Osimhen was part of the Nigeria side who lost to Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations final in February and missed his side’s most recent league game through suspension.
The visitors had the brighter start with 16-year-old Lamine Yamal – who became the youngest player to feature in the Champions League knockout stage – making inroads on the right-hand side.
Xavi’s side pressed relentlessly in the final third, charging down Napoli’s attempts to build from the back and nullifying the hosts’ ability to threaten.
Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret was forced to save efforts from Yamal and Lewandowski before he reacted well to palm away an Ilkay Gundogan effort from distance.
The Italian side have severely struggled in their Serie A title defence, languishing in ninth place and trailing leaders Juventus by 27 points, and replaced Walter Mazzarri with Calzona – who is also Slovakia manager – on Tuesday.
There were few signs of immediate improvement, though, and they failed to even register a shot in the first half, a first for Napoli in the Champions League.
Osimhen tried to make runs behind the defence but was often left isolated as the hosts failed to muster moves in Barcelona’s half.
Xavi’s side, who have faltered in La Liga and are eight points behind leaders Real Madrid, were dominant for much of the match, but Napoli began to grow into the game in the second half and were more energetic after making substitutions.
Barcelona broke the deadlock through Lewandowski and were headed for victory, but the hosts eventually found their footing and fought their way back to a draw.
Twenty-one (21) players were present for the Black Queens’ second training session at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, February 20.
Nora Hauptle and her side continue to prepare for the first leg of their 2024 Olympic Games third-round qualifier which is set for Friday.
The 21 players who trained on Tuesday had Charlton Athletic’s Freda Ayisi available, Jacqueline Owusu of Real Sociedad was also involved with Linda Eshun also joining. The three players were missing from the first day of training.
Only goalkeeper Vivian Antwi Adjei and forward Gifty Assifuah, both of 1207 Antaly Spor, missed Tuesday’s session having arrived short before the team left for the Accra Sports Stadium.
The Black Queens are chasing a first-ever appearance at the Olympic Games and have had to beat Guinea and Benin en route to reaching the third round of the qualifying stage.
Former Ghana international Tony Baffoe has fired the Sports Ministry over their refusal to pay monies owed the Black Queens ahead of Friday’s Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifier against Zambia.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Tony Baffoe who visited the team’s training on Tuesday, said the Sports Ministry ought to respect the Black Queens.
Respect them and pay them !!they have gone all out all this while ! they have done a fantastic job ..players -Coach and the technical team !the match against Zambia is crucial ..respect them and pay them !!! https://t.co/cmUBsokg0T— Anthony Baffoe (@AnthonyBaffoe) February 21, 2024
The Queens are owed qualification bonuses from two rounds of qualifying in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifiers and the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations Qualifiers.
They have only been paid for the two-legged affair over Guinea (Olympic Qualifier) while bonuses from wins over Benin (Olympic Qualifier), Rwanda and Namibia – both Africa Women’s Cup of Nations Qualifiers, have not been settled.
In all, the Sports Ministry owes each Black Queens player, a total of $7,500 from the six qualifying matches.
Sources inside the Black Queens camp have told JoySports that the ladies are contemplating boycotting Friday’s qualifier against Zambia.
The Black Queens have been training since Monday despite gov’t refusal to pay their bonuses
Since the team started camping on Monday, no official from the Ghana Football Association or the Sports Ministry have visited the team.
It is unclear whether officials have stayed away from the team in order to avoid a possible confrontation with the ladies over the bonus situation.
Emerse Fae has been appointed as Ivory Coast coach on a permanent deal after leading the Elephants to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title.
The 40-year-old took over on an interim basis after Jean-Louis Gasset departed during the group stage of the finals, where the West Africans had lost two games including a record 4-0 home defeat by Equatorial Guinea.
But the Ivorians progressed as the last of the four best third-placed teams and Fae oversaw an incredible turnaround for the tournament hosts in the knockout stages.
The Elephants saw off holders Senegal on penalties and then came from behind with 10 men to beat Mali in the quarter-finals after extra-time.
After defeating DR Congo in the last four, Ivory Coast recovered from a goal down to beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final in Abidjan on 11 February and win their third continental title.
