The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mali

  • CAF President congratulates Mali, Nigeria

    CAF President congratulates Mali, Nigeria

    The story was written a thousand miles from home, but its echo was resonating throughout Africa, with the highest frequency in Bamako, the Malian capital, where thousands took to the streets despite being in the wee hours of the night.

    This reflects no doubt the historic and unprecedented nature of what had happened with the qualification of the national U-17 team to the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup underway in Chile.

    A first for a Malian side, which made history on  March 1, 2015 in Niamey, Niger, by being crowned African champions for the first time.

    It is in the fervour and joy of the celebration of the semi-final win against Belgium, the Malian fans discovered the identity of their opponent for the final.

    This will be Nigeria, defending champions and record winners in the history of the competition with four titles, who beat Mexico 4-2 in the other semi-final, to set up an all-African final, narrowly missed during the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand last June.

    It is in this regard that CAF President Issa Hayatou on the morning of Friday, November 6  paid glowing tribute to the two teams, Mali and Nigeria on their impressive performances at the tournament.

    “There are times when words cannot express the feeling, and I think this is one of such moments. On my behalf, and that of the CAF Executive Committee, I congratulate the young players from Mali and Nigeria who have offered us moments of indescribable joy”, said Issa Hayatou, who has been carefully observing the proceedings of the tournament.

    “The results and performances of the two teams in the competition have left, in the opinion of many, much to be desired. But we had to realise the promise of the flowers and the young did so masterfully for the happiness of all the great African football family and the continent.

    “I am pleased that these results are obtained with essentially local technical persons, a testament to the quality and potential of African coaches. This reinforces the densification of our licensing programme for coaches and multiplying opportunities for capacity building of African coaches,” assured Hayatou, also currently Acting FIFA President.

  • Mali will be tough-Amuneke

    Mali will be tough-Amuneke

    Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets coach Emmanuel Amuneke has stated that African U-17 champions, Mali who came from behind to beat Belgium 3-1 in the other semi final match on Thursday, would be a tough nut to crack.

    History will be made on Sunday with the second all-African FIFA U-17 World Cup final since 1993, when Nigeria beat Ghana 2-1 at Japan ’93, and Amuneke posited: “The Malians are the African champions, and we have to respect them. Aside that, they have also had a great tournament here in Chile. But we are a team that finds a way to play and function no matter the difficulty posed by the opposition.”

    The 1994 African Footballer of the Year added: “When Sunday comes, we are going to play Mali and I think it is going to be an interesting match but we want to enjoy this moment because this was a great match against a very strong Mexican team .We thank God, we are going to play the final again on Sunday and this gives us the opportunity to defend the trophy we won in 2013.”

  • Mali zoom into final

    Mali zoom into final

    .Beat Belgium 3-1

    Mali reached their first ever FIFA U-17 World Cup final courtesy of a resounding come-from-behind 3-1 victory against Belgium. The Europeans had taken the lead through Dante Rigo, but Boubacar Traore’s swift response was followed by second half goals from Sidiki Maiga and Sekou Koita.
    Belgium took the lead thanks to a sumptuous through ball by Jorn Vancamp. The No19 found space in between the Malian midfield and defence and lofted a pass with the outside of his right foot to the onrushing Rigo. The midfielder showed great composure to finish for his second goal in two games, and end Mali’s run of over 300 minutes without conceding at Chile 2015.

  • Mali determined to reach U-17 World Cup semi finals

    Mali will face Croatia in Sunday’s quarter final of the ongoing U-17 World Cup in Chile, hoping to reach the last four for the first time.

    Already quarterfinalists in Egypt in 1997 and in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001, the West Africans have never reached the tournament’s semi finals.

    Unbeaten since the beginning of the competition, Coach Baye Ba’s boys finished top of Group D before defeating Korea DPR 3-0 in the round of 16, courtesy of an early opener from Amadou Haidara and a Sidiki Maiga’s brace, africanFootball.com reports.

    And the West Africans show no lack of ambition ahead of their clash with Croatia.

