The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Toure

  • Toure, Okocha, Yorke for SuperSport World Cup broadcast on DStv, GOtv

    Some of football’s biggest names have been secured by SuperSport to underpin this year’s broadcast of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on DStv and GOtv.

    Yaya Touré, one of the most celebrated African players of the past decade, will be joined by straight-talking Jay-Jay Okocha, Dwight Yorke (one half of the deadly duo which spearheaded Manchester United’s charge to a historic treble in 1999) plus former Manchester United and Everton fullback Phil Neville and Italian maestro Gianfranco Zola, one of Chelsea’s greatest players.

    Other African guests doing SuperSport duty include Samson Siasia, Shaun Bartlett, Gavin Hunt, Andre Arendse and Benni McCarthy.

    The presenters will be made up of the experienced foursome of Robert Marawa, Carol Tshabalala, Neil Andrews and Andy Townsend.

    The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday, June 14 with the opening ceremony at 2 pm and the first match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at 4 pm. DStv customers can catch the action live on SS3, SS13 and SS14, while GOtv customers on SS Select 1 and SS Select 4.

    With a 24-hour World Cup channel already on air, the broadcast offering has been supplemented with another 24-hour High Definition World Cup channel on DStv (SS3) that will run from June 1 until July 15 that will include pre-World Cup friendlies.

    There will be build-ups for all matches with top analysis and insights from some of the sharpest minds in the game, plus world-class graphics and technology to enhance coverage in the brand-new High Definition studio that launches in June. Post-match wraps will also feature, guaranteeing the most in-depth coverage.

  • Aubameyang dethrones Toure as Glo African Footballer of the Year

    Aubameyang dethrones Toure as Glo African Footballer of the Year

    Panthers of Gabon Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last night dethroned Manchester City midfield maestro Yaya Toure to emerge as the 2015 Glo Africa Footballer of The Year.
    At a glamorous ceremony at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja , the Gabonese striker was picked based n his exploits in the German Bundesliga where he plays.
    Apart from his outing for his club, the light skinned striker was also instrumental in Gabon’s qualification for the last round of qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.
    Nigerian players won awards in other categories at the impressive ceremony co-hosted by  broadcaster Robert Marawa and top Ghanaian actress Juliet Ibrahim.
    Teenage sensation Victor Osimhen won the award for the Youth Player ahead of his compatriot and captain in the Golden Eaglets squad, Kelechi Nwakali and Mali’s duo of Adama Traore and Samuel Diarra, Mali.
    Another Nigerian, Etebo Oghenekaro emerged the Most Promising Talent of the Year after his five goals at the CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations helped Nigeria’s Dream Team VI to win the tournament which served as qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
    Golden Eaglets coach Emmanuel Amuneke lost out to Herve Renard in the Coach of the Year category. Renard led the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire to win the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.
    Cote d’Ivoire emerged the National Team of the Year having won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 23 years and already in the final round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
    Tanzanian striker Mbwana Samatta was adjudged the Africa Player of the Year based in Africa. The forward scored seven goals for his club TP Mazembe of Congo DR as they lifted the CAF Champions League for a record fifth time.
    The Women National Team of the Year went to the Lionesses of Cameroon for getting to the knock out stages of the last edition of the Women’s World Cup held in Canada last year in their their debut appearance.
    The Woman Player of the Year also went to Lionesses of Cameroon forward,Gaelle Enganamouit for her exploits at the Women’s World Cup in Canada which assisted the Lionesses to get to the knock out stages of the tournament.
    TP Mazembe of DR Congo were named the Club of the Year after winning their fifth CAF Champions League title,beating USM Algiers 4-1 on aggregat in the final.
    The Referee of the Year went to Gambia’s Bakary Papa Gassama while Allez Casa,the Supporters’ club of the Senegalese National team got the CAF Fair Play Award.
    Charles Kumi Gyamfi of Ghana and Cameroon’s Samuel Mbappé Léppé grabbed the African Legend award.

  • Glo-CAF Awards: Ayew, Toure, Aubameyang listed

    Glo-CAF Awards: Ayew, Toure, Aubameyang listed

    • Amuneke nominated for Coach of the Year
    • Nwakali, Osimhen, Etebo also shortlisted

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Abuja on Monday announced the names of three top nominees for the 2015 African Footballer of the Year Award.

    The names were announced at a joint press briefing by the CAF, organisers of the most prestigious annual African footballer of the year award and its exclusive sponsor, Globacom, the Next Generation Network at a joint press conference held at Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja on Monday.

