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Tag: Tunisia

  • Adekuoroye, Oborududu lead 14 others to Tunisia

    Commonwealth Games gold medallists –Odunayo Adekuoroye and Blessing Oborududu will lead 14 others to the 2019 African Wrestling Championship holding in Hammamet, Tunisia.

    In the 16-man list released by the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), eight-time African champion Oborududu will be aiming for another record feat in Tunisia and will be competing in the 68kg of the women’s freestyle.

    Adekuoroye who is ranked fourth in the world in the women’s 57kg will also be in action. Others include another Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Aminat Adeniyi who will compete in the 62kg.

    Read also: Victorious U-19 cricket team returns to Nigeria

    Other members of the women’s team are Genesis Mercy (50kg), Nweke Rosemary (53kg), Kolawole Esther (55kg), Nwoye Ifeoma (59kg), Balogun Sunmisola (65kg), Hannah Reuben (72kg) and Onyebuchi Blessing (76kg).

    The men’s team has Welson Ebikewenimo (57kg), Amas Daniel (65kg), Nworie Emmanuel (71kg), John Emmanuel (74kg), Agiomor Ekerekeme (79kg) and Bibo Melvin (86kg).

    The team will be handled by the duo of Purity Akun and Victor Kodei, while the NWF President, Daniel Igali will lead the contingent to the North African nation today.

    However, Igali told NationSport that team is poised to defend the title it won at the 2018 edition in Rivers State.

  • 2019 African Wrestling Championship: Adekuoroye, Oborududu lead 14 others to Tunisia

    Commonwealth Games gold medalists – Odunayo Adekuoroye and Blessing Oborududu will lead 14 others to the 2019 African Wrestling Championship holding in Hammamet, Tunisia.

    In the 16-man list released by the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), eight-time African champion Oborududu will be aiming for another record feat in Tunisia as she will be competing in the 68kg of the women’s freestyle.

    Adekuoroye who is ranked fourth in the world in the women’s 57kg will also be in action. Others include another Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Aminat Adeniyi who will compete in the 62kg.

    Other members of the women’s team are Genesis Mercy (50kg), Nweke Rosemary (53kg), Kolawole Esther (55kg), Nwoye Ifeoma (59kg), Balogun Sunmisola (65kg), Hannah Reuben (72kg) and Onyebuchi Blessing (76kg).

    The men’s team has Welson Ebikewenimo (57kg), Amas Daniel (65kg), Nworie Emmanuel (71kg), John Emmanuel (74kg), Agiomor Ekerekeme (79kg) and Bibo Melvin (86kg).

    Read also: 2019 African Wrestling Championships: Hope rises as NWF confirmed participation

    The team will be handled by the duo of Purity Akun and Victor Kodei, while the NWF President, Daniel Igali will lead the contingent to the North African nation today.

    However, Igali told NationSport that team is poised to defend the title it won at the 2018 edition in Rivers State.

    “We are going with full female team but we cannot afford to go there with the full team of the men’s team due to lack of fund. We are the defending champion in the female event while we are also the champion in the men’s event as we topped Egypt by three points at the last edition in Port Harcourt. I am sure we can retain our title in the female team but I know it is going to be tough particularly with the host team, Tunisia because they are also in good shape for now,” Igali said.

    The female team is expected to compete on March 30 while the men’s team will take to the mat on March 31.

    The team made up of 16 wrestlers and five officials departed Nigeria yesterday aboard a Turkish Airline enroute Istanbul to Tunis.

     

  • Bafana qualifies for 2019 AFCON

    Bafana Bafana of South Africa are through to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Libya in their final qualification match at the Stade Taïeb Mhiri stadium in Sfax, Tunisia yesterday.

    Needing only to draw in order to progress to the finals, Stuart Baxter’s side took a 50th minute lead through Percy Tau.

    However, Ahmad Benali converted a penalty in the 66th minute to give South African fans an anxious closing 24 minutes of play.

    Tau eased their fears, however, with his second of the match in the 69th minute as Bafana held on to secure a famous 2-1 victory.

    Bafana qualified second behind Nigeria in Group E and will take their place in the 24-team finals to be played in Egypt between June 21 and July 19.

  • 2019 Davis Cup: Nigeria battles Tunisia, six others for promotion

    Nigeria will be making another attempt at gaining promotion to the elite division of the Davis Cup as the West African side will battle host – Kenya, Tunisia, Benin Republic, Namibia, Algeria, Mozambique and Madagascar.

    The Africa Group III event will also take place in Nairobi, Kenya from September 11 to 14 on the clay courts of the Nairobi Club.

