Sports

CAF returns to Morocco for 2023 awards in December

Published

9 months ago

July 25, 2023

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will return to Morocco in December for the 2023 CAF Awards ceremony in what the body say will be a celebration of the shining stars of African football following the success of the event held last year in Rabat.

The 2023 CAF Awards, according to the continent’s football organising body, will take place on December 11 and promises to be an even more exciting event compared to last year’s edition.

“After last year’s successful event hosted in the Moroccan capital of Rabat which saw Senegal inspirational forward Sadio Mane and Nigeria and Barcelona top striker Asisat Oshoala claim honours, the CAF Awards will feature some of Africa’s finest stars,” CAF said in a press release on Tuesday.

According to the press release, the prestigious award show will “pay tribute to standout performers for both club and country over the past year, with the highlight of the event being the crowning of the CAF African Player of the Year in both the men’s and women’s categories.

“The men’s category boasts a distinguished list of previous winners including Ivorian Yaya Toure, who won the award four times, Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o, and the legend Didier Drogba.

“Other notable winners include Egypt’s Mohammed Salah, Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu, Ghana’s Abedi Pele, as well as the iconic George Weah, who is Liberia’s current president.

“In the women’s category, Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria has dominated the award, claiming it five times in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2022.

“However, she will face fierce competition from previous winners who are still actively contributing to the sport like South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana.

“The category also includes Nigerian star, Perpetua Nkwocha, whose achievements have left a lasting mark on women’s football on the continent.”

The statement added that the award would also feature other special recognitions including the Interclub Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, National Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, Club of the Year, and Goal of the Year.

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Sports

Al Ahly, Esperance to clash in CAF Champions League final

Published

11 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Two of Africa’s club giants, Egypt’s Al Ahly and Esperance of Tunisia, will do battle next month over two legs for the right to be crowned champions of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.

Title-holders Al Ahly and their long-standing rivals Esperance both booked their places in the final with dramatic semi-final victories over DR Congo”s TP Mazembe and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa respectively on Friday night.

While Al Ahly, winners of five of the last seven editions of the continent’s top draw tournament, with a record 11 in total, overcame TP Mazembe with a 3-0 aggregate victory in the semi-final second leg after a goalless first leg last Saturday, Esperance surprised Sundowns with a 1-0 victory in Pretoria to wrap up a 2-0 aggregate win.

The two-legged final will mark the third encounter between Ahly and Esperance in the Champions League final, with the Egyptians winning in 2012 and the Tunisians triumphing in 2018.

In 2023, the two clubs clashed in the semi-finals with Ahly emerging victorious home and away, securing a 4-0 aggregate triumph.

Esperance who are aiming for a fifth Champions League title, will host the first leg in Rades on May 18, with the return fixture scheduled in Cairo seven days later.

Sports

Former Zambian captain Rainford Kalaba discharged from hospital after near-fatal accident

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Former Zambian national team captain, Rainford Kalaba, has been discharged from hospital weeks after he was involved in a near-fatal accident where he sustained serious injuries.

The accident which involved a head-on collision between a Mercedes-Benz car in which Kalaba was in, and a truck, had initially sparked fears for his life and has since been in the Intensive Care Unit of the Zambian University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

The good news on the footballer’s progress was released by the UTH Public Relations Officer, Nzeba Chanda, who informed that the Chipolopolo legend has been discharged after showing positive signs of recovery.

“Mr. Rainford Kalaba has been discharged from the UTH-Adult where he was admitted after being involved in a road traffic accident two weeks ago,” Chanda said, adding that Kalaba will continue his recovery at his family home.

According to local media reports, the 37-year-old was a passenger in a Mercedes Benz when it collided with an oncoming truck in the south-eastern Zambian town of Kafue a week and five days ago.

In his active playing days, Kalaba spent the majority of his club career at TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo, winning the CAF Champions League with the club in 2015 and the CAF Confederation Cup in 2016.

He also had a spell with clubsides in Portugal including FC Braga, and was a major part of the Zambian squad that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 under Frenchman, Herve Renard.