The Nation Newspaper

Tag: AFCON

  • AFCON begins in South Africa

    AFCON begins in South Africa

    The much-awaited African Cup of Nations gets underway in South Africa on Saturday.

    16 teams including the Super Eagles of Nigeria will vie for the continent’s biggest soccer prize in the former apartheid enclave.

    Hosts South Africa will play the first match of the three- week soccer fiesta, meeting the tournament debutants – the Blue Sharks from Cape Verde.

    Morocco and Angola will square up in group A’s second match also on Saturday.

    The matches will be played at the 80, 000 capacity National Stadium in Soweto.

    Nigeria will play in group C alongside the defending champions Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

    The Super Eagles will meet the Stallions of Burkina Faso on Monday, while Zambia plays Ethiopia in the second match of the day.

    Matches slated for the Sunday are – Ghana vs DR Congo and Mali vs Niger in group B.

    In group D termed “the group of death” tournament favourites Cote D’ Voire will confront fellow West Africans Togo on Tuesday, while the North African derby between Algeria and Tunisia takes place shortly thereafter.

     

  • AFCON: We are ready for Super Eagles – B’Faso coach

    AFCON: We are ready for Super Eagles – B’Faso coach

    After seeing his charges crush Swaziland 3-0 in a practice match at Nelspruit’s rugby Stadium on Thursday night, Burkina Faso coach Paul Put has declared his “Stallions” ready to trample on the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

    The Super Eagles landed in Nelspruit on Thursday and had set up camp at the Ngwenyama Resort.

    “I was happy with the way we circulated the ball around and we created lots of chances and could have scored more goals against Swaziland. We were patient and did not give away the ball,” Put told MTNFootball.com.

    He said he is happy with the goal scoring conversion ratio of his strikers ahead of the clash against the Super Eagles and the fact that no player picked up any injuries.

    “It’s a tough game yes, but we are now ready to play Nigeria. We will play to our best, to our full potential,” Put said.

    He admitted they are in a very tough group but if they win the first match, anything is possible.

    “We need to win the first match at all cost to give us confidence going forward,” Put told MTNFootball.com.

     

  • AFCON: NFF rules out ‘huge bonuses’ for Super Eagles

    AFCON: NFF rules out ‘huge bonuses’ for Super Eagles

    The Nigeria Football Federation has been forced to put aside proposed enhanced win bonuses for the Super Eagles at the African Cup of Nations in South Africa.

    Head of NFF finance committee Shehu Adamu informed MTNFootball.com that there would be no added incentives for the Super Eagles to win the Nations Cup.

    Adamu told MTNFootball.com that the football house would maintain the regular win bonus of $10,000 and $5,000 for draw in South Africa

    “We are not preparing anything special as incentives for the Eagles. It’s the regular bonus they would get,” Adamu disclosed.

    The NFF had proposed huge bonuses that would have gone for as much as $30,000-a-man for a win in the AFCON final.

    Such is the financial constraints facing the NFF that the body has been forced to borrow cash for the country’s AFCON campaign after a Lagos court froze its accounts over a contractual dispute with Minaj Television.

    The budget approved by the government for the Nations Cup has yet to be released to the NFF two days to the big AFCON kick-off in Johannesburg despite assurances from top sports ministry officials.

    “We are yet to receive the money for the Nations Cup and this has slowed down a lot of plans for the tournament,” a top official lamented.

    “We are not even sure when the money would be released. We are only hopeful that it would come in on time to avoid hiccups at the games in South Africa.”

     

  • AFCON: Weather Service predicts heavy rain in South Africa

    AFCON: Weather Service predicts heavy rain in South Africa

    The South Africa Weather Services on Wednesday predicted heavy rains ahead of the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled to begin on Saturday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria  reports that the AFCON would kick off in Johannesburg with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa playing Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks in the tournament’s opening match.

    Report says the prediction is likely to have serious impact on the match.

    Mkhushulwa Msimango, spokesman of the weather services, said a number of provinces would be affected.

    He listed Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and North West as areas to expect widespread showers and thunder showers from January 19.

    “The areas listed are expected to experience heavy rain and flooding in most part of the provinces,’’ Msimango said.

    He said the conditions were likely to persist until Jauary. 20.

    “We are expecting 80 to 100 per cent showers and rain. These heavy rains will be caused by an intense low pressure moving in from Botswana.

    “The danger of flash-flooding should be kept in mind. There had already been heavy rains experienced over parts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo earlier this week and rivers in these areas are running high.

    “These two provinces run the highest risk for flooding this weekend,’’ Msimango said.

    Preparations for AFCON by the team in Group `C’, with centre in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, has been affected by heavy rains in the area.

    Burkina-Faso national team, Super Eagles first opponent at the tournament, which had been camping in Nelspruit, had difficulty in training since the beginning of the week due to the downpour.

    The defending champions, Zambia, which has also arrived in Nelspruit, is experiencing the same situation.

    Burkina Faso’s coach, Paul Put, said preparing under such weather conditions is not easy.

    “The pitches are very wet, so it takes more energy from the legs, so you need much recovery than normal sessions.

    “So far there was a little bit of complaint by the players but it is work of nature and nobody can do anything about it,’’ Put said.

    Nigeria, Zambia, Burkina-Faso and Ethiopia are in Group `C’, with the venue in Mbombela Stadium, Nelspurit, in Mpumalanga province. 

  • CAF dedicates section of website to AFCON

    CAF dedicates section of website to AFCON

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) have dedicated a section of the body’s website  for the tournament.

    CAF said on the website on Wednesday that the section was to allow fans to receive detailed information about the competition.

