TalkAfrique Sports, Author at TalkAfrique

March 27, 2011March 27, 2011

Botswana Becomes First African Country to Qualify for Nations Cup

Minnows Botswana secured their first ever Africa Cup of Nations place on Saturday when beating Chad 1-0 in Group K of the 2012 qualifiers.

Striker Jerome Ramatlhakwane scored the early second half goal that brought Botswana a 1-0 triumph in Chad.

The win in Ndjamena moves the Zebras to 16 points, making them the first team to qualify for next year’s tournament.

The southern Africans are now guaranteed to finish at least second in the five-team group.

Two teams from the group will qualify for the tournament to be played in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Botswana’s stunning performances in reaching this stage have surprised watchers of the African game everywhere as they have won five of their six group matches and drawn one.

It was fitting that Ramatlhakwane should score the 50th-minute winner as he has contributed five of the seven goals that reaped 16 points from six matches, including home and away wins over over 2004 African champions Tunisia.

All of his goals have been match-deciders and another hero is coach Stanley Tshosane, who shunned the limelight as Botswana pulled off victory after victory in the only mini-league that offers two automatic finals places.

Meanwhile, Malawi survived a stern test to boost hopes of qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Togo 1-0 on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Simplex Nthala saved an early penalty to deny the Hawks before Moses Chavula struck the only goal.

The Group K victory in Blantyre moves Malawi to second on the table with nine points, seven behind leaders Botswana.

Togo’s hopes of reaching the tournament are hanging by a thread as they are fourth on the table with three points.

The 2006 World Cup finalists hired coach Stephen Keshi this week to help revive their flagging campaign.

But the former Nigerian international could not prevent the defeat as they fluffed a penalty and missed several opportunities to punish the home side.

Malawi defender James Sangala handled the ball in his own goal area which gave gave Togo the hopes of taking the lead.

But the resultant penalty was beautifully saved Nthala before Chavula hit the match winner in the 18th minute.

Togo must now win their two remaining matches and hopes other results go their way before they can qualify for the tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea

March 19, 2011March 20, 2011

Ghana Gyan, Mensah and Muntari Excited by Black Stars-England Friendly

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Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari says he and team-mates John Mensah and Asamoah Gyan are excited by the friendly against England at Wembley on 29 March.

The Sunderland trio are in the Black Stars squad for the encounter, which will be played before a sell-out crowd including 20,000 Ghana supporters.

“We want to play, it’s at Wembley, against one of the best nations in the world,” Muntari told BBC Newcastle.

“No one wants to miss big games and important games like this one.”

Muntari added: “We’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time, and even the people in Ghana are looking forward to us playing England, we’re just looking forward to the day.

“We want to win, but we want to play good football and entertain the fans.

“England always have a strong team, they always play good football, we don’t care who plays and we just want to make our country proud.”

Sunderland handed Muntari a return to the Premier League after a a two-and-a-half year absence when they agreed a loan deal with European champions Inter Milan in January.

The 26-year-old won the FA Cup with Portsmouth prior to his £12.7m move to the Italian giants, and was a Scudetto and Champions League winner at the Giuseppe Meazza prior to his move to the Stadium of Light.

“It was easy to settle in, because there are fantastic people here, the guys are great always,” Muntari added.

“The manager has been good to me, the Premier League is not new to me, I love English football and I am pleased to be here.”

March 16, 2011March 17, 2011

Bulgarian Football Star Stoitchkov in Burkina Faso To Beat Hunger

16 March 2011, Rome – Bulgarian football star Hristo Stoitchkov has spoken out in support of the EU and FAO’s efforts to rebuild the livelihoods of people affected by the 2010 food crisis in the Sahel during a two-day visit to Burkina Faso.With a delegation of the Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL), led by its Chairman Sir David Richards, the former European Footballer of the Year Stoitchkov visited several EU-funded FAO projects during two days in Burkina Faso that have helped thousands of families, hit by drought and torrential rains, return to farming.

Having found out first hand about the Sahel-crisis of 2010, which particularly affected rural populations dependent on agriculture for subsistence, Stoitchkov said: “It is vital to enable people hit by disaster to feed themselves again.”

Comparing his time with FC Barcelona’s ‘Dream Team’ in the 1990s, one of the most successful periods of the Spanish football club, to his present activities with EPFL supporting FAO and the EU in the fight against hunger, he added: “A good team wins. Together we can beat hunger.”

Hunger unacceptable

“European football is taking on the responsibility that goes with its ever more prominent role in society,” said Sir David Richards, who is also Chairman of the English Premier League. “We want to contribute to alleviating the plight of nearly one billion people who go to bed hungry every day.”

