International Football

VICTOR MOSES LOSES OUT AS FINAL SHORTLIST OF AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR IS UNVEILED

Published

6 years ago

December 18, 2017

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Nigeria and Chelsea star player, Victor Moses has lost out in the race for the 2017 Africa Footballer of the Year. Confederation of African Football on Monday revealed the identities of the top three for all the categories of the Aiteo CAF Awards 2017 in Accra, Ghana.

Sports Village Square recalls that Nigeria’s Victor Moses who made the initial cut of five when the list was pruned from 30 to 11. At that stage, the other Nigerian shortlisted, central defender, William Troost-Ekong had dropped out.

In the final list are Egypt’s magic man, Mohamed Salah who also features for Premiership side, Liverpool, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and German side, Dortmund as well as Sadio Mane of Senegal and Liverpool.

Egypt’s Mohammed Salah who has played crucial roles for both club and country looks highly favoured to win the award. Earlier, he has been crowned the BBC African Footballer of the Year. The Aiteo/CAF edition will be an icing on the cake for the prolific striker.

The shortlists for the topmost award, African Player of the Year, were unveiled by Ex-Ghana defender, Sammy Kuffour who lost out to Senegal’s El Hadji Diouf of Senegal at the 2002 Award Ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The unveiled list however did not show the African Footballer of Year based in Africa for which Nigeria’s Junior Ajayi of Al Ahly of Egypt was listed.

But in the women’s category, Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala is still in the final race along with South Africa’s Chrestina Kgatlana and Cameroon’s Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene.

The Coach of the Year Award will be a tough contest between the duo of Egypt’s Hector Cuper and Nigeria’s Gernot Rohr. Both qualified their respective teams for the World Cup but with the Nigerian coach finishing unbeaten on the field of play.

But Egypt’s Hector Cuper can lay claim to additional advantage of leading his team to the final match of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. The third contestant is Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco’s L’Hussein Amoutta whose club won the CAF Champions League.

The National Team of the Year is being contested by Cameroon, the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winners, but complete disappointment in the race to the World Cup; Egypt, the runners-up in the Africa Cup of Nations, but qualifiers for the World Cup for the first time in 27 years and Nigeria, the clinical finisher of the World Cup qualifiers and perhaps the most rejuvenated of the three contestants.

The unveiling ceremony of the final shortlist was attended by CAF President Ahmad, CAF First Vice President Kwesi Nyantakyi, CAF Executive Committee member, Amaju Pinnick, with Ghana’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Asiamah, the Guest-of-Honour.

Also present were sponsors, Aiteo, represented by Senior Vice President, Commercial and Gas, Victor Okoronkwo, who expressed his outfit’s pride in partnership of the event that celebrates the various stakeholders of African football. The Awards Gala will take place on Thursday, 4 January 2018 in Accra, Ghana.

Below are the top three (Nominees are listed in alphabetical order);

African Player of the Year

Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Dortmund)
Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)

Women’s Player of the Year

Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Dalian Quanjian)
Chrestina Kgatlana (South Africa & UWC Ladies)
Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene(Cameroon & CSKA Moscow)

Youth Player of the Year

Krepin Diatta (Senegal & Sarpsborg)
Patson Daka (Zambia & Liefering)
Salam Giddou (Mali & Guidars)

Coach of the Year

Gernot Rohr (Nigeria)
Hector Cuper (Egypt)
L’Hussein Amoutta (Wydad Athletic Club)

Club of the Year

Al Ahly
TP Mazembe
Wydad Athletic Club

National Team of the Year

Cameroon
Egypt
Nigeria

Women’s National Team of the Year

Ghana U-20
Nigeria U-20
South Africa

International Football

Grudgingly, Eto’o accepts new Cameroon coach Brys, but fails to attend ceremony

Published

3 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Cameroon’s new coach Marc Brys penned a contract on Monday but the Belgian’s appointment by the government remains contentious as the football federation did not attend the signing ceremony.

Brys has been handed a 2-1/2-year contract by Cameroon’s sports ministry but the federation (FECAFOOT) was conspicuous by its absence at the event in Yaounde.

Last week, FECAFOOT criticised the unilateral decision of sports minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombito to appoint the 61-year-old Brys, who has no prior experience as a national team coach and has not previously worked on the African continent.

FECAFOOT president Samuel Eto’o issued a statement on Monday, excusing himself from the unveiling event.

“We thank you for inviting us to the ceremony. Following this, we inform you of the fact that we received the letter two hours before the said ceremony,” wrote Eto’o.

“Unfortunately, we are busy organising the funeral of our late Dad, and for this reason we will not be able to attend presence at the ceremony.”

His father’s funeral is to be held at the weekend.

Eto’o balked at Brys’ appointment and is now in a deepening standoff with the minister.

In Cameroon, the government has long paid the salary of the national team coach and therefore held powerful sway over FECAFOOT’s affairs, even if such state interference is frowned upon by world football’s governing body FIFA.

Any heightened dispute risks a potential ban from international competition for Cameroon, one of the heavyweights of African football.