    After finishing fifth at the 2018 edition, Nigeria will be on the umpteenth time be heading out of the country for a place in the top division. Nigeria’s best outing in the Davis Cup was in 1988 and 1989 editions when the team reached the Group I semifinals.

    According to International Tennis Federation (ITTF), Kenya has been named as the host of the Africa Group III event after the East African nation edged out Tunisia to secure hosting right for the tournament in September.

    Being the second time in a row that Kenya will be hosting the tournament having hosted the 2018 edition in which Kenya, Tunisia and Namibia secured promotion to the Africa Group II. But the trio were denied the participation in the elite cadre after a new sponsor came on board and opted to use a new ranking system which knocked the three promoted countries back to Africa Group III.

    The new ranking system came to effect after a new sponsor, Kosmos Group, an investment firm owned by FC Barcelona and Spain defender, Gerard Pique, signed a deal valued at $3b covering 25 years.

    For Africa Group IV, Brazzaville will play host the qualifiers from June 26 to 29, with the host – Congo Brazzaville facing Cameroun, Rwanda, Botswana, Ghana, Uganda, and Cote D’Ivoire on the hard courts of the Complexe Sportif Concorde de Kintele

  • FIFA Ranking: Nigeria move up by Four spots placed 44th

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have moved up by four spots to the 44th in the world in the October FIFA -Coca Cola Ranking.

    In the ranking table published on the website of the world football governing body on Thursday, Nigeria garnered 1431 points as against 1415 it had in September.

    The movement has now placed Nigeria as the third in Africa behind Tunisia and Senegal.

    The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that it was during this period that the Eagles thrashed Libya 4-0 (home) and 3-2 (away) in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

    Read Also: FIFA rankings: Nigeria moves 5 places up

    Tunisia is ranked 22nd in the world and Senegal 25th. Congo DR (ranked 46th and Morocco(47th) are the other African countries among the top 50.

    On the global scene, Belgium are now ranked world number one, ahead of France with the narrowest of margin–just one point in the new the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking published today. The Belgians have 1733 points to France’s 1732 points.

    In September, the two countries were tied on the first spot.

    The top two remain out in front after a month in which each of them enjoyed a win and a draw, with Belgium and France beating Switzerland (8th, unchanged) and Germany (14th, down two) respectively in the UEFA Nations League. Brazil is third with 1669 points, Croatia fourth with 1635 and England fifth with 1619 points. Leo Messi’s Argentina are ranked 12th in the world.

  • Tunisians elect 1st female Mayor

    A Woman was elected as Mayor of Tunis on Tuesday, for the first time in the North African Country’s history.

    Souad Abderrahim, the candidate of Tunisia’s conservative Islamist Ennahda (Rebirth) party, was elected by members of Tunis’ 60-strong municipal council with 26 votes.

    Her nearest rival, Kamal Edir, the candidate of the Nidaa Tounes party of President Beji Caid Essebsi, got 22 votes.

    “I dedicate this win to all Tunisians and all women who have struggled to be in such senior positions,’’ Abderrahim said following the vote.

    Read Also: Gaddafi’s son safe in Libya, soon to give televised speech – Lawyer

    Abderrahim, a 53-year-old pharmacist, was an elected member of the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014.

    She now serves as a member of Ennahda’s policy-making committee.

    The Ennahda party was the biggest winner in Tunisia’s May 6 municipal elections, the first since the 2011 uprising.

    The polls were seen as an important step in Tunisia’s democratic transition.

    The constitution, approved in 2014, gives municipal councils vast powers, with the aim of boosting decentralisation.

    However, turnout was extremely sluggish, with just 33.7 per cent of the country’s 5.3 million eligible voters casting their ballots.

    NAN

  • Tunisia seal exit after 5-2 loss to Belgium

     

    African representatives Tunisia confirmed their flight back home after losing their second match 5-2 to Belgium on Saturday.  The Carthage Eagles who lost their opening match 2-1 to England, had shown signs of seriousness in the early minutes of the match but a 6th minute penalty converted by Eden Hazard dealt the first blow on the Eagles whose woes were further compounded by another goal by Lukaku in the 16th minute.

    The Tunisians however pulled one back thanks to Dylan Bronn in the 18th minute.

    Lukaku however scored a second goal to leave score line at 3-1 at first half.

    The second half however turned out to be extra pain for the Tunisians as Hazard and Michy Batshuayi hit targets in the 51st and 90th minutes respectively.

    An extra time goal by Wahbi  Khazri though a plus for the Tunisians merely reduced the tally but removed nothing from the defeat which has now confirmed their exit from the world cup. Although they still have a last group match against Panama, they will merely be playing for pride as every indication point to Belgium who have six points in the kitty and England advancing from the group.

