FOOTBALL - The African Mirror

Jun

13

2024

Six of the best as Morocco win handsomely in World Cup qualification

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STRIKER Ayoub El Kaabi netted a hat-trick as Morocco stormed to a 6-0 win over Congo in World Cup qualification, maintaining their 100% start to the African preliminaries for the 2026 finals in North America. But other leading contenders, Cameroon and African champions Ivory Coast, were held to away draws on a busy day of action around the continent. El Kaabi kept up the goalscoring form that helped Olympiakos win the Europa Conference League last month with his hat-trick as Morocco made it three wins out of three in Group E. The thrashing of Congo in Agadir started with a…

Jun

12

2024

By MARK GLEESON

Nigeria lose World Cup qualifier, Ghana and Algeria win, Egypt held

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NIGERIA’S World Cup qualifying hopes took a heavy blow with a 2-1 defeat by Benin, but Ghana and Algeria salvaged wins while Egypt drew after all three were behind at halftime. Ghana's Jordan Ayew got a hat-trick as they beat the Central African Republic 4-3 in Kumasi after trailing 2-1 at the break, while Algeria were 1-0 down to Uganda in Kampala but second-half goals from Houssem Aouar and Said Benrahma secured a 2-1 win. Mohamed Salah came to Egypt’s rescue with a sensational equaliser for a 1-1 draw in Guinea Bissau. Nigeria lost away to Benin, who were forced…

Jun

11

2024

By FERNANDO KALLAS and EMMA PINEDO

Valencia fans convicted for racist abuse against Vinicius Jr

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THREE Valencia football fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for hate crimes against Real Madrid's Brazil player Vinicius Jr, the first conviction for racist insults in a soccer stadium in Spain, the court announced. "The ruling handed down today, which is final, establishes as proven that the three defendants insulted Vinicius with shouts, gestures and chants referring to the colour of his skin," the Magistrate's Court of Valencia said in a statement. "These shouts and gestures of a racist nature, consisting among other things in the repetition of the sounds and imitating the movements of monkeys, caused the…

Jun

09

2024

By The African Mirror

Cameroon put turmoil behind them with emphatic win

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CAPTAIN Vincent Aboubakar scored twice as Cameroon put weeks of turmoil around their national team behind them to beat the Cape Verde Islands 4-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Yaounde. They moved level with Libya at the top of Group D on seven points from three matches. In Saturday’s other qualifier in Africa, Gambia hammered the Seychelles 5-1 in Group F, a winning start for their new Irish coach Johnny McKinstry. Centre-back Michael Ngadeu marked his return to the team after a two-year absence to put Cameroon into a 13th-minute lead, rising to power home Nicolas Ngamaleu’s corner. The…

Jun

09

2024

By MARK GLEESON

Important wins for Ivory Coast, Morocco in World Cup qualification

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AFRICAN champions Ivory Coast and World Cup semi-finalists Morocco both won important points in World Cup qualification but Nigeria were held at home by South Africa and is still to win a match in the 2026 preliminaries. Seko Fofana’s 36th-minute strike marked a successful homecoming for the Ivorians, playing their first home match since winning the Africa Cup of Nations in February, as they beat Gabon 1-0 in Korhogo to go clear at the top of Group F. A soft-looking penalty saw Hakim Ziyech put Morocco ahead after six minutes against Zambia in Agadir in Group E but there was…

Jun

07

2024

By MARK GLEESON

Penalty hands Tunisia victory as Africa’s World Cup qualifiers resume

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TUNISIA needed a late penalty to beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0 and move to the top of the standings in their World Cup qualifying group as Africa’s preliminaries for the 2026 finals resumed. Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane struck the 81st-minute spot kick to deny Equatorial Guinea a deserved point as they looked to shrug off the FIFA sanctions that stripped them of the six points from their opening two qualifiers in November. FIFA found striker Emilio Nsue, a former Spanish junior international, was ineligible to play for the small central African nation despite being in the team over the past 11…

Jun

07

2024

By ROHITH NAIR

Amnesty urges FIFA to assess human rights risks before awarding World Cups

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FIFA and countries bidding to host the 2030 and 2034 World Cups should agree to binding commitments and legal reforms to prevent human rights violations connected to the tournament, Amnesty International said. In October, soccer's world governing body awarded the 2030 World Cup to Morocco, Spain and Portugal while Saudi Arabia is the lone bidder for the 2034 edition, with Amnesty saying there are "serious human rights" risks that must be addressed. "FIFA should ensure a rigorous and transparent bidding process, based on meaningful stakeholder participation, including genuinely independent human rights risk assessments and comprehensive human rights strategies," human rights organisation Amnesty…

Jun

06

2024

By The African Mirror

Africa Cup of Nations put back six months to early 2026

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THE next Africa Cup of Nations finals will be put back six months to the start of 2026, the Confederation of African Football said . The 2025 finals in Morocco were due to be played next June but that clashed with the expanded 32-team Club World Cup, which will be held in the U.S. from June 15-July 13. Africa will have four teams at the Club World Cup and many of those players are likely to be picked for the Cup of Nations. CAF was repeatedly asked about the obvious clash but failed to offer a solution until General Secretary…

Jun

05

2024

By OLIVER OCHIENG AND BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

bird TenX: 10 African players who dominated European leagues in the 2023/24 season

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THE 2023/2024 Champions League final pitting Spanish giants Real Madrid against German Bundesliga side, Borussia Dortmund, at the Wembley Stadium in London on June 1 marked the end of an eventful 2023/2024 season in major European leagues and tournaments. From England to Germany; from Spain to Italy to France, players of African descent played huge roles in aiding their clubs to silverware. The following is a list of ten African players who had a significant impact on clubs across Europe in the 2023/24 season. 1. Amad Diallo - Ivory Coast - The 21-year-old Ivorian winger, was key to Manchester United…

Jun

03

2024

By FERNANDO KALLAS

Real Madrid come full circle with second great European dynasty

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Real Madrid added another chapter to their already astonishing love affair with European soccer's elite club trophy by claiming a 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final as they were crowned for the 15th time. The story of the season they finished at Wembley was about two generations of players who met, bonded as a group and connected on the pitch like a well-oiled machine to establish the second great dynasty Real spent half a century looking for. It all started at the dawn of the competition when, during the Alfredo Di Stefano years, the Madrid side won the…