XINHUA – Sports Africa

Eto’o announces bid to run for Cameroon football presidency

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YAOUNDE, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) — Cameroon football legend Samuel Eto’o announced on Tuesday that he will run for the presidency of Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT).

“I am honoured and pleased to announce my candidacy for the presidency of the Cameroon Football Federation. After careful consideration, I have decided to take this initiative out of love for Cameroon and passion for our football,” Eto’o said in a statement on his social media late Tuesday.

“It is time to rebuild our football,” the four-time winner of African Player of the Year said.

He pledged to introduce a “futuristic and innovative project” that will revive the country’s local championships, beach football and women’s football.

“I am presenting my candidacy with the groundbreaking commitment not to pocket a cent of the monthly allowance provided for the position of the federation president. These funds will be dedicated for the development of amateur football. I am running for this position in order to attract external funding,” the former Barcelona star said.

Cameroon will host the Africa Cup of Nations next year and Eto’o promised to make the event “a historical success” if elected.

Eto’o will face another football legend, Geremi Njitap, former national team, Real Madrid midfielder, and incumbent president Seidou Mbombo Njoya in the election which is scheduled for November.

Suarez brace lifts Atletico back to top of La Liga

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MADRID, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — Luis Suarez scored two headers in the last 12 minutes to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win away to Getafe and take them momentarily to the top of La Liga.

The Uruguayan equalized for his side, who had struggled to create chances against bottom of the table Getafe, with a looping header from Mario Hermoso’s 78th-minute cross and then won the game in the first minute of injury time after a looped cross from the right-wing.

Although Atletico coach Diego Simeone made several changes to the side that drew at home to Athletic Club Bilbao on Saturday with Luis Suarez, Hector Herrera and Yannick Carrasco back in the starting 11, Atletico struggled to trouble Getafe in the first half.

The visitors had more of the ball but their own chance was a double occasion that saw David Soria save well from Suarez before Carrasco’s effort from the rebound was deflected over.

Getafe took the lead after a rare error from Jan Oblak, who failed to collect a high ball, which was clipped back into the area for Stefan Mitrovic to head against the post, with the ball bouncing into the net off the Atletico keeper.

Suarez headed against the bar in the 68th minute and Atletico’s task was made easier soon after when Getafe midfielder Carles Cunha was sent off for a bad challenge on Atletico substitute Matheus Cunha.

Getafe failed to heed the warnings and Suarez took advantage of some poor defending in the closing minutes to net his two goals, which lift Atletico above Real Madrid (who face Mallorca on Wednesday) while keeping the home side in the relegation zone with six defeats from their first six games of the season.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Radamel Falcao’s 96th-minute header gave Rayo Vallecano a surprise 2-1 win away to Athletic Club Bilbao, who had been unbeaten going into the game.

Alvaro Garcia put Rayo ahead in the fifth minute and Athletic equalized when Pathe Ciss deflected Iker Muniain’s free-kick into his own net, but the Colombian striker decided the game for the visitors at the death.

Goals from Iago Aspas and Brais Mendez gave Celta Vigo their first win of the season as they triumphed 2-0 away to Levante.

Uganda Premier League side SC Villa appoints Greek coach

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KAMPALA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — Ugandan Premier League side Sports Club Villa has unveiled Petros Koukouras as its new head coach.

CEO Shawn Mubiru told Xinhua on Monday that it is a new dawn at SC Villa and that is why the club has brought in a foreign coach and signed several players.

“We should be able to compete for silverware this season,” Mubiru said.

Koukouras, 35, had been assistant coach of South Sudan’s national team. The Greek has signed a three-year contract with the 16-time Uganda Premier League champions.

“Our new coach comes with more than 10 years of experience in youth and senior football. The fans should know that this new technical team is very diligent,” added Mubiru.

“I am very happy to be here, this is the most successful team in Uganda and that led me to accept the job,” said Koukouras.

