The Nation Newspaper

Tag: CAF

  • Nigerian coaches plan CAF license courses

    The National President of the Nigerian Football Coaches Association, Bitrus Bewarang, has promised that the body will help enhance the knowledge of local coaches, by organising courses for them.

    Bewarang specifically promised that in the year, that his Association would organize the CAF license courses to enable coaches meet up with those from other African countries:

    “We are very much behind in this aspect. We commend the NFF for their efforts so far in ensuring that our Coaches are graded in the last two years,” he said in a statement made available to futaa.com.

    “But this year, we would take it upon ourselves to organise these courses for our Coaches, so that many of them would be graded before the end of the year. This is to enable us meet the CAF deadline,” he concluded.

  • Ndubuoke waves off CAF conspiracy claims

    Ndubuoke waves off CAF conspiracy claims

    Heartland chairman, Fan Ndubuoke has insisted that Ivorian and Manchester City midfielder, Yaya Toure is the best candidate for the 2013 Glo/CAF African Footballer of the Year award.

    Toure edged Nigerian and Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel and Didier Drogba for the coveted award in last Thursday’s awards ceremony in Lagos.

    Some angry Nigerians have continued to question the credibility of the voting system that chose Toure ahead of their favoured candidate, Mikel for the best player gong.

    However, Ndubuoke asked the disagreeing Nigerians to exercise caution so that they do not unknowingly pull down the edifice they toiled for years to set up because certain decisions did not go their way.

    “I bluntly refuse to share in the conspiracy theory being advocated by some disappointed Nigerians over the award of Glo/CAF Footballer of the Year award to Yaya Toure instead of John Obi Mikel. I equally disagree with the call for a review of the voting system that produces the winners of the awards.

    “If Yaya Toure had been a Nigerian would anybody rightly say John Obi Mikel is the best candidate for the award? Glo/CAF African Footballer of the Year is strictly an individual award, I don’t think any unbiased person will vote Mikel ahead of Toure in the year in view.

    “Toure is in his own world and rightly won the award. I don’t share the misguided sentiment that CAF is dominated by the French-speaking countries which explained the uneven votes in favour of the Ivorian.

    “BBC which is dominated by English-speaking persons prior to the CAF awards voted overwhelmingly for Toure as BBC Africa Player of the Year.

    “The fallout of the 2013 FIFA Ballon D’Or agreed with my viewpoint, Portugal and Real Madrid didn’t win anything in 2013 but Cristiano Ronaldo was voted the Player of the Year ahead of Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery.

    “This is an award dominated by Nigerians in the past with French-speaking countries voting, we have to be careful the way we express our feelings on issues disagreeable with our likes more so as 100% Nigerian company is involved.

    “Toure dominated the football scene last year, I don’t know about this year and we must queue behind a credible winner. I like Mikel as a person, he performed creditably well for country and club but he competed and was squarely beaten by a superior opponent,” Ndubuoke said to supersport.com.

    Ndubuoke said there is a clear lesson to learn from the 2013 Glo/CAF awards.

    “There is a lesson we can always pick from the 2013 Glo/CAF awards and that is we’re coming back to reclaiming our lost glories and I think it won’t be proper for us to try to get it through the back door,” Ndubuoke said.

  • Hayatou and CAF 2013 Awards

    Hayatou and CAF 2013 Awards

    SIR: The Confederation of African Football (CAF), last week in Lagos, honoured lovers of football and the men and women that exhibited sterling performance in the round leather game in the year 2013. It was a well attended event. It brought together the movers and shakers of the nation of Nigeria. The political lords, business moguls, sports administrators, entertainers and host of others greeted the event. The ceremony honoured those that the Issa Hayatou-led CAF asserted were distinguished personalities for their exploits for the year 2013.