    The three nominees, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon & Borrussia Dortmund of Germany, four-time African Player of the Year, Yaya Toure of Cote d’Ivoire and Manchester City and Andrew Ayew of Ghana and Swansea City FC were announced by CAF Executive Committee Member,  Moucharafou Anjorin, who represented CAF at the event.

    CAF also released the names of top three finalists for the Africa-based ‘Player of the Year’ Award. They are: Mbwana Aly Samatta of Tanzania and TP Mazembe, Baghdad Bounedjah of Algeria and Etoile du Sahel and Robert Kidiaba of Dmocratic Republic of Congo and TP Mazembe.

    The list was prepared through a vigorous selection process by the Technical, Football and Media Committees of CAF, taking into account the performance of the players for their national teams and clubs from January to November of each year.

    The King will be crowned at the Awards Night holding at the International Convention Centre, Abuja on January 7, 2016.

    Also released is the list of nominees for other categories of the Awards. Nominated for Women Player of the Year are the duo of Gabrielle Onguene and Gaelle Enganamouit of Cameroon, Ngozi Ebere of Nigeria, N’rehy Tia Ines of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana’s Portia Boakye while the Youth Player of the Year has Adama Traore of Mali, Kelechi Nwakali of Nigeria, Samuel Diarra of Mali, Victor Osimhen of Nigeria and Yaw Yeboha of Ghana as nominees.

    For the Coach of the Year Award, Baye Ba of Mali U- 17 team, Emmanuel Amuneke of Nigeria’s U-17 team, Fawzi Benzarti of Etoile Sportive de Sahel, Herve Renard of Cote dIvoire and Patrice Carteron of TPMazembe were nominated while Azubuike Okechukwu of Nigeria, Djigui Diarra of Mali, Etebo Oghenekaro of Nigeria, Mahmoud Abdelmonem of Egypt, and Zinedine Ferhat of Algeria were shortlisted for the Most Promising Player of Year Award.

    Others are African Legend Award which will be decided between Charles Kumi Gyamfi of Ghana and Samuel Mbappe Leppe of Cameroon and National Team of the Year Award which will be contested for by Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali U-17, Nigeria U-17 and Nigeria U-23 teams.

    USMA of Algeria, TP Mazembe of DR Congo, Orlando Pirates of South Africa and Etoile Sportive du Sahel of Tunisia were nominated for Club of the Year Award while in the Women National Team of the Year category Ghana, Camerron, South Africa and Zimbabwe were shortlisted.

    Five referees including Alioum of Cameroon, Bakary Papa Gassama of Gambia, Eric Arnaud Otogo Castane of Gabon, Ghead Zaglol Grisha of Egypt and Janny Sikazwe of Zambia will compete for the Referee of The Year Award. The prestigious Platinum Award will be presented to President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria for being the host and for his passionate commitment to the development of football.

    The Glo-CAF Awards gala has become one of the world’s most iconic sports awards ceremonies, providing Africa with a reputable forum for recognising and rewarding excellence in the various departments of football.

    Globacom Limited and CAF have been in partnership for the past 11 years, and have worked together to make the African Best Football Player Awards glamorous, thereby stimulating the growth of African football.

    Speaking at the event, Globacom’ s Business Director, North West,  Kemi Kaka who represented the company at the occasion, said that “This is the 11th year of Glo-CAF partnership and we at Glo take pride in the significant strides our alliance with CAF has achieved in raising the quality and popularity of football in Africa.”

    Kaka said: “Globacom will continue to use its clout in sports sponsorships in Africa to encourage people in sports, African Culture and business to excel.”

  • Hazard, Liverpool trio listed for PFA award

    Hazard, Liverpool trio listed for PFA award

    Liverpool trio Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge are on the shortlist for the English Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) player of the year award, Reuters reports.

    Striking duo Suarez and Sturridge have scored 49 league goals between them this season, with Uruguay international Suarez leading the Premier League scoring charts with 29 goals for Brendan Rodgers’ table-topping side.

    Captain Gerrard, 33, has contributed 13 league goals and 11 assists for Liverpool this season with the England midfielder aiming to lift his first Premier League title.

    With four games left Liverpool has a two-point advantage over second-placed Chelsea, whose Belgium forward Eden Hazard is also among the nominations for player of the year with Ivorian Yaya Toure (Manchester City) and Adam Lallana (Southampton).

    Sturridge and Hazard were also shortlisted for young player of the year, the PFA said on its website (www.thepfa.com), along with Liverpool’s England winger Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley (Everton), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) and Luke Shaw (Southampton).

    Gareth Bale won both awards last year playing for Tottenham Hotspur before his world record transfer to Real Madrid in the close season following in the footsteps of Andy Gray (1977) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2007) who also achieved that feat.