The coach added that he hoped to take the team to where it belongs and start winning trophies again.

Koukouras will be assisted by locals Magera Kaddu and Richard Amatre as assistant coaches and Mubarak Kiberu as goalkeeping coach.

Araujo saves a point for Barca but can’t hide deep crisis at the club

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MADRID, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo headed home an 89th-minute equalizer for his side to save a 1-1 draw at home to Granada, but the goal and an excellent performance from the Uruguayan does little to hide the fact that Barca are a club desperately struggling for form and confidence.

Under pressure after his side’s 3-0 defeat at home to Bayern Munich six days ago and with a host of injuries in his squad, Barca coach Ronald Koeman gave starts to B-team players, Yusuf Demir and Alejandro Balde, who covered for the injured Pedri and Jordi Alba respectively.

Barca needed a good start to the game but got just the opposite after just 90 seconds when Granada left-back Sergio Escudero crossed for Domingos Duarte to head home unopposed at the far post.

The goal made an already nervous Barca more nervous and they were close to falling 2-0 behind when Jorge Molina volleyed just over in the 11th minute.

Sergi Roberto hit the post for Barca with a snap-shot following a corner in the 11th minute, but Barca were struggling to find any fluency against a rival that looked to waste time at any opportunity and the visitors again went close when Marc Andre Ter Stegen produced a flying save to deny Monchu.

Barca’s best chance of the first half came through an Araujo header which was denied by a flying save from Granada keeper Luis Maximiamo, but prior to that Koeman drew the ire of the crowd by replacing Balde (who appeared to be suffering from a back problem) with Oscar Mingueza.

Luuk de Jong replaced Sergi Roberto at the start of the second half as Barca looked for an equalizer, but although they were pegging Granada back, their only chance was an effort from Memphis Depay that went over the bar.

17-year-old midfielder Gavi replaced Philippe Coutinho just before the hour, but Barca were so lacking in creativity that with 15 minutes left to play, central defender Gerard Pique came on to play in attack.

To fans used to seeing Leo Messi lead the Barca line, seeing the veteran defender used as a target man must have been a painful reminder of how things have changed over the past two years.

De Jong headed over when he should have scored and Mingueza hit the top of the bar with a cross from the right, but the sensation in Barcelona’s play was one of desperation. Even Araujo’s equalizing header from a Gavi cross in the last minute will do little to ease the feeling that this is a club in crisis.

Napoli goes top with fourth consecutive win in Serie A

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ROME, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Napoli became the only team that kept a perfect record in Serie A, as they enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 away victory over Udinese on Monday, climbing to the top of the table.

Napoli, AC Milan and Roma all won their opening three games, but the Rossoneri and Giallorossi saw their winning streak ended on Sunday.

The Partenopei broke the deadlock in the 24th minute as Lorenzo Insigne lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper, Victor Osimhen tapped slightly before it went across the goal line.

The away side made it 2-0 in the 35th minute when Amir Rahmani nodded it in on Kalidou Koulibaly’s assist.

Koulibaly added the third with a missile in the box minutes after the break, before Hirving Lozano put the icing on Napoli’s cake.

Napoli leads the table with 12 points, two ahead of Inter Milan and AC Milan.

Brazil great Roberto Carlos backs FIFA calendar revamp

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Brazil World Cup winner Roberto Carlos has endorsed plans to overhaul the international football calendar, saying the mooted changes would reduce the physical burden on players.

World football governing body FIFA will next week hold an online summit with its member associations to discuss a series of proposals, which include a push to stage the World Cup every two years.

“This idea reduces the number of trips as you would have the qualifying stages done in one month,” the former Real Madrid left-back said in a FIFA video.

“So, you would have the time to train, play well, rest and get back to your club. There are too many consecutive matches. When you add the travel and the fatigue, it’s very complex. I think that football will improve a lot once this problem gets sorted,” added Carlos, a member of the Brazil team that won the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

The existing fixture schedule for men’s football runs until the end of 2024 while the women’s calendar is due to expire in 2023.