    The 29th edition of the continent’s premier soccer tournament will begin on Saturday in South Africa  with 16 teams participating.

    “This section, which is also reachable through the URL address, www.afcon2013.net, has been fully synchronised with the following Orange AFCON 2013 social networks.

    “They are facebook.com/africacupofnationsofficial, twitter.com/cafonline and youtube.com/africacupofnations,’’ it said.

    CAF also said  the first 10 people to join these social networks would be given two Category Two tickets each to watch a group stage match of their choice.

    This provides that they will be in South Africa during the tournament. (NAN)

  • AFCON: Eagles won’t underrate Burkina Faso – Yobo

    AFCON: Eagles won’t underrate Burkina Faso – Yobo

    Captain of the Super Eagles, Joseph Yobo, has warned Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia to expect tough confrontation, as the team will not underrate any team at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

    Nigeria will play its first game against Burkina Faso, and Yobo said he knows there are no more minnows in football, and will lead the squad out in full strength on Monday.

    “There are no more minnows in football.

    “We won’t underrate any team, but we will respect all teams and take one game at a time.

    “We have to take the game against Burkina faso and Ethiopia as serious as the final,” futaa.com quoted Yobo as saying on Wednesday.

    Nigeria will take on defending champions Zambia, before playing Ethiopia in the last group game.

     

  • NFF wants Amaechi to head AFCON delegation

    NFF wants Amaechi to head AFCON delegation

    The Nigerian Football Federation has appealed to the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amechi, to head the delegation to the African Nations Cup kicking off in South Africa on Saturday.

    Sources in Port Harcourt told futaa.com that the pair of NFF chairman Aminu Maigari, and the head of technical committee, Chris Green, were at the Rivers State House in Port Harcourt on Monday, to put the request to the governor.

    The sources further confirmed that the governor politely turned down the request.

    He was said to have told the NFF officials that he is too busy at the moment to take on such an assignment that will remove him from his desk for the entire durations of the Eagles stay at the tournament.

    He only promised to be at the first game of the Super Eagles, and the Final, if they make it that far.

    The reasons for trying to appoint the Governor as Head of Delegation is not clear, given his past scathing remarks about the way the NFF handles its finances.

     

  • Ambrose: Dream come true to play at AFCON

    Ambrose: Dream come true to play at AFCON

    GLASGOW Celtic utility defender Efe Ambrose is delighted to have made the Eagles squad for the African Cup of Nations. In an interview with the official website of the Scottish club, he spoke on the chances of Nigeria winning silverware at Africa’s premier soccer competition.

    ”It’s a dream come true, because I’ve never played in the Africa Cup of Nations. It’s my first time and for me it is important to be among that 23-man list. I used to watch the tournament when I was younger and I remember seeing a lot of good players in the competition. That was nice but being a part of it would be amazing,” says Ambrose to celticfc.net.

    He added: “For us it’s been a long time since we have won the Nations Cup. This is a chance for us to put things right and prove to the world that we are back. We want to be the giants of Africa. I know football has changed, there are no bigger or smaller countries, everybody is equal. Everyone is up for the task, and there is a lot of talent – a lot of countries have a lot of good players. It is going to be a good Nations Cup, and if you are to win it you have to beat the best. You have to work hard, train hard, and believe in yourself.”

  • Ideye vows to justify AFCON place

    Ideye vows to justify AFCON place

    Dynamo Kiev striker, Brown Ideye, has vowed to replicate his club form for Super Eagles at the African Cup of Nations to justify his selection.

    Ideye, 24, has scored 13 goals for Dynamo Kiev this season, but has struggled to be as prolific with Nigeria since he made his full international debut three years ago.

    He represented Nigeria at U-20 level and was a late replacement for injured Mikel Obi on the final squad to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

    However, he did not get any minute of game time during the tournament.

    The former Sochaux striker said he will raise his game with the Eagles to justify his inclusion on the final AFCON squad.

    “I’m happy to be named in Eagles final team,” Ideye told MTNFootball.com

    “It’s great to be in South Africa with Nigeria. That was my target at the early stage of the qualifiers, and all I have to do now is to do well in South Africa to justify my inclusion in the team.

    “I will have to work harder to be in the starting line-up and prove my worth. I want to get goals for Nigeria as I have been doing at my club.

    “There are a lot of striking options for the coach, but I will definitely prove myself when called upon.”

     

  • AFCON: We will shame critics in South Africa – Echejile

    AFCON: We will shame critics in South Africa – Echejile

     

    Super Eagles defender, Elderson Echiejile, said the team has resolved to do more in South Africa so as to shame critics.

    National expectations have lowered after the Eagles two less-than-convincing displays against Catalonia and Cape Verde.

    Sporting Braga left back Elderson told MTNFootball.com the team is aware of some of the criticisms they have been subjected back home after they forced Catalonia to a 1-1 and then were held to a goalless by Nations Cup debutants Cape Verde on Wednesday.

    “We have been told about the disappointment in our performances back home and what we need to do is simply to do more so as to live up to expectations,” Elderson told MTNFootball.com

    “We have a big task ahead of us because the country deserves the best from us.”

    The Portugal-based defender has already put words to action as he was one of several players who stayed behind after Friday’s training in Faro to work on set pieces, shooting and crossings.

    The others in this extra training were Nosa Igiebor, Obiorah Nwankwo and Kenneth Omeruo, who has really come into his own after two assured performances against Catalonia and Cape Verde.

    An appreciative assistant coach Sylvanus Okpala later joined the players in this additional session.

    “We just want to get better for the Nations Cup, nothing special,” Igiebor said after the session that lasted over 20 minutes.