten Nigeria at any competition. The Nigerians won bronze thrice at the expense of Mali in 2002,2004 and 2010.

Fengor Ogude will be eligible to play for Nigeria after serving a one match ban, but Vincent Enyeama and Onazi are one booking away from missing the next match.

AFCON 2013 weekend round up

The 29th edition of the African cup of nations started on Saturday 19th January at the Soccer city stadium in Johannesburg.

South Africa and Cape Verde Islands slugged it out in the opening match. The Island nation was responsible for the non-qualification of Egypt and Cameroon with regards to AFCON 2013.

Cape Verde should have scored two or three goals in the first half. The Portuguese-speaking nation were very impressive in the opening 45 minutes, but their attackers let them down by failing to convert their chances.

Platini was the major culprit of the day. The 'Bafana Bafana' of South Africa looked nervous throughout the goalless draw.

Angola and Morocco also ended their game in a stalemate. The Palacas Negras of Angola prevented the fleet-footed Moroccans from claiming a victory on Saturday night.

In group B, Ghana started their campaign with a 2-2 draw against DR Congo. Badu gave the Black Stars the lead in the first half.

After the break, Asamoah made it 2-0 with a well-taken pile-diver.
The Congolese players bounced back by scoring two goals in the 53rd and 68th minute to end the game 2-2.

Claude Leroy was highly elated after his team claimed a vital point against Ghana.

Mali moved to the top of group B after a 1-0 win over Niger Republic. Seydou Keita scored the only goal for the war-turned country on Sunday night.

Golden Eaglets fly over Mali

Nigeria's under 17 men team have qualified for the 2013 edition of the CAF African Youth Championship in Morocco. The Manu Garba led team defeated Mali by 4-0 on aggregate to book their place at next year's tournament.

The team scored a total of 21 goals in six matches and conceded just one. Their victory over Mali highlighted that the team cannot be bullied by players with 'big body structures'. The Nigerian Football Federation had earlier lodged a complaint to the Confederation of African Football about the age range of the Malians. The Francophone players looked over-aged.

The Eaglets won the two legs by 2-0 on each occasion. Nigeria has not been at the U-17 AYC since 2007 when they went on to rule the world. Nigeria hosted FIFA WYC in 2009, but they failed to qualify for the AYC in that year. The 2011 team failed to qualify.

African Soccer roundup

Al Ahly of Egypt have won this year's edition of the CAF Champions League. Africa's club of the century have set a new record by winning their seventh title. The Egyptian Red Devils have won 5 crowns in 11 years. They won the title in 2001,2005,2006,2008 and 2012.

Esperance lost their title to the Egyptians after a 2-1 defeat at the Rades stadium on Saturday. The Tunisians played a 1-1 draw in the first leg but they couldn't avoid defeat against their North African rivals.

In the CAF Confederations cup, AC Leopard played a 1-1 draw against Djoliba of Mali in Bamako. The South African side will win the competition if they can play a 0-0 draw in the second leg final.

Menawhile, Nigeria's Golden Eaglets defeated the junior eagles of Mali by 2-0 in Calabar. The Manu Garba tutored side lost several scoring chances against their visitors. The return leg will be played in Bamako on December 2,2012.

It will be recalled that the Nigerian Football Federation played the game under an official CAF protest. The Malians looked very hefty and it seems they paraded over aged players.

The encounter was the first leg of the final qualifying round for Morocco 2013 African Youth Championship.

AYC Qualifier: Nigeria vs Mali

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria will take on war-turned Mali in an African Youth Championship qualifier at the UJ Esuene stadium in Calabar. The under 17 tournament will be hosted by Morocco in 2013. Nigeria have only conceded a goal in four qualifiers and they've scored 17 goals from the same number of games.

The match will be played on Sunday at 2pm. The kick off time was brought forward by two hours to accommodate the travel plans of the junior Eagles of Mali.
The return leg will be played in the weekend of 30th November-2nd December 2012.
Nigeria has won the under 17 FIFA World Youth Championship on three occasions.

Golden Eaglets to battle Mali for Morocco 2013

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria will play a two-legged tie against the junior Eagles of Mali in their final African Youth Championship qualifying round in November. Nigeria's under 17 team defeated the junior 'Sili' National of Guinea by 4-0 in Conakry on Sunday afternoon to move to the final qualifying round with a 7-0 aggregate win.
Mali overcame Mauritania with a 6-2 aggregate win to get to this stage. The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria have now scored a total of 17 goals in four qualifiers and they've only conceded a goal. The only goal they conceded was in their 4-1 away win over Niger Republic in Niamey. Nigeria's under 17 team have won the FIFA World Youth Championship on three occasions and they finished as runners-up in 2009 when they hosted the tournament.

Stranded Sunshine players are back in Nigeria.

Reports from a state radio station in Abuja has confirmed the return of the stranded players and officials of Sunshine Stars of Nigeria from Mali. The Nigerian club played a 1-1 draw against Joliba of Mali in a CAF Champions League match that was played last Saturday. The coup that was carried out in that country prevented the second batch of the team travel on Tuesday. The civil unrest in Mali led to the closure of the International airport in Bamako. The Nigerian team suffered a big shock when some military men searched their hotel rooms on Thursday. The team was eventually air lifted to Cotonou before they travelled to Lagos by land. Sunshine Stars will play against Rising Stars of Akure in a state FA Cup match on Saturday.