FIFA has set up technical advisory groups to study the plans, headed by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and ex-United States women’s team boss Jill Ellis.

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and European governing body UEFA have expressed their opposition to the idea of holding a World Cup every two years. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have said they are open to the proposal.

Another injury setback for Real Madrid defender Carvajal

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MADRID, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Real Madrid could be without Spain international right-back Dani Carvajal for several weeks after the defender suffered another muscle injury in Sunday’s 2-1 win away to Valencia.

Carvajal asked for a change after less than half an hour of the game, complaining of a problem in his right calf muscle. Although the club carried out tests on Monday morning, they have not published details of the extent of the injury due to the player asking for his right to privacy over a medical issue to be respected.

Sunday is the latest in a series of problems that have affected Carvajal over the past year after a series of problems (five in total) limited him to just 15 first-team appearances totaling 1,119 minutes last season.

He also missed the first game of the current campaign after picking up another injury in pre-season, making his debut as a substitute in the second round of matches in Real Madrid’s 3-3 draw away to Levante and he started his club’s last four matches.

Carvajal’s injury means that Lucas Vazquez, who covered in defense last season, will start in Wednesday’s league game at home to Mallorca, Saturday’s match at home to Villarreal and next week’s Champions League tie against FC Sheriff Tiraspol.

Rajevac arrives in Ghana for Black Stars coaching job

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ACCRA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Serbian Milovan Rajevac arrived in Ghana on Sunday to complete a deal to begin his second stint as coach of the senior national team, the Black Stars.

Sources from the Ghana Football Association (GFA) told Xinhua on Monday that the 67-year-old arrived in Ghana’s capital Accra and was expected to be named as the new coach on Tuesday.

Rajevac is expected to sign a two-year performance-based contract with the four-time African champions.

On September 13, the GFA sacked coach Charles Kwablan Akonnor following Ghana’s abysmal performances in two FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa.

Rajevac was coach of the Black Stars between 2008 and 2010, and he was named African Coach of the Year in 2010 after leading Ghana to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in South Africa.

Analysis: Four things we learned in Spain’s Matchday 5

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MADRID, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Real Madrid opened up a two-point lead at the top of La Liga on Sunday after another weekend of close games. Here are some things we learned in Spain’s matchday five.

1. Benzema and Vinicius making the difference

Real Madrid won the clash between the top two sides in LaLiga 2-1 away to Valencia thanks to goals from Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema in the 86th and 88th minute of the match and although there was a touch of fortune in both goals, with Vinicius’ shot taking a wicked deflection and Benzema netting with his shoulder, nobody can deny they were the two best players on the pitch.

Valencia were unlucky to lose Spain internationals Jose Luis Gaya and Carlos Soler through injury, but they controlled much of the game in the Mestalla Stadium until Real Madrid’s forwards turned things around. Not for the first time this campaign, Carlo Ancelotti can put the win down to moments of individual magic from his most in-form players.

2. Atletico lacking goals

Atletico Madrid missed their chance to go top of the table when they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Athletic Club Bilbao on Saturday.

For the second time in four days Atletico’s forwards were unable to hit the target and on Saturday their only chance of note was an effort from Marcos Llorente which hit the post.

Antoine Griezmann has yet to settle on his return from FC Barcelona, and while Angel Correa looks sharp and dangerous, the same can’t be said for Luis Suarez.

The Uruguayan usually takes a while to hit peak form and at the moment, he looks, heavy, slow on his feet and low on energy: exactly the opposite of what you want from a striker.

3. Marcelino deserves credit at Athletic

Although Atletico’s forwards came in for criticism after Saturday’s draw, Athletic Club Bilbao deserve a lot of credit for an excellent performance in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium as the side coached by Marcelino Garcia Toral kept their fourth clean sheet in five games.