Representing the 30 largest European professional football leagues and almost 950 clubs, EPFL teamed up with FAO in 2008 launching a “Professional Football Against Hunger” campaign. Recently, they welcomed the world’s biggest humanitarian donor, the European Union – Humanitarian Aid (EU), as a new partner to raise awareness about the unacceptable level of hunger among European citizens.

EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, urged “We need to do more and we must act quickly if we want to avoid adults and children dying from starvation.” Commissioner Georgieva further added: “In times of economic crisis and a growing number of catastrophes, good coordination among different humanitarian actors is not only desirable; it is indispensible. It is indeed the best -and the cheapest- way to respect the commitment the world leaders have taken to end hunger.”

Help people feed themselves

When disaster strikes, the EU works with FAO to help rural communities return to farming so that they can feed themselves again. Currently, FAO is operating 27 emergency projects in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle-East and Latin-America with EU-funding, for a total budget of €37 million.

In Burkina Faso, FAO received around € 1.8 million from the EU that it used to provide livestock and animal feed, as well as support to urban gardening and training, reaching some 80,000 people.

“To ensure the continued support to people in need, it is crucial to communicate on what is being done to help them,” said Annika Söder, FAO’s Assistant-Director General for Communication and External Relations. “Football enables us to inform a wide European audience on the humanitarian programmes involved.”

Meanwhile, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital, Hristo Stoitchkov enjoyed a game of football with school children. “Football gives hope,” he said. “As a kid, I also lived with hunger. As long as you play, you don’t think about it.”

FAO Media Center

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March 4, 2011March 4, 2011

Ivory Coast Toure took Wife’s Diet Pill, Not Drugs, Arsenal’s Wenger

Manchester City defender Kolo Toure failed a drugs test after taking a diet pill belonging to his wife, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said in a press conference on Friday.

Wenger has spoken with the former Gunners captain since news broke of his positive test for a specified substance.

“He wants to control his weight a little bit because that’s where he has some problems and he took the product of his wife,” said Wenger.

Toure could face a lengthy ban and is currently suspended from playing for City. The 29-year-old moved to Eastlands in 2009 having spent seven seasons at Arsenal, and Wenger spoke of his character in glowing terms and insisted Toure’s error was failing to check the legality of the product he took.

“I think it is a mistake. He was not cautious enough. I don’t think there’s a desire there to do something wrong and hide it,” added Wenger.

“It is a complete surprise because I had Kolo Toure here for years, I brought him here. He is a boy who has a clean life. He’s very honest living, always at home, a family man, and I don’t suspect him at all to have taken drugs to enhance his performances. I just think it is a mistake by forgetting to ask, ‘Can I take that?’.”

In line with Football Association regulations, Toure has been suspended following confirmation that a “specified substance” was found in an A sample, believed to have been given after last month’s derby at Old Trafford.

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March 3, 2011March 4, 2011

Ivory Coast and Manchester City Kolo Toure Fails Drug Test

Manchester City defender Kolo Toure has been suspended after testing positive for a specified substance.

The 29-year-old was informed by the Football Association that an A sample he provided had returned positive.

City confirmed in a statement that Toure had been suspended “pending the outcome of the legal process”.

Ivory Coast international Toure, whose brother Yaya also plays for City, is a former club captain who joined City from Arsenal in July 2009.

The defender has gone on to make more than 50 appearances for City, although he was not involved in Wednesday’s FA Cup victory over Aston Villa.

The failed test automatically triggered the suspension and it is understood that Toure was left out of the squad because the club had been made aware of the situation.

The City statement added: “There will be no further comment from the football club at this stage.”

And on Thursday evening an FA statement said: “The FA can confirm that a player has been provisionally suspended from playing pending investigation, having tested positive for the use of a prohibited substance.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency defines a specified substance as one that is “more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation”.

The Wada punishment for such a positive test ranges from a warning to a two-year ban.

Hamilton Academicals midfielder Simon Mensing recently served a four-week ban after a specified substance was detected in his system.

The 28-year-old tested positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine at the end of January and subsequently missed five matches after a period of ineligibility was imposed on him.

The player maintained he was unaware he had ingested the substance while using a dietary supplement – an explanation which was accepted by UK Anti-Doping.

Toure was the skipper of City until the start of the current campaign, when the armband was passed to Carlos Tevez.

The Ivorian defender was brought to the Premier League by Arsenal in 2002 and he remained with the London club until his £14m transfer to City.

Toure, who is under contract with City until the summer of 2013, was one of several high-profile arrivals in the summer of 2009 as then-manager Mark Hughes spent more than £100m on new players.

