Archived News - 19th Dec 2006
African Cup of Nations News
Features
Archived News
- Latest News
- 4th Feb 2008
- 30th Jan 2008
- 26th Jan 2008
- 25th Jan 2008
- 23rd Jan 2008
- 19th Jan 2008
- 8th Jan 2008
- 29th Nov 2007
- 23rd Nov 2007
- 22nd Nov 2007
- 22nd Aug 2007
- 15th Apr 2007
- 26th Mar 2007
- 19th Mar 2007
- 12th Mar 2007
- 5th Mar 2007
- 6th Feb 2007
- 29th Jan 2007
- 15th Jan 2007
- 8th Jan 2007
- 2nd Jan 2007
- 19th Dec 2006
- 12th Dec 2006
- 7th Dec 2006
- 27th Nov 2006
- 20th Nov 2006
- 19th Nov 2006
- 7th Nov 2006
- 10th Oct 2006
Nigeria and Ghana set up London clash in Feb
Ghana is to play Nigeria in England in an international friendly on February 7, at a yet-to-be-decided venue in London. The news will delight British-based followers of the Black Stars and the Super Eagles, particularly after a scheduled meeting between the two West African heavyweights was cancelled at the very last minute last summer.
Ghana, the only team from Africa to reach the Round of Sixteen at Fifa World Cup 2006, will be after more bragging rights when they take on Nigeria, who are currently the highest Fifa-ranked team on the continent.
The match will likely be billed as a battle to decide who are truly Africa’s finest team of the moment, although the likes of Egypt and Cote d'Ivoire would no doubt have something to say about that.
Claude LeRoy's Ghana have also lined up a second international friendly against Austria in Graz on March 24 as they continue their preparations for the 2008 African Nations Cup, which they will stage themselves.
Zimbabwe engulfed in match-fixing scandal
Zimbabwe club giants Harare Dynamos face match-fixing allegations after a suspiciously tepid performance allowed relegation-threatened Shooting Stars to surge into a 3-0 lead in a game the capital side were expected to win comfortably.
The game was abandoned early after Dynamo supporters violently turned on their own team, clearly believing some of the home side's players had been bribed in order to throw the game.
Shooting Stars had needed to win the game to avoid being relegated to the Southern African nation's second division.
The violence revived memories of a tragic incident in 2000 in which 13 fans died in a stampede at Harare's National Sports Stadium and police were again forced to intervene.
An internal investigation has been launched to discover which players, if any, accepted money to fix the match, said Dynamos' coach David Mandigora.
Ahly can inspire Africa- Blatter
The impressive performances of Egyptian super power Ahly at the Fifa Club World Champiosnhips will now be the benchmark for other African representatives to follow, Fifa President Sepp Blatter has said.
"Ahly improved because of playing at such high level and they will improve even more over the next years," said Blatter prior to the Cairo club's third place pay-off victory over Mexicans Club America. "I believe they can reach the final one day. Despite finishing in sixth place last year, Ahly played like a world-class side who matched their opponents."
The North African club became the first African team to clinch the Bronze medal in the global event after maestro Mohamed Aboutrika netted twice to see his side earn a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Concacaf representatives.
"Several African teams will follow into Ahly's footsteps and we will make sure the tournament will be staged regularly to help improve football in less-powerful continents," Blatter added.
Indomitable Lions lead a military march
Cameroon's Indomitable Lions have won the sixth African Military Football Cup- the Army Nations Cup- after beating Mali 1-0 in the final played on Sunday in Yaounde.
Guinea placed third in the competition by beating Algeria on penalty kicks after full-time ended in a goalless draw. Cameroon, Mali and Guinea will now represent Africa in the World Military Cup, scheduled next year for India.
Please forward all press releases and feature ideas to Barney Cullum on barney@newafricansoccer.co.uk