African August attractions

It looks like the Glo Top 4 - a competitive post season tournament that pits the top four teams against each other - would not be the hottest thing in Africa's post season.

Apart from the MTN 8 Wafa Wafa that's also getting southern Africa on hooks (starts 4 August), there'll be the CECAFA Youth Championship as well. This is the 'younger brother' of the more famous CECAFA Cup - this year's ended with a surprise.

So, the CECAFA Youth Championship. It's the second edition of the tournament which is a spin-off of its more prestigious elder brother. And although originally scheduled for Kenya, the east Africans simply dont have the cash to take it through.

Meaning that Sudan will do the hosting of the 8 countries - Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zanzibar and Nigeria (invited)

All teams had better brace themselves for world class opposition to take place in Khartoum and Juba (and maybe Kessala).

Two-time world champions Nigeria were invited as the special guests to add a competitive edge to the event.

CECAFA Secretary, Nicholas Musonye:

“Nigeria had been invited in line with our policy to raise the standards of the game in the region.

“Nigeria has one of the best under-17 talents in the world. At this level, their football put the likes of Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha and Sunday Oliseh on the world map.

When Nigeria play in our tournament next month, they will be serving warning to youth in our region that football at this level is no kids’ stuff.”

Currently, there is a Kenya under-17 team in place, having been selected for the nationwide Copa Coca Cola tournament a few months ago. Later, the all-star team played in a tournament in South Africa and only recently participated in another international tournament in Bahrain.

The same team is expected at the CECAFA tournament to kick off in Sudan on August 12.

All 11 CECAFA member countries are expected in Sudan and a tune-up to the organization of the event is going on during the ongoing regional club tournament in this country.

It will be the first time ever that a major international sports event will take place in the semi-autonomous Sudanese region ravaged by war for decades.

The Unity Government of Sudan is giving CECAFA Sh30 million towards hosting of the tournament and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is also assisting.

Now that's an encouraging piece of news from Sudan!

Kenya camping

Ghana arrived in Kenya on Sunday to prepare for the impending Sudan game on Saturday. That would be another round of the World/Nations' Cup qualifiers.

There were seventeen players were at the last training session in Accra last Saturday, from the 22 that went to Mali where they secured a 2-0 victory.

The team is made up of Richard Kingson, George Owu, John Mensah, John Paintsil, Eric Addo, Isaac Vorsah, Micheal Essien, Mousa Narry, Samuel Kyere, Samuel Inkoom and Bernard Kumordji.

Ernest Papa Arko, Prince Tagoe, Kojo Asamoah, Mathew Amoah, Opoku Agyeman and Junior Manuel Agogo are the others.

The Black Stars training would involve a game with a Division 2 Kenyan team later today.

They'll be expected to leave the East African country before departing to Omdurman on Thursday to get ready.

Milovan Rajevac: "We are going to work seriously on our strength and concentration in the next few days and I believe this will get us well prepared for the task ahead.

"The Sudanese side is a good team, with a lot of talented players. They could be dangerous on any day and are very potent in the dying minutes of every game, so we must guard against these things."

He said there would be slight technical and tactical changes to the team to enable them to achieve their target in Sudan. A victory for The Black Stars in Omdruman will put them on the brink of a second successive World Cup appearance.

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Beating Mali, the story and other games

This is the final summary of all the weekend's qualifiers.

Group A
Gabon made it two wins out of two as they easily beat 10-man Togo 3-0 in Libreville.

Togo were a goal down after just 11 minutes with Bruno Ecuele scoring and the Hawks were a man down after 40 minutes following the dismissal of Thomas Dossevi.

Roguy Meye and Moise Brou Apanga scored in the second half to complete a comfortable win for Gabon.

In the group's other game, Cameroon could only draw 0-0 against Morocco in Yaounde on Sunday.

The Indomitable Lions have failed to score so far in the second phase of qualifying.

Cameroon wasted several good scoring chances against the Atlas Lions.

Gabon take control of Group A, they top the group with six points.

Togo are on three, thanks to their win over Cameroon last time out.

Morocco are also struggling in Group A.

They are in third with one point, ahead of the Indomitable Lions who are bottom also with one point.

