The Secretary General of the Council for East and Central African Football Associations (Cecafa), Nicholas Musonye, has said teams in the region have continues to struggle to make it for AFCON because they do not plan well. Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda and Uganda are the only nations in the Cecafa region that will battle in the Afcon Group stages that start on September 5th. The Cecafa official said the likes of Ethiopia qualified for the last Afcon because they had planned well. Asked if Cecafa giants Uganda do not plan well, Musonye said it’s obvious because they have not qualified again since 1978. “”There is no way you can claim to plan well when it has taken you over 30 years to qualify. That is bad planning,” he said. He said many nations in West Africa like Ghana, Nigeria continue to qualify for big tournaments around the world because they take these qualification events very seriously and plan better. ………….. Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Aminu Maigari will return to office on Monday after FIFA declared his impeachment was illegal. Maigari was purportedly sacked by his executive committee on July 24.But in a letter dated August 14, FIFA said the impeachment breached several statutes and as such Maigari should return as boss of Nigerian football. FIFA also ordered that Maigari will preside over the August 26 elections to the NFF executive committee fixed for Warri, Delta State. Top executive committee members Chris Green and Ahmed Yusuf ‘Fresh’ have also had their “suspensions” quashed after FIFA directed the NFF executive committee revert to how they were before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. ………….. AS Vita Club coach Florent Ibenge will be in charge of the DR Congo national team during the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015 qualifiers. Appointed as assistant coach of the Leopards last April, the 52-year-old is now in the driver’s seat left vacant since the departure of Claude Leroy in June 2013. The Leopards will resume a camp in Lubumbashi on September 1, ahead of their qualifying campaign home opener against Cameroon on September 6. DR Congo will then face Sierra Leone on neutral ground before hosting Côte d’Ivoire in their Group D. ………….. AS Vita’s Rwandan striker Taddy Etekiama has been indefinitely suspended by the CAF. The decision follows a complaint lodged by the Congo Brazzaville football federation (Fecofoot) over an alleged case of dual identity. Eliminated by Rwanda in the second round of the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015 qualifiers, Congo had brought to CAF‘s attention that Rwanda’s striker Dady Birori, fielded by the Wasps in Pointe-Noire in the first leg of their double tie, was holding two different passports under two different names. Indeed, Dady Birori is registered as Agiti Taddy Etekiama with his club of AS Vita in DR Congo. CAF has informed the DR Congo football federation (Fecofa) that the player was not allowed to play for AS Vita Club nor with the Rwanda national team until the investigation is concluded. Should the continental body agree that Rwanda have fielded an ineligible player against Congo, the Wasps will be disqualified and the Red Devils reinstated in Group A of the final round of qualifiers with South Africa, Nigeria and Sudan. ………….. Chelsea’s Ivoirian striker Didier Drogba got his legendary No 11 shirt back from Brazilian midfielder Oscar, the Blues have confirmed on their official website on Friday. The club had handed the 36-year-old the number 15 jersey on his return to Stamford Bridge at the beginning of the pre-season. That was Drogba’s number on his debut at Chelsea back in 2004, before donning his famous number 11 jersey.“I am very pleased to be able to return to the number 11 shirt and I am very grateful to Oscar for allowing me to make this change,” the club’s legend told chelseafc. “Didier is a Chelsea legend and a senior player. I am happy for him to take the 11 and for me to take the 8,” Oscar confirmed. “Lampard is another legend at this club and I hope I will be as successful in the shirt as he was,” the attacking midfielder added. ………….. Ross Barkley is out of Evertons opening Premier League game at Leicester City on Saturday after injuring his leg in training. The England midfielder, 20, left the clubs training ground in a brace and will undergo a scan this weekend. Initial reports suggest he could be out for six to eight weeks. Barkley has played in three pre-season games after returning from World Cup duty and his absence is a major blow for Everton manager Roberto Martinez. ………….. Manchester United will be without nine players for Louis van Gaals first competitive game in charge as the Dutchman confirmed he will not rush Robin van Persie, Danny Welbeck, Antonio Valencia, Jonny Evans, Michael Carrick, Reece James, Rafael da Silva, Luke Shaw and GK Sam Johnstone back to face Swansea. ………….. Alan Pardew will invite Manuel Pellegrini for a post-match glass of wine in a bid to make peace with the Manchester City boss. It was at St James’ Park last season that the Newcastle manager called the 60-year-old Chilean a ‘f***ing old c**t’. Pardew was subsequently warned about his touchline conduct by the FA and vowed to punish himself by working in the local community. ………….. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes the Premier League should have kicked off one week later to give players the chance to recover from the World Cup. The Gunners had 11 players in Brazil, and Germany World Cup winners Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski have only just returned. Ozil, Mertesacker and Podolski will not feature in Saturdays Premier League opener against Crystal Palace or, in all likelihood, Tuesdays Champions League play-off first leg at Besiktas. ………….. Sergio Aguero believes Manchester United will re-emerge as genuine contenders for the Premier League title this season under new boss Louis van Gaal. United endured their worst ever Premier League campaign under David Moyes last term while bitter rivals Manchester City held off Liverpool and Chelsea to claim their second triumph in the last three seasons. But the team I think who is most worthy of having the best chance to threaten is united, because they are not involved in any other competitions other than the English knock-out cups and the league. ………….. Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says World Cup fatigue has also stopped him from fielding his strongest line-up. Brazil trio Oscar, Willian and Ramires, Belgian pair Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, and Germanys Andre Schurrle have missed most of Chelseas pre-season after the World Cup. And ahead of Monday nights trip to Burnley, Mourinho said: Are they ready individually? No. But we have to be ready as a team for Monday. Can it be a team of six guys not ready? No. And he added: This is modern football. Its going in this tendency - more matches, more competitions, less time to work, even not enough time to have a real holiday for bodies and brains that top football players need. ………….. Arsenal and Germany defender Per Mertesacker has announced his retirement from international football. The 29-year-old surpassed the 100-cap mark during his countrys triumphant World Cup campaign this summer, 10 years after making his senior debut. Mertesacker made his senior Germany debut under Jurgen Klinsmann in 2004, when he came on as a substitute against Iraq in October. The former Werder Bremen stopper was part of the side which claimed third place at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals and finished runners-up to Spain at Euro 2008. Mertesacker came on as a last-minute substitute in the 1-0 final victory over Argentina at the Maracana this summer, making a total of six appearances during the tournament. ………….. The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear Legia Warsaws appeal against Champions League exclusion on Monday. The Polish side beat Celtic 6-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round but was found to have used an ineligible player, Bartosz Bereszynski, as a late substitute in the second leg. Celtic were awarded a 3-0 win by default for that match, putting them through on away goals to the playoff round, the first-leg of which is due to take place against Slovenian side Maribor on Wednesday. The CAS has immediately initiated an arbitration procedure and the respondents UEFA and Celtic FC have been invited to file written observations. A decision on request for provisional measures is likely to be issued on Monday August 18 around 18:00 (Swiss time). ………….. DONE DEALS ………….. Cardiff City has signed Sean Morrison from Championship rivals Reading for an undisclosed fee. ………….. Burnley has completed the signing of Stephen Ward on a three-year contract from Wolves. ………….. Aston Villa has signed 28-year-old Colombian defensive midfielder Carlos Sanchez from Elche on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. ………….. Feyenoord have announced the signing of Turkey forward Colin Kazim-Richards on loan from Bursaspor. ………….. Barcelona has confirmed Gerard Deulofeu will spend the 2014-15 season on loan at Sevilla. ………….. Nicklas Bendtner has joined Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg to end a nine-year association with English football. The Dane has signed a two-year deal. ………….. Ghana 22-year-old winger Christian Atsu finalized his loan move to English Premier League side Everton from Chelsea. ………….. West Ham have signed striker Diafra Sakho from French side FC Metz for an undisclosed fee. The 24-year-old Senegal international has moved to Upton Park after agreeing a four-year contract. ………….. Harry Kane has penned a new deal which will keep him at Tottenham until 2019. The striker impressed last season and has been rewarded with a five-year contract. ………….. Southampton has completed the £12m signing of striker Shane Long from Hull City. The Republic of Ireland international has signed a four-year deal. ………….. TRANSFER GOSSIP ………….. Arsenal and Chelsea have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Sami Khedira, with Real Madrid prepared to accept just £8m. Los Blancos are furious with how contract renewal talks have stalled and want to avoid losing him for nothing next year. ………….. Chelsea is set to hold talks with Roma over a €38m move for Mehdi Benatia. Walter Sabatini has flown to London to discuss a potential transfer with the Blues. ………….. Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is stepping up his interest in Fredy Guarin after the Red Devils move for Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal stalled once again. ………….. QPR want to sign Lassana Diarra who is currently at Lokomotiv Moscow but need the former Real Madrid man to halve his wage demands to €50,000-a-week in order to capture his signature. ………….. Roma are eyeing a €25m move for Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic. The Serie A side hopes to seal a deal which would see Jovetic move on loan for a season before completing a permanent move. ………….. Victor Moses is set to leave Chelsea and join Stoke on a season-long loan. The 23-year-old will undergo a medical before completing his move to the Britannia Stadium after the Potters gave up on signing Oussama Assaidi. ………….. Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has told Rafael Benitez he wants to join him at Napoli. The Serie A side is keen to bolster their midfield and have been linked with Marouane Fellaini and Sandro this transfer window. ………….. Manchester United and Barcelona target Juan Cuadrado is moving ever close to a transfer away from Fiorentina, with the Colombian to be omitted from their upcoming friendly squad and the Viola now resigned to losing their star player. ………….. Paris Saint-Germain are set to ditch their attempts to negotiate a new deal for Adrian Rabiot and are ready to listen to offers for the 19-year-old midfielder, alerting known admirers Arsenal and Juventus to his availability. ………….. Chelsea youngster Josh McEachran is set to be loaned out to feeder club Vitesse Arnhem on a season-long loan deal. The 21-year-old spent last season on loan at Watford and Wigan and is free to leave the Blues. ………….. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has refuted speculation that Raheem Sterling is poised to be offered a contract extension amid reported interest from Real Madrid.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 06:54:18 +0000
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