City are currently pursuing trophies on three fronts. They will play Reading in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, are set to take on Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League and lie third in the Premier League, 10 points behind leaders Manchester United.

(Story from BBC Sports)

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February 25, 2011February 27, 2011

Cameroon and Arsenal Alex Song Puts a Different Song in My Heart

Arsenal footballer Alex Song’s car was impounded by police after he was caught speeding in Hertfordshire.

The 23-year-old was pulled over for speeding in Radlett last Thursday but drove away from police after allegedly refusing to give his details.

Police pursued him and seized his car. The Cameroon international has been given seven days to produce his driving licence and insurance documents.

He was allegedly doing 50mph in 40mph and 30mph zones.

“The driver was unable to verify relevant documentation requested by police,” a spokeswoman said.

“Following checks the vehicle was seized on suspicion of the driver not being insured to drive the vehicle.

“The driver has until midnight on Thursday to produce the relevant documentation after which police will consider whether any further action should be taken.”

Arsenal had just beaten Barcelona in a Champions League match when Song, who was travelling in a Range Rover with his wife and another woman, was stopped.

The car has been impounded at Watford.[ad#Adsense-200by200sq]

February 23, 2011February 23, 2011

Fifa Offers Sympathy to Somalia

Fifa President Sepp Blatter has offered sympathy to Somalia after one of the country’s best young players was killed by a suicide bomber in Mogadishu.

Under-20 international Abdi Salaan Mohamed Ali was among 10 people killed when a car bomb exploded on Monday.

Two other players, Mahmoud Amin Mohamed and Siid Ali Mohamed Xiis, were among 35 people injured.

Blatter wrote to Somali federation chief Said Mahmoud Nur “with a sad heart, having learned of the tragedy”.

“On behalf of Fifa… I wish to extend our condolences to you, the Somalian football community and, most importantly, all family, friends and loved ones of the victims,” the Fifa chief added.

“Please let them know that today, the football community stands by their side.”

Ali died after being struck by the blast following a training session near the police academy which was targeted by the bomber, while Mohamed and Xiis were wounded as they walked home.

A militant Islamic group claimed responsibility for the attack.

“On behalf of the entire family of Somali football I am sending my heartfelt condolence to the families, relatives and friends of the slain football player Abdi Salaan Mohamed Ali,” said Nur in a statement.

“He was one of our best players and was recently added to the national U-20 squad.”

The statement added that a book of condolence has been opened at the Somali Football Federation’s headquarters in Mogadishu where thousands have already conveyed their sadness.

“We are committed to continuing our duty in the war-torn country until we meet death,” the president said in his statement on Monday.

Blatter and Nur are likely to meet this week, with both scheduled to attend the Confederation of African Football’s general assembly in Sudan on Wednesday.

Somalia are one of Africa’s weakest footballing nations, ranked 176th in the world by Fifa, and without an Africa Cup of Nations appearance to their name.

February 23, 2011February 23, 2011

Asamoah Gyan on Manchester United Wish List

Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan has played his way onto Sir Alex Ferguson’s wish-list after a string of impressive performances on Wearside according to Tuttochampions.it.

The 25 year old Ghana international has scored nine goals and provided four assists in 23 Premier League games as Sunderland has surged up the table. He has become an instant hit with the fans due to his flamboyant style which is a result of his undiluted love of the game.

He was linked with Man United back in 2007 whilst playing for Italian side Udinese but injury hampered his season and he never had a chance to advertise his potential. An eccentric personality and keen rapper under the pseudonym “Baby Jet” he would be a welcome addition to the changing room.

He possesses impressive pace and a wonderful shot – he thrives off one-on-one situations and is lethal when cutting across the face of goal. Bruce would be extremely reluctant to let the club record signing leave in the summer with the Red Devil’s also expressing an interest in Gyan’s teammates Gordon and Henderson.

The loss of Darren Bent in January and the fact that Gyan has only been at the Stadium of Liht six months since signing for £13 million would probably mean no less than £20 million would be enough to test Sunderland’s reserve. TheBlack Cats are not inclined to sell and any deal with Sunderland would probably see Danny Wellbeck – on loan at Sunderland from Man United – make his deal permanent.

Whether Ferguson intends to spend so much on a striker seems doubtful as they have plenty of options up front. Gordon or Henderson would seem the most likely deal but if Gyan’s form remains as it is it may come to pass that United are tempted to make a move given that Owen ‘s days are numbered and Wellbeck would be used as a bartering chip. Real Madrid are also rumoured to be keeping an eye on the BBC African Player of the Year.

(GHP)

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