Having a full pre-season to work with his players has allowed the team to adapt to Marcelino’s tactics and he has built a side that defends as a unit, while looking to attack at pace.

Central defenders Inigo Martinez and Dani Vivian (in his first season in the elite) are arguably the best defensive pairing in LaLiga at the moment and had either Inaki Williams or Asier Villalibre taken the excellent chances they had at the other end, Athletic would have taken all three points.

4. Looking grim for Michel at Getafe

There is a saying that second parts are never as good and that looks to be the case for Michel Gonzalez at Getafe with the coach kicking off his second period at the club with five consecutive defeats. That is Getafe’s worst ever start to the season and it coincides with Michel’s attempts to play more attacking football while abandoning the pragmatic style used to effectively by Pepe Bordalas in previous seasons.

Getafe showed an alarming lack of personality and defensive rigor as they lost 3-0 to newly promoted Rayo Vallecano and with Atletico Madrid next up nobody is betting on Getafe’s fortunes improving soon.

African Qualifiers for Rugby World Cup 2023 will be played in France in July 2022

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CAPE TOWN, South Africa, September 20, 2021/ — Following a call for applications launched to all African member federations of World Rugby as well as to France 2023, the Rugby Africa commissions have reviewed the submissions in the light of very precise criteria to evaluate the offers and enable Rugby Africa’s Executive Committee to choose the host country of the Rugby Africa Cup 2022.

Through a voting process, the candidacy of France 2023 was eventually selected.

The well-being, health and safety of the players remained at the heart of the priorities.

France 2023 (in charge of organising Rugby World Cup 2023) promises to host a tournament of the highest international standards, whether it is the match stadium, hotels, security measures, health standards relating to Covid-19 or medical infrastructure available.

With a long tradition of hosting Rugby Africa tournaments and activities, France and Rugby Africa are already in a close collaboration process which will provide the 8 competing teams with an exceptional tournament and ideal hosting conditions to concentrate on a single goal, win the final match and qualify directly for Rugby World Cup 2023 which will also take place in France.

The winner will meet hosts France, New Zealand, Italy and the Americas 1 qualifier in Pool A.

The knockout tournament will take place in the first half of July with four colorful quarter-finals that were determined at the end of the group stage of the Rugby Africa Cup 2021.

Thus, the four group winners Namibia, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe will meet respectively with Burkina Faso, Algeria, Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire. The semi-finals will follow and the long-awaited final. Ranking matches will also be played.

The runner-up will have to make do with a place in the Final Qualification Tournament to make one final attempt to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2023.

Fans will be able to follow the tournament on social networks and live and in the stadium if the regulations in force in July 2022 allow it.

Claude Atcher, CEO of France 2023: “We are delighted to welcome the eight best African teams for this qualification tournament, with a double objective: To highlight the work carried out by all federations for years as well as the level of sports of the qualified teams, and engage our territories in a pre-celebration of the Rugby World Cup.”

Khaled Babbou, Rugby Africa President: “France is a great rugby nation, and France 2023 will be able to highlight Rugby Africa’s most important tournament to date.

Indeed, these qualifications bring together 8 teams for the first time. It is a major tournament which promises a high-quality show and which is now attracting the attention of the sports world outside African borders. We look forward to being able to show the world, fans from all continents, the progress and quality of African rugby.

I would like to thank France 2023 for his support as well as all the organisations that responded to the call for applications and in particular the Kenyan rugby federation, the Zimbabwean rugby federation and the Namibian rugby federation which regularly organise other major tournaments for Rugby Africa brilliantly.”

Andrew OWOR, Rugby Africa Vice-President: “Between June 5 and July 26, 2021, Rugby Africa was able to conclude 23 international rugby matches in 5 different African countries. Despite the logistical, financial and regulatory challenges posed by the pandemic, the teams were able to travel and play their matches in complete safety. African rugby is determined to move forward.”

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