AFCON
CAF MOVES CHAN COMPETITION TO MOROCCO
BY BOLAJI OKUNOLA.
As rightly predicted by Sports Village Square, the Emergency Committee of the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has awarded the hosting right of the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) to Morocco.
The decision was taking a meeting held in Lagos on Saturday and chaired by CAF president, Ahmad. The Emergency Committee unanimously decided to grant the organization of the fifth edition of the African Nations Championship to the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
Morocco became a candidate following last month’s stripping of the hosting rights from Kenya when CAF executive committee met in Accra on the eve of the WAFU Cup.
According to a statement by CAF, the candidacy of Morocco was preferred to that of Equatorial Guinea and Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Football Federation did not provide the government’s letter of guarantee, which is a mandatory document required by the rules of application of the Statutes of the CAF.
The CHAN, Morocco 2018, scheduled for 12 January to 4 February 2018, will bring together 16 national teams composed exclusively of players playing in the national championships of their respective countries.
Morocco boasts of some of the best sporting facilities in the continent and had unsuccessfully bided for the hosting of the World Cup 2006 and 2010. It played hosts to the Africa Cup of Nations in 1988 and the FIFA Clubs World Cup in 2013 and 2014 and had also hosted the CAF U-23 tournament in 2012.
Cote d’Ivoire head coach Emerse Fae has overhauled his backroom team following the Elephants’ Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023, success earlier this year.
Fae, who took over from Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset during the tournament in January, has brought in three new faces as he builds towards qualifying for the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 World Cup.
Former Cote d’Ivoire goalkeeper Gerard Gnahouan, 45, joins as goalkeeping coach after working in this role with French Ligue 2 side Sochaux.
Gnahouan, capped 10 times by the Elephants between 2002 and 2011, takes over as goalkeeping coach and will be tasked with getting the best out of first-choice Yahia Fofana.
Moroccan Samir Anba, previously with French club Nice and Morocco’s Under-17s, takes over as fitness coach, while Jeremy Antonio arrives as video analyst after working with Fae at French side Clermont.
“This new composition of the technical staff marks the start of a new era for the Cote d’Ivoire national team, and expectations are high,” said Fae.
Fae kept faith with assistant Guy Demel while former international Alain Gouamene joins as the second assistant coach of the AFCON-winning team.
The 40-year-old led an all-local setup to a surprise African title in March after being promoted from Gasset’s number two following their near exit at the group stage.
The new backroom additions have a huge challenge ahead, with Cote d’Ivoire facing crunch matches in June as they bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Elephants top their qualifying group after beating Gambia and Seychelles in the opening two matches in Group F of the qualifiers under caretaker Gasset.
-CAF
After commanding victories in the first leg matches of the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, qualifiers, Chad, Liberia, and Eswatini find themselves in advantageous positions as they gear up for the return fixtures scheduled for Tuesday.
As the second leg of the preliminary fixtures approach, all eyes will be on these teams as they vie for their coveted spots in the group phase of the qualifiers, with the hopes of making their mark on the continental stage.
Chad emerged victorious with a narrow 1-0 win over Mauritius, joining Liberia and Eswatini in the lead after their impressive triumphs earlier last week.
Liberia secured a 2-0 victory against Djibouti, while Eswatini displayed their dominance with a 3-0 win over Somalia.
The second leg promises to be fiercely contested, particularly for Chad, who will face a challenging encounter against Mauritius on the latter’s home turf.
Coach Kevin Nicaise’s players are keen to defend their slender lead and secure their spot in the next phase of the qualifiers but the trainer admits they have an arduous task.
“We are far from perfect, far from being a top team in the world. We are in the construction phase. There are still things to work on and improve,” coach Nicaise said after their first-leg win.
“It is not overnight that we will be a top team in the world, we are aware of that, however we are working hard with the group and the staff to achieve this goal.”
Meanwhile, Liberia will host Djibouti, aiming to build on their first-leg success and seal their progression to the next round.
Eswatini will host Somalia with confidence, seeking to maintain their winning momentum and secure passage to the next stage of the tournament.
South Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe will also face off in what is expected to be a closely contested encounter, following their goalless draw in the first leg.
With both teams eager for victory, the match promises to be a thrilling battle for supremacy.
-CAF
Liberia and Eswatini took commanding leads in their respective Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, preliminary round ties after claiming impressive away victories on Wednesday.
Liberia captain Murphy Dorley scored one of two first-half goals as the Lone Stars defeated hosts Djibouti 2-0 in the opening leg in Marrakech.
Mohammed Sangare broke the deadlock from the penalty spot on 23 minutes before Dorley coolly slotted home Sebastian Teclar’s cross 12 minutes later.
Djibouti struggled to lay a glove on their more illustrious opponents as the Lone Star side kept them at bay to take two away goals into next week’s second leg in Monrovia.
Eswatini were also celebrating after demolishing Somalia 3-0 in the Moroccoan city of El Jadida to put one foot in the group stage qualifiers.
Striker Sabelo Ndzinisa was the hero, netting twice either side of Felicio Figuareido’s 40th minute opener for the visitors.
Somalia now face an uphill battle to qualify when they travel to the Mbombela Stadium in the South African city of Nelspruit for the return on March 26th.
The opening leg victories give Liberia and Eswatini a huge advantage heading into the second legs as they target a place in the group stage on the road to next year’s finals in Morocco.
Back from the locker room, Somalia still couldn’t play its game.
Worse, Eswatini widened the gap with Ginindza who scored his double of the evening in the 56th minute. 3-0, the score remained unchanged on the scoreboard until the final whistle.
Victory for Eswatini which will still have to perform in the return leg to ensure its qualification for the qualifiers.
Zambian FA president charged with money laundering
Nigeria face tough defence as Burkina Faso lie in wait at U17 WAFU B AFCON qualifiers
African champions Cote d’Ivoire ring changes with new backroom staff
SUPER EAGLES TO FACE ENGLAND IN PRE-WORLD CUP FRIENDLY
Apart from Okwaraji, Nigeria’s Other Field-Related Obituaries
Grudgingly, Eto’o accepts new Cameroon coach Brys, but fails to attend ceremony
-
Olympics1 week agoSuper Falcons’ Paris 2024 fixtures recall Nigeria’s first matches at Olympic Games football event 56 years ago
-
Nigerian Football6 days agoRemo Stars add fuel to the fire as title chase turns East – West battle
-
FUTSAL1 week agoDefending Champions, Morocco thrash Ghana to move to the summit of Group A
-
UEFA Champions League6 days agoNigerians among Leverkusen’s African quintetin historic Bundesliga triumph
-
Nigerian Football1 week agoRangers tenaciously hold on at Nigeria League top position
-
Bundesliga1 week agoNigeria’s Boniface is German champion with unbeaten Leverkusen
-
Nigerian Football6 days agoHeartland back to their homeland as they host Shooting Stars
-
OBITUARY1 week agoAnother Germany World Cup winner dies