The next matches take place in two weeks time when Morocco host Togo and Cameroon travel to Gabon.

Group B
Tunisia beat Mozambique 2-0 in Rades in their Group B encounter.

Lens defender Alaeddine Yahia scored from the penalty spot after 21 minutes.

Oussama Darragi, from Tunisian champions Esperance, was then on target for the Carthage Eagles with their second goal in injury time at the end of the match.

Victor Obinna Nsofor scored a brace as Nigeria beat Kenya 3-0 in Abuja.

Ikechukwu Uche took advantage of a defensive slip to open the scoring for the Supereagles in only the second minute of the game.

Kenya had several chances to get into the game, but failed to convert any of them.

Obinna Nsofor scored twice in the second half to ensure the Supereagles wrapped up a comfortable home victory.

Tunisia remain top of the group with six points, Nigeria are second with four.

Mozambique stay in third with a point, Kenya are last and are yet to earn any points.

Tunisia go head-to-head with Nigeria in two weeks time, while Mozambique travel to Kenya.

Group C
Zambia edged past visitors Rwanda with a 1-0 win in Group C.

Rainford Kalaba headed home the only goal of the game in the 79th minute.

The margin of victory should have been larger for the Chipolopolo but Collins Mbesuma shot wide from the penalty spot late in the first half after Emmanuel Mbola was fouled.

The victory takes Zambia to four points, after they drew 1-1 with Egypt in the opening game of the final round of qualifiers.

Rwanda remain on just a single point from their two games.

Algeria shocked their North African rivals Egypt with a 3-1 triumph in Blida on Sunday.

Karim Matmour opened the scoring for the hosts in the 60th minute.

Goals from Abdelkader Ghezzal and Rafik Djebbour soon followed as the Desert Foxes opened a 3-0 lead over the six-times African champions.

Mohammed Aboutraika clawed one back from the visitors with three minutes to go, but it was nowhere near enough.

Algeria go top of the table with four points ahead of Zambia.

Egypt lie bottom, below Rwanda, with a solitary point.

The Pharoahs will hope to restore a semblance of hope to their 2010 World Cup campaign when they host Rwanda in a fortnight.

Algeria meanwhile travel to Zambia.

Group D
Benin were narrow 1-0 victors over Sudan in Cotonou.

Razak Omotoyossi's strike after 19 minutes proved to be the difference between the sides.

In the group's other tie, Ghana secured a 2-0 away victory over Mali.

Kwadwo Asamoah and Matthew Amoah were scorers of the two second half goals.

The Black Stars go back on top of Group D with six points, while Benin lie in second place with three points.

Sudan and Mali have one point each.

Next up for group leaders Ghana is a trip to Sudan, while Mali host Benin.

Group E
Burkina Faso kept up their 100% start to the final round of qualifiers with a 1-0 win over hosts Malawi.

Moumouni Dagano, who plays in Qatar, grabbed the only goal of the game in the 70th minute with a well-taken close-range volley past stranded goalkeeper, Swadik Sanudi.

It was Dagano's 10th goal in the World Cup campaign so far making him the top scorer on the continent for the 2010 qualifiers.

Malawi failed to create any clear chances while the Stallions played a better, more organised game and in the end were worthy winners.

Malawi coach Kinnah Phiri blamed the loss on lack of thorough preparation.

"I always say we need strength-testing matches by real teams but we only played against Rwanda last week," he said.

"If we have to advance we need to prepare thoroughly."

The result gives the Stallions a maximum six points while Malawi are still to get their first point or even score their first goal.

Ivory Coast also made it two wins out of two when they beat Guinea 2-1 in Conakry.

Bakary Kone opened the scoring for the Elephants on the stroke of half time.

Sambegou Bangoura struck an equaliser for the home side halfway through the second half.

But Romaric scored what proved to be the winner seven minutes later and Ivory Coast top Group E with six points on goal difference.

Burkina Faso lie in second and the group's top two teams will face each other in Ouagadougou in a fortnight.

Guinea and Malawi prop up the group.

Both are yet to win a point.

That could change when Malawi travels to Conakry for the next round of matches.