    “Our individual skills brought us the victory. We are happy that we are now in the next round,” africanFootball.com quoted Ba as saying after the win over North Korea.

    “The team is here to win the title but we will do it step by step.

    “I never watched a game of Croatia but I’m looking forward to analyze the team’s match against Germany.”

    Meanwhile, the Croatians secured a 2-0 victory against Germany in the previous round after sealing a second-place finish in Group A behind Nigeria.

     

  • Landmines kill three in Mali

    No fewer than three civilians died on Tuesday in northern Mali when their vehicle hit a landmine, a military source said.

    The source said that a second mine explosion also injured two UN peacekeepers who tried to the rescue the civilians.

    Meanwhile, a statement by the UN mission in Mali had condemned the attack, noting that the incidents occurred in the vicinity of a UN base at Tessalit in the region of Kidal.

    The explosions were the latest violence around Kidal, a stronghold of the separatist coordination of Azawad Movements, dominated by ethnic Tuaregs.

    It would be recalled that in 2012, separatists seized northern Mali with support from militants linked to al Qaeda.

    In spite of UN intervention, violence in the region had persisted, with attacks by militia groups and radical Islamists.

    The government said it would commit 175 million dollars annually between 2016 and 2018 to support a peace agreement it signed in June with the separatists.

     

  • Mali detains 20 suspected Islamic militants

    Police in Mali have detained no fewer than 20 suspected Islamist militants in recent days, including two French citizens.

    Security sources said on Wednesday that among those detained was the organiser of an attack a restaurant in Bamako in March.

    Police arrested a man identified as Saouty Kouma in the central Malian town of Melo whom they suspected was behind the assault on La Terrasse restaurant.

    The attack which was claimed by Islamist militant group al-Mourabitoun killed a French citizen, a Belgian security officer and three Malians.

    The remaining men were detained on Monday in the southern town of Zegoua after crossing over from neighbouring Ivory Coast.

    “They were transported to Bamako on Tuesday for questioning,’’ the sources said.

    One of the security sources said that most of the men detained on Monday were from Mauritania, with the remainder Malians and French.

    “They are 20 presumed jihadists, including two French, they are all Islamists, all bearded,’’ a second source said.

    The men were detained alongside two members of Islamist group Ansar Dine who were captured by the army in central Mali on Thursday with evidence linking them to planned attacks.

    A French Embassy spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

    Ansar Dine was part of an alliance of Islamist fighters that seized Mali’s desert north after a Tuareg uprising in 2012 but was ousted by a French military operation a year later.

    The group claimed responsibility for a series of recent attacks across Mali’s south and west, including in Bamako, which was previously deemed safe from such violence.

    Armed separatist groups and the Malian government signed a peace agreement in June designed to stop uprisings in the north, but Ansar Dine was not a signatory.

  • Ordega, Osinachi, Okobi others in camp for Mali tie

    Ordega, Osinachi, Okobi others in camp for Mali tie

    The Super Falcons  began camping at FIFA Goal Project in Abuja, ahead of their second leg All Africa Games qualifier against Mali.

    As at last night, checks at the team’s camp revealed that 25 players will begin practice today, with Belarusian – based Esther Sunday and team skipper Evelyn Nwabuoku as well as Onome Ebi, Ngozi Ebere and Ohale Osinachi being the first set of players to arrive in Abuja.

    Others in camp are Loveth Ayila, Precious Dede, Ngozi Okobi, Francesca Ordega, Sandra Chichi, Chioma Wogu, Sarah Nnodim, Ugo Njoku, Mercy Amanze and Chisom Henry.

    Christy Ohaeriaku,Blessing Edoho, Josephine Chukwunonye, Mariam Ibrahim, Ibubeleye Whyte, Onyinyechi Ohaduga, Halimat Ayinde, Chiwendu Ihezuo ,Yetunde Adeboyejo and Onyinyechi Okeke were also sighted in camp.

    Even if they fail to score in the second leg, the Super Falcons will qualify for the competition in the Republic of Congo if they do not concede against the opponents.