    Prior to the event, billboards, posters and flyers all battle for space around the city of Lagos, adorning messages related to the event. The award dominated the pages of newspapers and programmes both on radio and television. The event was popular in Nigeria for one reason: Chelsea FC of England and Super Eagles of Nigeria mercurial midfielder, John Obi Mikel was amongst the three nominees for the exalted price of the African Player of the Year. Affirmatively, Mikel’s achievements in the year 2013 placed him above other nominees such as the Cote d’Ivoire and Manchester City FC of England midfielder, Yaya Toure and Galatasaray of Turkey Striker, Didier Drogba.

    In 2013, Mikel won the African Cup of Nations’ trophy with Nigeria, defeating Cote d’Ivoire in quarter final and also winning UEFA Europa League trophy with Chelsea. Both Toure and Drogba thus ended the year 2013 without wining a trophy.

    Alas, CAF, to the surprise of all, announced Toure as the African Player of the Year, placing Mikel as the runner up. Most lovers of football in Nigeria were shocked by the action of CAF. The graveyard silence that greeted the announcement of Toure as the winner was a testimony to the dissatisfaction of bigwigs that graced the occasion. To many opinion shapers, CAF was partial.

    Curiously, the shameful, partial CAF claimed that Ivorian Didier Drogba was the third African Best Player for the year 2013. Shockingly, the third best African player was not considered fit enough to be amongst the 11 African Best Players for the year 2013. Didier Drogba’s name was not mentioned by CAF amongst the line up of the 11 African players for the year 2013 that had the Nigerian Stephen Keshi as coach.

    As a striker, Drogba, the third African Best was not amongst the two strikers in the 11 African finest players for the year 2013. Nigeria’s Emenike and the Burkinabe, Pitopria, according to CAF, were the two best African strikers for the year 2013. Wasn’t that a big international shame exhibited by CAF?

    It is time for Hayatou to quit as CAF helmsman; he has out-lived his usefulness.

    • Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye,

    Magodo, Lagos.

  • CAF awards prove ‘Nigeria is back’

    CAF awards prove ‘Nigeria is back’

    It is glaringly true that Nigeria narrowly missed out on the most desired award, the CAF African Footballer of the Year title which was taken away by the Ivorian and Manchester City’s Yaya Toure, Nigeria nonetheless dominated the award night at the 2013 Glo CAF Awards which took place at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos.

    In fact, Nigeria was the talk of the award night all the way at the 2013 Glo CAF Award as the nation grabbed six out of the eleven CAF categories in the popular and important football awards.

    The first to open the door for Nigeria’s numerous awards that night in Lagos was Keshi who grabbed the award of Coach of the Year, due to his popular and giant achievements with the Nigerian national team, the most pronounced of his coaching achievements is the victory at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

    Another thrilling award that followed was the Nigerian youngster, Kelechi Iheanacho who received the award of Africa’s Most Promising Talent ahead of the other two talented young footballers that were nominated from Ghana and Egypt.

    The Nigeria Supporters were not left out of remarkable recognition as they bagged the CAF Fair Play Award while the Super Eagles defeated Ethiopia and Burkina Faso to the National Team of the Year Award.

    The Youth National Team of the Year Award went to the indisputable winner of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Nigeria’s U-17 team.

    Renowned Coach Stephen Keshi and three Super Eagles players, Vincent Enyeama, John Obi Mikel, Emmanuel Emmanuel were named in the CAF best XI.

    An Honorary Award was also presented to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi received the award on behalf of the president.

    The summary of Nigeria’s six CAF awards are as follows.

    Most Promising Talent

    Kelechi Iheanacho

    Coach of the Year

    Stephen Keshi

    National team

    Nigeria

    Youth National Team of the year

    Nigeria U-17, winner of the FIFA U-17 World Cup

    CAF Fair Play Award

    Nigeria Supporters

    CAF Africa Best XI, Coach

    Stepen Keshi, Vincent Enyeama, John Obi Mikel and Emmanuel Emenike

  • CAF hails Eagles’ superb organisation

    CAF hails Eagles’ superb organisation

    Nigeria’s football organisational skills received another feather to its cap on Thursday evening when the Confederation of African Football (CAF), said it was thrilled at the way the team was organised for inspection by CAF ahead of the start of the tourney on Saturday.