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Erasmus Kwao asks: Can Ghana get to South Africa?

My colleague Erasmus Kwao over at Citi FM in Accra hosts and produces various sports shows on the station. He also occasionally does punditry for Metro TV in Accra. Here are his views on Ghana's chances of getting to Rainbow Land in 2010, written after the Ghana - Benin game two months ago.

Various interpretations have been given to the Black Stars’ performance in their 1-0 win over Benin in the World Cup qualifier at the Baba Yara Stadium on March, 29 2009. The Stars were put on the back foot for long periods in the match but were fortunate to run away with the victory courtesy the first minute strike by Prince Tagoe.

In the aftermath of the match, some have openly questioned the commitment of the players to the national cause and head coach Milovan Rajevac has not been spared either. The Stars showed promise when they were training for the game but their performance during the match kept most people guessing what might have happened.

A former Chairman of the Ghana Football Association Ben Koufie was alarmed about reports which suggested that the Minister of Youth and Sports had clashed with Sulley Muntari over the thorny issue of winning bonuses five clear days to the match.

There were early signs which suggested the players were going to demand an increase in winning bonuses, which stood at $8,000 but I think the issue could have been dealt with much better between the two sides, albeit diplomatically

Another ex-Stars striker Augustine Arhinful is however quick to point out that despite the fact that the Minister did not help matters with his heavy handedness, the players were not likely to be affected by the row since they earn more than what was being offered at their clubs.
It’s true that the players stand to benefit more than the nation in the overall analysis if they qualify for the second successive occasion.

Their market values could skyrocket just as it did in the immediate aftermath of the 2006 World Cup in Germany and that is enough personal motivation. There is no denying the fact that money was one of the factors which influenced the Stars’ qualification to the last World Cup and it clearly showed in the way the Stars went in for challenges for the ball, during the competition.

There were early signs which suggested the players were going to demand an increase in winning bonuses, which stood at $8,000 but I think the issue could have been dealt with much better between the two sides, albeit diplomatically. But that is not all.

Milovan Rajevac is also at fault for the poor display. To start with, the decision to play right full back Samuel Inkoom on the left full back position despite the availability of fit Harrison Afful and Belgium based Nana Kwasi Asare was unpardonable.

The Serbian rationalised his selection saying he needed a quick player to deal with the threat from Benin. He added that Inkoom played according to his instructions when clearly the Kotoko defender struggled with the pace of the Benin attackers and found it problematic kicking the ball with his left foot.

The Serbian also gave a half fit Stephen Appiah and a non committal Sulley Muntari too much time on the pitch while emerging players like Kwadwo Asamoah was given too little time to perform.

The Serbian trainer would need to make some bold decisions and introduce competition in the team in order to bring out the best in the players because he would have no excuse if he fails and Ghana fails to make it to South Africa 2010.

Asamoah could be his bait for such a revival. The 20-year-old has proven with his 16 appearances for Udinese that he could fit into various roles in the midfield, both defensive and offensive.

On the way forward, it’s still baffling that the GFA did not send any scout to watch our next opponents Mali draw 1-1 with Sudan in Omdurman. Rajevac and his assistants are now on a scouting mission in Europe to spy on the individual players at their club sides - amazing.

The ball is in your court, GFA and Milovan Rajevac.

Agree with him? Lemme know your views. But here's his blog anyway.
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Sudan beaten, good news for Stars?

Bright Sunday morning.

In news that would do the average Ghanaian supporter a lot of good, Sudan have been beaten 4-0 by Tunisia.

Tunisia got off to a quick start with Oussemma Darragi and Sami Allagui combining to give Tunisia the opener as early as the 10th minute. Sami Allagui doubled the hosts lead, before Radhi Jaidi added the third off a trademark header in the 22nd minute. Radhaouane Felhi completed the rout when he met Khalil Chemmam’s corner after the break.



Seeing that Ghana plays the Sudanese soon in the World Cup, Nations Cup qualifiers, does it mean the Stars have a good chance?

No. The Sudanese, for me just had a bad patch and will recover in time for the September 5 game in Ghana.

PS: I'm having internet problems here, that explains the lull in posts yesterday. Working on them, though

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