     

  • Toure praises Mikel

    Toure praises Mikel

    Newly-crowned African Footballer of the Year for 2013, Yaya Toure has taken the time to praise the man he pipped to the accolade, John Obi Mikel.

    Toure said Mikel “deserves the award” as he described winning Africa’s individual top gong for the third consecutive year as “unbelievable.”

    “This is unbelievable. I am happy to be the winner. I congratulate Mikel who deserves it too. To be the winner was unbelievable. I thank all who supported me. I am very, very proud,” he said shortly after he was announced as the winner of the award.

    Nigerian midfielder, Mikel, finished as runner-up while Ivorian striker, Didier Drogba was third in the final classification.

    The last Nigerian to win the award was Nwankwo Kanu, who scooped the prestigious prize in 1999.

  • Keshi happy with BBC award nominations

    Keshi happy with BBC award nominations

    Nigeria head coach, Stephen Keshi, has expressed his excitement about John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses nomination for the 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year award.

    On Monday, the BBC revealed the shortlist for this year via its Newsday programme.

    The three other shortlisted players are – Jonathan Pitroipa of Burkina Faso, Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ivory Coast midfielder, Yaya Toure, who made the shortlist for the fifth successive year.

    Keshi, 51, said the nomination of Mikel and Moses shows that the African champions are now competing with the best on the continent.

    He revealed how he spoke to Super Eagles members on resumption as head coach of the team two years ago on worming their ways into winning individual honours while balancing their ethics as team players at the same time.

    “I’m hearing this for the first time. I’ve been busy preparing for the World Cup game against Ethiopia. But I’m happy to hear this and it is pleasant news for the players, the team and the nation. I hope one of them can win it.

    “I must say this is a result of hard work, commitment and open-mindedness to learn and make sacrifices as individuals and as a team. When I became coach of the team I sat down with the boys and made it clear that they have the ability to be rated among the best players in not just Africa but the world.

    “These boys already know much about the game and I’m sure I can’t start teaching like small boys. I try as much as possible to make them feel like they are in a family which is important and it has worked well for us and that’s why we have players being nominated for awards now. But it’s down to the good work of the players, coaches and officials.

    “Now I am confident that we are on the verge of good things to come once we continue with this same pace and I am happy that what we started two years ago is bearing fruits. I hope one of them will win the award this year,” Keshi told supersport.com.

    The 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year “winner will be decided by African football fans” through a voting process that will run till November 25, according to the BBC.

    Austin Okocha was the last Nigerian to win the BBC award in 2004 after he had won it the previous year.

     

     

  • Ballon D’Or: Yobo votes Messi, Keshi picks Toure

    Ballon D’Or: Yobo votes Messi, Keshi picks Toure

    Super Eagles skipper, Joseph Yobo picked Lionel Messi as his world player of 2012, while coach Stephen Keshi voted Cote d’Ivoire’s Yaya Toure.

    Representing the Nigeria media, top journalist Samm Audu went for Messi, who on Monday won his fourth straight FIFA Ballon D’Or.

    MTNFootball.com reports that Messi has also won world football’s foremost individual accolade in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

    Yobo’s two other nominees were Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazil’s Neymar, while Keshi went for another Ivorian star Didier Drogba and then Netherlands striker Robin van Persie.

    Samm Audu’s other picks were Ronaldo and Colombia star Radamel Falcao.

    Messi was again a runaway winner for the best player in the world as he polled 41.60 per cent of the total votes, far ahead of second-placed Ronaldo, who recorded 23.68 per cent. Iniesta was third on 10.91 per cent.

    The three sections of the eligible voters – national team captains, national coaches and media – all placed the 25-year-old Argentina superstar top of a 23-man strong field.

     

  • Toure, Drogba, three others listed for BBC award

    Toure, Drogba, three others listed for BBC award

     

    The five candidates for the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2012 award have been revealed.

    Yaya Toure has made the shortlist for the second consecutive year and he is joined by his Ivory Coast team-mate Didier Drogba, Senegal’s Demba Ba, Morocco’s Younes Belhanda and Zambia skipper Christopher Katongo.

    BBC reports that the winner will be decided by African football fans, who have until 1830 GMT on Thursday, December 13 to vote for their choice.

    The fans can either vote via this page or by sending an SMS from their phones to +44 7786 20 50 75:

    Text 1 for Demba Ba

    Text 2 for Younes Belhanda

    Text 3 for Didier Drogba

    Text 4 for Christopher Katongo

    Or Text 5 for Yaya Toure

    The winner will be announced on December 17.