    Tunisia who first made appearance at the world cup in 1978, have never gone past the group stage in four appearances. Saturday’s defeat means the Tunisians have gone 13 matches without a win in the world cup.

  • Tunisia 1-2 England: Harry Kane to the rescue!

    • England started the game brightly with Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling missing glorious chances
    • But it didn’t take too long to open the scoring as captain Harry Kane headed home after just 11 minutes
    • Kyle Walker then got in a tangle with Fakhreddine Ben Youssef and a penalty was awarded to Tunisia
    • Ferjan Sassi then stepped up and slotted it to the right of Jordan Pickford, who got his fingertips to it
    • England piled the pressure on with some brilliant opportunities for Lingard before half time, but to no avail
    • It was left to Kane, this time in injury time, to head home from close range and take the spoils for England

    Speaking  after the match England striker Harry Kane, said England deserves the victory over the resilient Tunisian side.

    He said, “I thought we played very well. There are always a bit of nerves, a bit of excitement, but we got into the game very quickly, it went to 1-1 and the momentum changed a bit. It is always in the back of your mind that it is not going to be your day but that is why you work for 90+ minutes.

    “We wanted to create chances and we did that. We could’ve scored two or three goals and put the game to bed. I’m really pleased with how we played.

    “Maybe a bit disappointed (to not get a penalty and for England to concede one) on the pitch their penalty looked quite soft. That is what VAR is there for. At a few corners I couldn’t move. We just have to hope the officials get it right. If they don’t think it is a penalty we have to deal with it.

    “We are proud of each other and in a World Cup you are not sure how it is going to go, but we have a great togetherness and are always proud to see it come off in the game. We never panicked, never looked like conceding another one and got what we deserved in the end.

    “We got told there would be a lot of flies and when we went out for the match it was a lot more than we though. We all had bug spray on and it was important as some of them went in your eyes, some in your mouth but it is about dealing with what comes your way.”

    In the view of Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul the risks came from set pieces.

    He said, “When you have very tall players it is very difficult to counter them. They were much better than us when it came to those high balls.

    “Harry Kane is one of the best attackers in the Premier League and that is why he is highly sought after by the highest clubs. I think he was behind the victory of the English team, it was him who was always at the right time and he is the optimum scorer.”

    On his defenders holding Harry Kane when corners were being taken: “I have not seen those possible penalties, maybe if I go back and look at the match I can see what fouls were committed.”

  • Tunisian migrant boat accident: Death toll rises to 112

    The number of illegal immigrants killed after their boat sank off the southeastern coast of Tunisia on Sunday has risen to 112, according to the UNs’ migration agency.

    The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) updated the death toll on its Twitter account on Tuesday.

    The ill-fated boat was packed with about 180 migrants, including 80 from other African countries, local media had reported earlier.

    A total of 68 illegal immigrants — 60 Tunisians and eight foreigners — were rescued by the coastguard.

    The spokesman of the Interior Ministry, Khalifa Chibani, said on Monday that Tunisian security forces intercepted eight individuals involved in planning the case off the island of Kerkennah on Saturday evening.

    Tunisia has become an important new route for migrants trying to reach Europe in the past year, and Kerkennah is known as one of the main illegal gateways.

    Read Also: Woman die of suspected Lassa Fever Symptoms in Niger

    According to IOM, since the beginning of this year, about 1,910 Tunisian migrants have reached Italy by sea.

    The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights said in a study that 9,329 Tunisians attempted to cross the Mediterranean in 2017, with 34 per cent intercepted by Tunisian maritime forces.

    So far, no less than 900 illegal immigrants have been prevented from crossing Tunisian maritime borders since the beginning of this year’s Ramadan, which began on May 17, according to the Interior Ministry

  • Tunisia migrant death toll rises to 48 – Defence Ministry

    The number of illegal immigrants killed after their boat sank off the southeastern coast of Tunisia on Sunday has risen to 48, according to the Ministry of Defence.

    A total of 75 people have been rescued people so far, including 60 Tunisians, five from Sub-Saharan Africa, two Moroccans and one Libyan, said Rachid Bouhawala, the press officer at the Ministry of Defence.

    Relief operations are continuing in coordination with the army as well as units of the Maritime Guard and civil protection.

    No fewer than 180 illegal immigrants were aboard the boat stranded off the island of Kerkennah on the southeastern coast of the country, including 80 African nationalities.

    Read Also: 124 illegal immigrants repatriated from Libya – Official

    Kerkennah is known as one of the main illegal gateways to Europe from Tunisia.

    Since the beginning of this year, about 1,910 Tunisian migrants have reached Italy by sea, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

    The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights said in a study that 9,329 Tunisians attempted to cross the Mediterranean in 2017, with 34 per cent intercepted by Tunisian maritime forces.