Sports
Super Falcons Qualify For AWCON In Style
Nigeria has qualified for the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations after defeating Ivory Coast 1-0 in the second leg of the final qualifying fixture on Wednesday.
Randy Waldrum’s ladies advanced with a 3-0 aggregate result after a 2-0 win at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium last week, thanks to Ifeoma Onumonu’s brace.
It was a cagey outing at the Stade Robert Champroux but the Super Falcons waited until the 87th minute to break the deadlock and goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie stood out for the visitors with her brilliant saves to keep another clean sheet.
Just before half-time in Abidjan, the 21-year-old saved a penalty to keep both teams level and she was called to action later in the second 45 minutes.
The Lady Elephants, on the other hand, were solid in the defence but lacked the finishing touch to beat Nnadozie.
The Super Falcons kept pushing for a goal and they finally got the breakthrough with three minutes left on the clock via Esther Okoronkwo’s strike.
Nigeria now has the chance to extend their dominance as the most successful country in the women’s showpiece when they join 11 other countries in Morocco later in July.
Earlier on their road to Morocco, the Super Falcons defeated Ghana 2-1 on aggregate before they faced the Ivorians who thrashed Niger Republic 20-0 on aggregate.
Also, Shepolopolo Zambia on Tuesday secured their qualification for the 2022 Women’s AFCON on away goals rule after drawing 1-1 away to Namibia at Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg.
Zambia sailed through by the same aggregate scoreline after drawing 0-0 in the first leg played at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka on February 16.
Just like in the first leg, Zambia showed very little initiative in attack and it was Namibia took the lead in the 10th minute through Emma Narris.
From then on, it was an evenly balanced contest but Zambia continued to exhibit very little creativity going forward well into hour-mark.
The best Shepolopolo could produce was through the wing play of Martha Tembo but her long balls into the box did not match the quality with which they were delivered.
Relief for Zambia came in the 70th minute when Under-20 striker Xiomara Mapepa fired in the ball from close-range.
Shepolopolo then had goalkeeper Hazel Nali to thank in the 75th minute when she denied Memory Ngonda from close-range as Zambia toiled until the final whistle to book their ticket to Morocco.
Meanwhile, Shepolopolo also made history on Tuesday when they secured back-to-back Women’s AFCON qualification for the first time-ever.
Furthermore, this is coach Bruce Mwape’s third straight tournament qualification success after the 2018 Women’s AFCON and the 2020 Olympics.
Other countries that have qualified for the tournament so far include host nation Morocco, Uganda, Burundi, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Burkina Faso and Cameroon.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the postponement of the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN), originally scheduled for February 1, in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, to August 2025.
The decision followed recommendations from CAF’s technical and infrastructure experts, who reported that more time is needed to bring the facilities in the host nations up to the required standards for a successful tournament.
CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe, in a statement on yesterday, January 14, 2025, expressed appreciation to the presidents of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda for their support.
He emphasised that the postponement is intended to ensure adequate planning and infrastructure readiness for the competition.
“I would like to express my deep gratitude to President William Ruto of Kenya, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda for their leadership, commitment and the good progress that has been made in building and upgrading the stadiums, training fields, hotels, hospitals and other infrastructure and facilities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for hosting a successful TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024.
“I am impressed with the ongoing construction and renovations of the football infrastructure and facilities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. I am confident that the stadiums, training fields, hotels, hospitals and other infrastructure and facilities will be at the requisite CAF standards for hosting, in August 2025, a very successful TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (“CHAN”) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda 2024″, he said.
However, the exact date for the completion was not disclosed but the CHAN 2024 Draw is scheduled for Wednesday 15 January, 2025 at the iconic Kenyatta International Conventional Centre, Nairobi.
New Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle has expressed his desire to lead Nigeria to the ‘pinnacle of world football’ starting with the ticket to the 2026 World Cup as he takes the reign of the three-time African champions.