FECAFOOT held an emergency meeting on Saturday and asked Eto’o to propose an alternative coach for the national team.

Earlier on the weekend, the minister had defended the appointment, saying he had acted in accordance with national and international regulations.

In a letter to FECAFOOT, Kombi said his ministry’s appointment of coaching staff “in no way affects the autonomy of FECAFOOT and does not violate any of the ‘supranational regulations”.

He said FECAFOOT had suggested three candidates to the ministry but their salary demands ranged between 1.5 million euros and 2.5 million euros ($1.63 million and $2.71 million) per year.

“These are excessive amounts never paid to any coach in the history of the Indomitable Lions,” Kombi said.

-Reuters

International Football

Cameroon FA to propose national coach after emergency meeting –

Published

3 weeks ago

April 6, 2024

Kunle Solaja

BREAKING! Turmoil In Cameroon Federation Over Naming Of New National Coach Brys -

Cameroon’s football federation (FECAFOOT) held an emergency meeting on Saturday and asked its president to propose an alternative coach for the national team, deepening a standoff with the sports ministry.

FECAFOOT on Wednesday accused the ministry of unilaterally appointing Belgian Marc Brys as coach and other staff to manage the Indomitable Lions, who are five-times African champions.

The dispute risks a potential ban from international competition as world soccer’s governing body FIFA has strict rules against government interference in national federations.

In a statement, FECAFOOT said its emergency committee had met on Saturday and unanimously confirmed that the federation had not been involved in the appointments in alleged contravention of regulations.

As a result, it asked its president Samuel Eto’o to propose a national coach and other management staff for the national side within 72 hours.

Responding to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the ministry said the result of the FECAFOOT meeting was “an appeal. It is not yet a decision.”

On Friday, Sports Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi wrote to FECAFOOT to defend the coaching appointments, which he said were in accordance with national and international rules.

In a letter seen by Reuters, Kombi said the ministry’s move “in no way affects the autonomy of FECAFOOT and does not violate any of the ‘supranational regulations’.”

A spokesperson for the ministry confirmed the authenticity of the letter.

Kombi’s letter also said the salaries requested by three candidates earlier proposed by the federation for the position of coach ranged between 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) and 2.5 million euros per year.

“These are excessive amounts never paid to any coach in the history of the Indomitable Lions,” Kombi said.

FECAFOOT did not respond to a request for comment on the letter.

-Reuters

RELATED STORIES:

BREAKING! Turmoil in Cameroon federation over naming of new national coach Brys. https://www.sportsvillagesquare.com/2024/04/03/breaking-turmoil-in-cameroon-federation-over-naming-of-new-national-coach-brys/

Soccer Cameroon appoint Brys as new head coach https://www.sportsvillagesquare.com/2024/04/03/soccer-cameroon-appoint-brys-as-new-head-coach/

International Football

National team and club-mate Owolabi commiserates with grief-stricken Odegbami –

Published

3 weeks ago

April 4, 2024

Kunle Solaja

National team and club-mate Owolabi commiserates with grief-stricken Odegbami -

Powerful left-wing back in his playing days, Felix Owolabi has expressed great grief over the loss of a son of former teammate, Segun Odegbami.

Both Felix Owolabi and Odegbami share common traits as the earliest tertiary institution footballers featuring for clubs and the national team.

While Odegbami was a mechanical engineering student at The Ibadan Polytechnic, Owolabi was an undergraduate at the University of Lagos.

Both were players of the then rampaging IICC Shooting Stars and the Africa Cup of Nations winning team of 1980. The crucial goals that won the cup for Nigeria were scored by the duo.

While Owolabi’s goal against Morocco sent Nigeria to the Africa Cup of Nations final match for the first time, Odegbami’s two goals in the final against Algeria put a stamp of definity to Nigeria’s victory before another club-mate Muda Lawal put in the third.

“We have come a long way”, remarked Owolabi in a message to the Sports Village Square Thursday morning.

“I have just arrived from Morocco on a national assignment trying to adjust and deal with the extreme and gruelling hot weather here in Nigeria when I got the sad news of the sudden death of the son of my dear brother and senior colleague Dr Olusegun Odegbami.

“Hearing the death of Oluwagbeminiyi Omo Odegbami, I paused for a moment and did not know what to say.

“All the media both print and electronics carried it as a breaking news.

“And that was when it dawned on me that I had to call ‘Big Sheg’ as he is fondly called by me.

“His authoritative confirmation about it dealt a blow on me and put me total darkness.What would have happened to this our vibrant and such an enterprising Oluwagbeminiyi?

“Why would death be so so wicked to suddenly take this gentleman away from us without notice. Going on a journey that he will need not to look at anybody, an eternal journey till Christ come.

“My heart and that of my entire family are with you and the rest of the family”, remarked Owolabi.

“It is well. I pray that God grant him eternal rest. I pray also that the almighty God grant you the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. Today the death of Oluwagbeminiyi has made me to believe and conclude that death is real and it is universal