Category: Football Africa

The inaugural edition of FIFA's new prime club competition is scheduled to take place in the United States from June 15 to July 13, 2025.
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Esperance, Sundowns join Al Ahly & Wydad in Club World Cup

The inaugural edition of FIFA’s new prime club competition is scheduled to take place in the United States from June 15 to July 13, 2025. 

Esperance, a Tunisian team, and Mamelodi Sundowns, a South African club, have secured their spots in the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup (Mundial de Clubes FIFA 25™) for next year. 

They have become the third and fourth teams from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to qualify for the competition – following the just-concluded semi-final matches of the CAF Champions League, which took place on Friday.

Esperance defeated Sundowns 2-0 on aggregate and will now play against Al Ahly in the final. 

The winner will qualify as African champions for the new 32-team FIFA Club World Cup. Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca have already secured their places in the competition.

Even if Esperance fails to win the final, they will still take up one of the two remaining CAF berths. Sundowns will also participate in the competition. 

The new FIFA Club World Cup format aims to feature elite teams from each confederation, with four African sides participating: Wydad (Morocco), Al Ahly (Egypt), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), and ES Tunis (Tunisia).

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Al Ahly beat Mazembe to set a date with Esperance of Tunisia
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Al Ahly beat Mazembe to set a date with Esperance of Tunisia

On Friday in Cairo, Egypt’s Al Ahly secured TotalEnergies CAF Champions League final spot with a 3-0 win over Mazembe.

As a result, they’ll face Esperance of Tunisia, who defeated Sundowns 2-0 on aggregate to set up this year’s final Al Ahly.

In the first leg of the match played in Lubumbashi, no team managed to score a goal. However, the return fixture in Cairo was full of drama.

In Cairo, Joel Beya’s goal for Mazembe was disallowed early in the second half before Abdelmonem’s powerful header off a corner broke the deadlock on 68 minutes.

Led by South African-born Percy Tau, the 11-time champions displayed tenacity, hunger, and quality to carry Egyptian football’s flag into next month’s final. 

Marcel Koller’s side responded to the threat of the visitors and showed the composure and quality that has made them African club football’s pre-eminent force over the past decade.

Mohamed Abdelmonem’s thumping header put them ahead in the 68th minute before late strikes from Wissam Abu Ali and Akram Tawfik completed the win as Al Ahly seeks to maintain its grip on African club football’s biggest prize.

Al Ahly secured a place in the final against Tunisian heavyweights Esperance after Akram Tawfik scored the third goal in the 12th minute of stoppage time. 

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Dreams coach Zito relishes chance against Zamalek for final spot
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Dreams coach Zito relishes chance against Zamalek

Dreams FC coach Abdul Karim Zito has stated that his team will not underestimate Zamalek in the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup semi-final match.

Zito’s team held the former champions to a goalless draw at Cairo International Stadium, despite the home team’s dominance.

The Ghanaian team showed great resilience and managed to prevent Zamalek from winning. As a result, they returned home as the happier side and are now looking forward to the second-leg encounter. 

The match is scheduled to take place at the Baba Yara Stadium on Sunday, April 28, 2024, and Zito, the coach, is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead.

“We’ve put the first leg aside – we know it will be very difficult as it looks very frightening, but it is not impossible,” Karim Zito said, as quoted by Akoma Sports. 

The experienced coach is confident of securing victory, even if the game has to be decided after regulation time.

“We are ready should the game travel to penalties, but we aim to end the game within 90 minutes,” he stated. 

Zamalek arrived in Kumasi on Thursday, April 25 to continue their preparations for the anticipated encounter. 

Dreams hopeful to reach first Continental final after draw in Cairo
by FSL News

Dreams hopeful to reach first Continental final after draw in Cairo

On April 28th, Dreams FC will host Zamalek in Kumasi for the second-leg semi-final of the CAF Confederation Cup, hoping to clinch their first-ever spot in the tournament’s semi-finals after a spirited performance against the Egyptian giants in Cairo.

The Dreams football team, who are participating in the competition for the first time, will try to defeat the Egyptian team in the next match, which will be held at the Baba Yara Stadium.

Karim Zito’s team has not lost any matches at home since the beginning of the competition.

Zamalek dominated the game in Cairo but failed to score due to Dreams’ strong defence. The White Knights had several chances to score, but their attacks lacked precision in the final third.

At the beginning of the match, Zamalek put pressure on Dreams with Shikabala, Mostafa Shalaby and Ahmed Hamdi all coming close to scoring before the midway point of the first half.

Despite their continued efforts, Dreams goalkeeper Solomon Agbasi was able to keep out shots from Shikabala and Travis Mutyaba.

Zamalek struggled to create clear-cut opportunities as they failed to convert their chances into goals, resulting in a goalless draw against the visitors.

USM Alger set for RS Berkane CAF Confed first-leg cracker
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

USM Alger set for RS Berkane CAF Confed first-leg cracker

On Sunday, April 21, 2024, USM Alger and RS Berkane will compete against each other in the semi-final of the CAF Confederation Cup. The first-leg match will be held at the Stade du 5 Juillet in Algiers, which is the capital and largest city of Algeria.

Referee Abdel Aziz Mohamed Bouh from Mauritania will officiate the first leg match between Alger and Berkane.

Alger made it to this tournament stage by defeating Rivers United, the Nigerian club, 2-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals. Having won the Confederation Cup last season, the Algerian team will be looking to defend their title successfully by winning it again this season.

On their part, Berkane qualified for the semi-finals by defeating Abu Salim of Libya 3-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals. 

Having won the trophy in 2020 and 2022, the Moroccan side hopes to win it again this season and claim a joint record of three titles.