    CAF’s General Coordinator for the Cape Town zone and former Ghanaian international, Anthony Baffoe who was in the company of famed retired Mauritius referee, Lee Kim Chong, Lesotho’s Baba Malephane, Cameroon’s Abel Mbengue, who is in charge of security and other CAF top notch gave the commendation when he inspected the team at its Garden Court De Waal abode in Cape Town.

    “We hardly see teams from Africa and for African tournaments very organised with everything in place as we have seen of Nigeria, we must commend you and especially the Nigeria Football Federation for this wonderful attitude and we urge other countries to borrow a leaf from the way Nigeria do their things”, he said. The hall consisting of players and officials of the Super Eagles responded with a thunderous applause, with Team Administrator, Dayo Enebi Achor, promising to relate the news to the NFF and assuring that it will be sustained.

     

  • Globacom CAF Awards: Ugbade salutes Eaglets, Kelechi Iheanacho

    Globacom CAF Awards: Ugbade salutes Eaglets, Kelechi Iheanacho

    Nduka Ugbade, an Assistant Coach of the Golden Eaglets on Friday congratulated members of the Golden Eaglets and Kelechi Iheanacho for wining laurels at the 2013 Globacom CAF awards.

    Ugbade told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on telephone that it was a dream-come-true for the U-17 and Iheanacho.

    NAN reports that the U-17 won the youth team of the year while Iheanancho won the most promising youth player.

    The 2013 Globacom CAF Awards was held on Jan. 9 at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The coach said that the award would spur the players to greater heights.

    He reminded the players that they could only attain a true height in life through hard work.

    “Believe me, it is a good development and I’m happy the team clinched the award and made Nigeria proud.

    “I want to believe that this will make others in the team sit up and be noticed in future for such an award.

    “Such a laurel does not come on a platter but only through hard work and I implore others in the team not to relent on their oars,’’ he said.

    NAN reports that Golden Eaglets won the fourth U-17 World Cup title at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2013.

    The Eaglets took the title after a 3-0 defeat of Mexico who they had earlier beaten 6-1 in the preliminary stage.

  • CAF League: Pillars ‘ll get it right — Abba Yola

    CAF League: Pillars ‘ll get it right — Abba Yola

    One of Nigeria’s representatives in next year’s CAF Champions League, Kano Pillars Football Club says it has taken measures to avoid pitfalls it experienced in its continental campaign last season.

    The club chairman, Alhaji Abba Yola revealed in an interview in Abuja that the target of the club is to excel in the continental assignment next season hence their decision to plug all loopholes that contributed to its early exit from the championship last season.

    Yola, who revealed that the team’s technical adviser will be named in the next few days, said the appointed coach will still take a look at those so far recruited for the final list of players that will dorn the club’s colours in the 2013/2014 football season.

    “We have taken new measures to avoid the pitfall of our continental experience last season, we have recruited new players, we will continue on our recruitment drive because when the coach comes he will still have the upper hand to select the best from the team, for now we are not leaving any stone unturned to give the team the best because that is what the team deserves,’’ he said.

    He also revealed that the club is miles ahead of the club licensing requirement by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as they have fulfilled what they have been asked to do on the issue.

    “We have already gone far ahead in meeting the CAF club licensing issue because we had a meeting last week with officials of the NFF and they gave us everything (documents) that is required, we don’t have any problem we are ready to comply by the instruction of the NFF as far as the club licensing is concerned that is why I am saying we are at home with the LMC on the club licensing. We are taking it together, both the CAF championship and the LMC, we don’t have any problem with that,” Yola explained.

  • CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW: Enyimba line up friendlies for Togolese opponent

    CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW: Enyimba line up friendlies for Togolese opponent

    Enyimba will play a lot of friendly matches to prepare for their CAF Champions League preliminary round opponents, Anges de Notse of Togo slated for February next year.

    The People’s Elephants came second in the Glo Premier League and qualified to represent Nigeria in the lucrative club cup competition alongside champions, Glo League Kano Pillars.

