IFFHS NEWS OF THE WEEK 5
Picture : Morocco wins again the CHAN ! A great winner !
CHAN DAY BY DAY
7 February 2021
Morocco, Champions of CAF Total African Nations Championship, Cameroon 2020 .
The Atlas Lions of Morocco have successfully defended the trophy they won at home two years ago by defeating the Atlas Lions tonight 2-0 in the final game of the CAF Total African Nations Championship, Cameroon 2020. The match, played at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde was attended by some 6,700 fans, amongst them, temporary reinstated CAF President, Ahmad Ahmad and Cameroon Prime Minister, Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute.
The Eagles of Mali fought off predictions for a lopsided final and kept the game quite competitive during the first half which closed on a 0-0 situation. Morocco raised the curtains when Soufiane Bouftini nodded home at the 69th minute following a corner kick taken by Omar Namsaoui. The second goal came in at the 79th minute when from a corner kick, Mohammed Ali Benammer headed toward captain Ayoub El Kaabi whose header flew straight into the net. The Malians stepped up the pressure but failed to score and only taking red card through Issaka Samake at the 88th minute. Their goalkeeper, Anas Zniti was named the Man-of-the match.
During the medal presentation, the Total Player of the Tournament trophy was given to Morocco forward, Soufiane Rahimi. The Total Goalkeeper of the Tournament was Morocco keeper, Anas Zniti. The Top goal scorer was Soufiane Rahimi with 5 goals to his credit. The CAF flag was handed over to the hosts of the 7th CAF Total African Nations Championship, Algeria.
6 February 2021
Guinea hit Cameroon 2-0 to win third spot .
The Syli Nationale of Guinea hit The Intermediate Lions of Cameroon tonight 2-0 to emerge third best team in the 6thCAF Total African Nations Championship at the Reunification Stadium, Bepanda, Douala. It was the best participation for Guinea in the history of the tournament after having had their best showing in Rwanda in 2016 when they lost at the same stage of the tournament to emerge 4th.
The man who was behind the lost Guinean shot in the semifinal with Mali, Morlaye Sylla raised the curtains at the 9thminute when he wriggled past three defenders before unleashing a right foot shot that ricocheted on the leg of Cameroon defender, Etame Ngombe before beating keeper Haschou Kerido. It took the stoppage time of the first half for Mamadou Bangoura to latch on to a through ball to chip it past Haschou Kerido for 2-0 for Guinea. A multiplicity of attempts by Cameroon to bounce back were halted by a competent Guinean defense and keeper. At full time, Guinea prevailed to the chagrin of the host country and their fans but who staged their best performance in the history of the tournament so far with their best before the game being the quarterfinals. It was all vindication for Morlaye Sylla of Guinea who was named Man-of-the Match for the fourth time ever in the tournament.
As the Guineans received the bronze medals at the end of the match, the appointment was taken for the final game pitting Mali against Morocco at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium tomorrow at 8pm local time
OSAKA’S INVESTMENT IN NCC
Three-time Tennis Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka has invested in the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League. Osaka is the first investor in the Courage since Steve Malik acquired the Western New York Flash and moved the team to North Carolina in 2017. The Courage have won two NWSL titles since the move. Osaka is not the only prominent tennis player to own a stake in an NWSL team. Serena Williams is among a group of prominent investors in Angel City FC, a Los Angeles expansion club set to start play in 2022. Other athletes have also invested in soccer teams, including LeBron James (Liverpool) and Kevin Durant (Philadelphia Union). Osaka, who was named the AP Female Athlete of the year in 2020, is preparing for the Australian Open, set to start this week. The 23-year-old won the event in 2019, and has also won two U.S. Open titles. She ended last year ranked No. 3 in the world.
ALVES MADE HISTORY
Edina Alves made history yesterday when she refereed the match for the 5th place between AFC Champions League winner, Ulsan and Qatar’s Al Duhail SC at the FIFA Club World Cup. Alves, a 40-year-old Brazilian who has spent half of her life as an official, became the first woman to officiate a professional men’s soccer match organized by FIFA !
Alves comes from the small rural town of Goioere, in the southern state of Parana. She put herself through night school for a degree in physical education by working at a garden shop.
As a young woman, she played futsal. But in a world where men and machismo still dominate the game, she struggled to find enough teammates to put together a full women’s soccer team, and never got the chance to play professionally. She got her start refereeing in 1999, when she was asked to fill in as an assistant referee at an amateur match.It was love at first whistle.
By 2000, she was officiating professionally. Sometimes she served as a lineswoman, sometimes as the chief referee — a job she took on full-time in 2014. In 2019, she became the first woman in 14 years to officiate a Brazilian men’s first division match. She has since added 12 more Brasilerao matches to her career. That same year, she refereed four matches at the Women’s World Cup in France, including the semifinal between the United States and England.
Women have refereed high-level soccer before, but never a professional men’s match organized by the sport’s top governing body.
- Esther Staubli of Switzerland and Claudia Umpierrez of Uruguay have both officiated at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
- In 2017, Bibiana Steinhaus of Germany became the first woman to officiate for a major men’s league in Europe when she debuted in the Bundesliga.
- Last month, Stephanie Frappart of France became the first woman to referee a men’s UEFA Champions League match.
Now Alves has broken that barrier for FIFA at the Club World Cup !
ONANA : ONE YEAR BAN by UEFA
The Disciplinary organ of the Union of European Football Associations, UEFA has slammed a 1-year ban on Cameroon international goalkeeper of Ajax Amsterdam, André Onana after he failed a random doping test last October 30. The banned substance, Furosemide was found in his urine after he had reportedly unknowingly self-administered Lasimac, a drug his wife had earlier been prescribed. The professional goalkeeper is said to have taken the drug as first-aid to quell a health discomfort.
Although the Disciplinary body further clears Onana of any intentional wrong-doing, it still maintains its ban which prohibits the goalkeeper from taking part in any national or international competition for a year. If the decision is not overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, TAS whom his club, Ajax intends to take an appeal to, the goalkeeper will miss all engagements over the next year, including participation in the 2021 African Cup of Nations to be hosted by Cameroon early next year.
PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE
An extra-ordinary General Assembly Meeting of the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT has met through video-conferencing and chosen a provisional committee to replace its Executive Bureau rendered illegitimate by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, TAS in its ruling of 15 January 2021 invalidating the 12 December, 2018 election of the said Executive Bureau. At the end of the vote in which 51 members out of 71 took part, 41 were cast in favour, 8 nays and 2 null votes.
The 7-man Provisional Committee voted into office on 2 February, 2021 for a period of three months, and charged with managing the daily affairs of the federation, amendment of the texts and electoral code for FECAFOOT and organizing elections therein comprise: Senator Albert Mbida(president), Prince Ndoki Mukete(vice president); and members include Dr. François Dikoume, Dr. Oumarou Tado, Mr. Pierre Boudjiko Youkeka, Mr. Lucien Mettomo and Mr. Walters Sah.