Alger needs goals from Abdoulaye Kanou. Berkane’s captain, Issoufou Dayo, could be key.

The first leg semi-finals of the 2023/24 CAF Champions League campaign will take place on Saturday, April 20th.
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Fascinating first-leg CAF Champions League Semis this weekend

The first leg semi-finals of the 2023/24 CAF Champions League campaign will take place on Saturday, April 20th.

The remaining four African football clubs, Al Ahly (Egypt), TP Mazembe (DR Congo), Espérance Sportive Tunis (Tunisia) and Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) are all vying for the highly-coveted African club football title.

The first leg semi-finals are scheduled for 20th April, while the return leg will be played on 25th and 26th April 2024.

TP Mazembe, a former FIFA Club World Cup finalist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, hasn’t made it to the finals of the CAF Champions League in the last decade. 

This weekend, they will face a challenging match against the current champions, Al Ahly from Egypt, in Lubumbashi.

Four clubs have won 21 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League titles. Al Ahly leads with 11 titles, followed by Mazembe with 5, ES Tunis with 4, and Mamelodi Sundowns with 1. 

ES Tunis seeks their 5th title in Tunis after winning in 2019. They’ll play Mamelodi Sundowns, who won in 2016 and recently triumphed in the African Football League. 

All four clubs have proven their championship mettle and have an equal chance of winning this season.

 

All four football clubs will be competing for a spot in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Final.

The first leg of the final is scheduled for Saturday, May 18th, 2024, with the second leg taking place on Saturday, May 25th, 2024.

Defender Antonio Rudiger to help create jobs in Sierra Leone
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Defender Antonio Rudiger to help create jobs in Sierra Leone

During an interview with Real Madrid, Antonio Rudiger, a Sierra Leonean-German defender, shared his aspirations. 

He dreams of creating several job opportunities in Sierra Leone, which is his mother’s homeland. He plans to achieve this goal in the next ten years.

The Antonio Rudiger Foundation – which supports underprivileged individuals – has been engaged in philanthropic work in the West African nation. 

Rudiger’s foundation aims to improve education, infrastructure, inclusivity in sports, and literacy in a country with a population of 8 million.

The ex-Chelsea player donated over USD 100,000 to fund free quality education and used his World Cup earnings to sponsor life-changing surgeries for physically challenged children in 2022.

Rudiger's foundation aims to improve education, infrastructure, inclusivity in sports, and literacy in a country with a population of 8 million.
Rudiger's foundation aims to improve education, infrastructure, inclusivity in sports, and literacy in a country with a population of 8 million.
Six arrested over Kaizer Chiefs' Luke Fleurs killing
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Six arrested over Kaizer Chiefs’ Luke Fleurs killing

Six suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of South African soccer player Luke Fleurs, who was shot and killed during a carjacking at a petrol station in Johannesburg last week.

Fleurs, who was 24 years old and had previously played for SuperSport United, passed away on April 3rd, 2024. He had also represented South Africa at the Tokyo Olympics.

The police have stated that the suspects were apprehended in Soweto on Wednesday morning, and they believe that they are part of a syndicate responsible for car hijackings in Gauteng province.

The authorities are still actively searching for additional suspects. The officers recovered the footballer’s car, which had been stripped, on Monday. 

Mr Fleurs, a football player for Kaizer Chiefs in South Africa, was fatally shot in an attack while waiting at a petrol station. The suspects have been arrested and will appear in court soon.

The South African football community is mourning the loss of Luke Fleurs, a promising talent who was fatally shot during a car hijacking in Johannesburg, leaving the nation in shock and grief.

Nigeria pick Paris Olympics ticket after eliminating South Africa
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Nigeria pick up Paris ticket after eliminating South Africa

Nigeria’s Women’s Football Team has qualified for their fifth Olympics, securing their place at the Paris 2024 event after drawing 0-0 in Pretoria, South Africa on Tuesday, 9th April. 

The Super Falcons required only a draw to qualify for the Olympics, having won the first leg in Abuja by 1-0. Nigeria’s strong defense prevented South Africa’s current African champions from scoring, despite Thembi Kgatlana coming close to scoring in the 48th minute.

Amogelang Motau missed a chance to equalize in the 85th minute, but Nigeria’s defence held on to secure the win. 

After the match, South Africa’s Lebohang Ramalepe was awarded her 100-cap milestone jersey by the South African Football Association, having been part of the winning squad in the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the team that reached the Round of 16 in the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup™.

The Super Falcons have been grouped with world champions Spain, former world champions Japan and Brazil in Group C at the Olympics. Their first match is against Brazil, scheduled for July 25th in Bordeaux.

Zambia, the other African nation in the tournament, will play in Group B alongside former champions the United States and Germany and World Cup semi-finalists Australia. They are set to play their first match against the USWNT in Nice, also on July 25th.

Future Eagles of Nigeria denied visas to play in Spain
by Alie Bittar @bittar32

Future Eagles of Nigeria denied visas to play in Spain

Players and officials of the Nigeria U-15 team also known as the Future Eagles, have been denied visas by the Spanish Embassy to take part in the UEFA U-16 Development Tournament starting on Friday.

The Nigerian Football Federation confirmed the news via Twitter that members of Nigeria’s junior football team have been denied visas to attend a UEFA U16 Development Tournament in Spain.
The reason for the visa denials for the under-15 football team is currently unknown, and the Spanish authorities have not yet commented on the matter. Both players and officials were affected.

The Future Eagles were set to play against Belgium, Italy, and England in the Uefa Under-16 Youth Development Tournament. Nigerian athletes often face visa denials even when they fulfil all the requirements. 

This is not the first time Nigerian footballers faced visa issues; previously, Nigeria’s national football team withdrew from a friendly match against Argentina in the US.