    The draws for the 2014 CAF Inter Club Cup Competition were held on Monday night in Morocco and Enyimba were pitted against the Togolese champions while Pillars will battle AS Vita Club of DR Congo.

    Enyimba will host the first leg in Aba on February 9 and travel to Lome for the return leg a week later.

    Enyimba’s head coach, Zachary Baraje has stated that the only way the People’s Elephant could make meaningful impact in their return to Africa is to raise a formidable squad that can withstand the pressure of combining Globacom Premier League matches and CAF Champions League ties.

    He confessed that his boys would have been match rusty by the start of the lucrative African competition but that he would ensure that quality friendly matches are organised before the February 9 first leg encounter at Aba.

    Baraje said his immediate target is to get a good team and then shop for friendly matches that would keep his players busy before the start of hostilities in the Champions League.

    The former Dolphins and El Kanemi tactician rued the delay in the commencement of the 2013/2014 Globacom Premier League which he reckoned would have kept his boys in competition mood before the first leg.

    “We are aware we have been drawn against a club from Togo in the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League but our immediate challenge is to raise a good team that would be able to compete in the Premier League and on the continent.

    “It would have been nice if the league had commenced before our first match in February, but we shall organise quality friendly matches to keep the boys in shape ahead of the Champions League duel,” Baraje told SportingLife.

    Enyimba will proceed on a Christmas break on December 23 and reconvene on December 27 to continue preparations for the start of the league.

    The People’s Elephants came second in the Glo Premier League but defeated Warri Wolves to cart away the 2013 Federation Cup trophy. The Aba Millionaires have started the season brightly with victory in the Super Cup contest against Kano Pillars at the Warri Township Stadium recently.

  • CAF CONFEDERATION CUP DRAW: ‘Bayelsa United fear no foe’

    CAF CONFEDERATION CUP DRAW: ‘Bayelsa United fear no foe’

    Bayelsa United’s spokesman, George Ameli has said the Yenagoa side have nothing to fear from Republic of Congo’s Kondzo or a yet-to-be named Cameroon opponent in the next round of the CAF Confederation Cup.

    Bayelsa United finished third in the Globacom Premier League and secured a bye to the first round of the second tier African club competition alongside 10 other clubs including fellow compatriots, Warri Wolves.

    Ameli in a chat with SportingLife said the club was already prepared for the preliminary round of the competition before they got the news that they had been drawn bye to the first round without kicking a ball.

    He said they would await the winner of the clash involving Kondzo of the Republic of Congo and an opponent from Cameroon to know their first round foes.

    “We are ready for any team and we are prepared. We even thought we would start playing from the preliminary round before we got the notice that we have been drawn bye. We are waiting for our opponents from either Cameroon or Congo. We are not afraid of them,” Ameli told SportingLife.

  • CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW: Pillars not worried by AS Vita’s track record — Malikawa

    CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW: Pillars not worried by AS Vita’s track record — Malikawa

    Kano Pillars insist they are not disturbed by the antecedents of their CAF Champions League preliminary round foes, AS Vita of DR Congo ahead of their first leg encounter in Kinshasha in February.

    Pillars were eliminated in the same competition in the second round last season after scooping their first Nigerian league title in four seasons at the expense of Enugu Rangers.

    The Sai Masu Gida successfully defended the league crown again this season and, having been polled against DR Congo opponents, Pillars’ Media Officer, Idris Malikawa told SportingLife that they would be approaching the game like they did against Al Ahly of Egypt in 2009.

    He said that Pillars would not be intimidated by the Kinshasha-based club’s pedigree in the lucrative competition but that they would exploit all possibilities available to stop AS Vita in both games in February.

    “We know we are going to play AS Vita. We know they are a tough side but that won’t affect us at all. People said more when we were about to face Al Ahly of Egypt in 2009. We were written off but we thank Allah that we were vindicated.

    “We are going to have a good team and also secure a new coach soon so that we will be ready for the competition and others we shall be participating in next season,” Malikawa told SportingLife.

    AC Leopards of Congo eliminated Pillars in the second round of the Champions League last season despite the team holding a 4-1 first leg advantage in Kano.