Chelle was unveiled on Monday at a brief ceremony at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja by the Nigeria Football Federation, one week after his announcement as the 37th coach of the Super Eagles.
He was handed a two-year deal with an option to extend if he gets the 2026 FIFA World Cup ticket.
Since his appointment last week, the NFF has constantly hammered the coach’s task of leading Nigeria to the tournament which will be played in the USA, Canada and Mexico despite the precarious situation of the Eagles in the qualifying series.
After four rounds of matches in the series, Nigeria are fifth in Group C with just three points having only drawn three and lost one.
To avert the danger of missing out on a consecutive FIFA World Cup, the Eagles must win all their six remaining matches in the group or even hope for favourable results in other ties – a task Chelle fronted at his unveiling.
Asked if he would take responsibility at the end of the qualifying campaign, the ex-Mali coach said, “If you want to be a great coach, you need to take some risks, you need to make some sacrifices.
“I want to be in the history. The first thing, I need to talk to the players. I will be a big brother. It is my prayer that we are going to the World Cup.
“I want to thank my agent, the NFF, the NSC and indeed all Nigerians for this big opportunity. Coaching the Super Eagles of Nigeria is an amazing job; I do not take this appointment for granted. I am elated and will do my utmost best.”
For most of the reactions that have trailed his appointment, the rallying point was his enterprising and attacking style with the Mali national team at the AFCON, which he emphasised he would be bringing to Nigeria.
“Football is about scoring goals, so I favour an attacking style. I know the expectations of Nigerians and I will settle down and work diligently with assistants towards the goal of qualifying the Super Eagles for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
The 47-year-old also relished his long-time dream of getting the Super Eagles job, having been a fan of the Nigerian national team in his boyhood.
“Nigeria’s team is more than a team. When I was young, this was my favourite team. I owned a shirt; I watched all the games at the World Cup in France. I was in Marseille and it was my team.
“From this very moment, I am already hard at work. My goal is clear: to restore the Super Eagles to the pinnacle of world football, where they truly belong. This will require hard work, discipline, and a strategy that is both ambitious and realistic. I will rely on the exceptional talent of our players, whether they play at home or abroad, and build a team that reflects the unity, strength, and excellence of Nigeria,” the coach added in a social media post.
Chelle, who took Mali’s Aiglons within breathing distance of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals, left his job at top Algerian side MC Oran – 1989 African Champions’ Cup finalists – to team up with the Super Eagles.
Gokana Local Government Council, Chairman Hon. Monday Dumiye has said that 2024 Gokana Chairmanship Cup symbolises unity, peace and love for Gokana people.
Hon. Dumiye said this during the grand finale of the 2024 Gokana Chairmanship cup titled “Unity Cup” as the fourth edition of the Chairmanship Cup ended last Saturday at Kpor, the council headquarters.
He expressed gratitude to the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara for his tremendous support, most especially the peace Rivers people are enjoying including Gokana LGA.
He also applauded members of the local organising committee of the tournament and all those that contributed towards the success of the championship.
He hinted the huge crowd witnessed during the tournament shows peace has come to stay in Gokana,saying that it has been his intention to ensure that there is peace ,unity and togetherness among the people.
” Without peace we all know that there will be no meaningful development. I want to say that it is the first of its kind in the annals of the people to use the instrumentality of sports to develop talented Gokana youths.
“The mamoth crowd you are seeing here today shows our people have embraced peace. This is exactly what we intend to achieve uniting our people through sports.
On his part, former Super Eagles player and current coach of Rivers United, Finidi George, commended the Gokana Chairman for organising such a wonderful tournament for the youth.
He advised the chairman to form a formidable team from the tournament, admitting the unprecedented crowd that witnessed the championship shows that the chairman is on the right direction.
The Leader of the Simplified in Gokana, Hon. Friday Beema thanked the Chairman for his zeal to develop Gokana.
He also commended the Rivers Governor forgiving them well focused Chairman who reason like him.
The leader called on the people of the area to support Governor Fubara for the development of Gokana.