  • Mali can’t stop Falcons’ AAG race

    Mali can’t stop Falcons’ AAG race

    Super Falcons captain and  defensive midfielder Evelyn Nwabuoku is optimistic that her side will overcome Mali to book their All Africa and Olympic Games tickets.

    The African champions will be the guests of Mali on Sunday, March 22, in Bamako for a place at the 11th All-Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.

    Nwabuoku said her side want to qualify for the championships to erase the ugly memories of their absence from the immediate past games.

    “Mali can’t stop us from going to the All-Africa Games as well as the Olympics no matter how hard they fight.

    “Of course, none of us wants to remember the fact that we didn’t qualify for the last All-Africa Games and Olympics. It was a sad occurrence in our history that nobody wants to repeat.

    “Mali are actually a good side, I remember clearly that we encountered the side in 2010 and they gave us hell, but we eventually defeated them.

    “We’re not going to underrate the Malians nor any other side at any stage of the competition.

    “We just commenced training for the match against Mali in Bamako, team spirit is quite high as everybody is responding very well and eagerly looking forward to the clash,” said the captain of Nigeria Professional Football League (NWPL) side, Rivers Angels to supersport.com.

    The decisive fixture will be held in Nigeria with the aggregate winners going ahead to cement a spot at the quadrennial multiple sports fiesta.

    The reigning African champions will also contest with Mali the ticket for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.

  • ‘Mali challenge a big task’

    ‘Mali challenge a big task’

    Super Falcons’ Head Coach Edwin Okon on Thursday said having to face Mali in the All-Africa Games (AAG) and 2016 Olympics qualifiers was a big task for the African champions.

    Okon told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja they were, however, ready to surmount the task ahead of them, even though the timing of the team’s camping was unfavourable.

    NAN reports that the national senior women’s team, who are the reigning African champions, resumed camp on Feb. 22.

    This was in preparations for the 2015 AAG and 2016 Olympic Games qualifiers against Mali.

    “It is a very big task and we are in for it, because it is a must for us to qualify being the African champions and since all eyes will be on us, the coach said.

    NAN reports that the Falcons will play the first leg of the AAG qualifiers on March 22 in Bamako and the return leg in Nigeria two weeks later.

    “Though the timing of our camp is not favourable enough, we will still not dwell on that.

    “For now, we will dwell on our work rate at the training and see how we can match up with those who have started training before us,’’ Okon said.

    The first leg of the Olympic Games qualifiers on the other hand will hold on May 9 in Nigeria while the return leg holds in Bamako on May 16.

    “We know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are ready for it because we know the league has not started and if we should relax, it will be against us.

    “That is why we decided to start training by 3p.m. for now, to see if they can endure.

    “Once their endurance rate is good, whether or not the league competition is going on, we will pick up from there,’’ Okon said.

    The coach, who also handles Rivers Angels FC of Port Harcourt, however expressed satisfaction at the good turnout of the players at the camp.

    He said the invitation of new players was to give room for other players, apart from those who won the African Women Championship (AWC) with the team in October 2014.

    “I am a happy man with the response of the players who are injury-free, coupled with their response to training, and with what I have seen after two days, we are good to go.

    “And I invited new faces because I am looking for the best. If they are serious, I can as well drop those who went with me to Namibia.

    “There is no permanent room for anybody here in our camp. It is a free ground. So, we are not biased, we want everyone to come in and show us what they have,’ Okon said.

  • Super Falcons get Mali

    Mali will be the Super Falcons’ opponents in the final round of qualifiers for the Women’s Football Tournament of the 11th All-Africa Games, following the withdrawal of Gabon.

    Nigeria’s Falcons, champions of Africa, have returned to camp in Abuja at the weekend and will also be preparing for the qualifiers of the Women’s Football Tournament of the 2016 Olympic Games, against the same Malians, as well as the 7th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Canada this summer.

    The first leg of the qualifying fixture will take place in Bamako on March 22.