Meanwhile, Liberia have appointed former Malawi coach Mario Marinica as their boss on a two-year deal ahead of the start of their 2025 Nations Cup qualifying campaign.
The Lone Stars will face Djibouti in a two-legged preliminary round tie next month.
The winners of the four preliminary ties will join the 44 highest-ranked African sides in the main qualifying draw for the 2025 finals, which will be held in Morocco.
The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) Technical Study Group (“TSG”) has released the Best XI for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023, widely regarded as the best “AFCON” ever, concluded on Sunday in epic fashion with hosts, Cote d’Ivoire completing one of the greatest comebacks by winning against Nigeria at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
The CAF Technical Study Group has been following and analysing the tournament and its trends from day one.
Hosts Cote d’Ivoire, the new African champions, have three names in the Best Xl: Ghislan Konan, Jean Michael Seri and Franck Kessie. Kessie’s goal in the final helped the home side to secure the title.
Nigeria, who came oh-so-close, also have three names on the list: Ola Aina, William Troost-Ekong and Ademola Lookman.
South Africa, who entered the competition as underdogs but marched gallantly to a third-place finish have keeper, Ronwen Williams and Teboho Mokoena. Williams made history when he saved four penalties in one match during the competition.
DR Congo, fourth-place, also had two names: Yoane Wissa and Chancel Mbemba.
The Best Xl:
With Williams in goals, Nigeria’s Aina and Troost-Ekong showcased their defensive prowess, earning spots in the backline alongside Cote d’Ivoire’s Konan and DR Congo’s Chancel Mbemba.
In midfield, a diverse array of talent emerges, with South Africa’s Mokoena providing defensive stability alongside Cote d’Ivoire’s Jean Michael Seri and Kessie.
Upfront, the striking duo of Yoane Wissa from DR Congo and Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman bring flair and potency to the forward line, complemented by Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue, whose attacking threat kept defenders on their toes.
Nsue stands out as the competition’s top scorer with five goals, despite his team not reaching the semi-finals.
Goalkeeper:
Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
Defenders: Ola Aina (Nigeria), Ghislan Konan (Cote d’Ivoire), William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria), Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo).
Midfielders: Teboho Mokoena (South Africa), Jean Michael Seri (Cote d’Ivoire), Franck Kessie
Racheal Kundananji was playing on the sparse pitches of Zambia’s Copperbelt Province six years ago – but now the 23-year-old is the world’s most expensive female footballer in history.
t has been a remarkable ascent for the forward, an explosive talent who convinced Bay FC of the American National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) to part with $860,000 (£685,000) in order to prise her away from Madrid CFF.
Significantly, Kundananji is the first African player, male or female, to break a world transfer record.
She is moving to the United States after a prolific 18-month spell in Madrid in which she scored 33 Liga F goals in 43 games.
The Zambia international is still coming to terms with the enormity of her transfer fee but knows the first place she can find support is from her homeland.
“People in Zambia will be surprised but they will be so happy,” Kundananji told BBC Sport Africa.
“A lot of people have encouraged me to work hard and some even said ‘maybe one day you’ll break some records’.
“This is the first one and I know there are more coming. I will do my level best and fight every time I play, like I always do.
“I want to give the [Bay FC] fans what they want – to enjoy the games, to enjoy seeing me playing and scoring.”
Keeping secrets
The most surprised person in Zambia may well be Kundananji’s mother, who she decided to keep in the dark ahead of the big announcement.
“I just told her that I signed a new contract and that there was something big coming, but I didn’t tell her about becoming the most expensive player,” Kundananji said with a smile.
“I wanted that to be a surprise. My mum is my biggest influence.
“I learned a lot from her – to work hard and never give up on anything. If you’re good at something, then you need to follow your dreams.”
While Kundananji’s mum worked a physically demanding job in one of Zambia’s myriad copper mines, Bay FC’s new recruit would slope out to play football with local boys.
She and her friends created makeshift balls out of plastic and cotton from flour sacks.
“When I was growing up, I kept it a secret from my family that I was playing football,” Kundananji recalled. “They would think I was going to my friend’s place.”
When her family eventually found out, they assumed football was just a pastime that would eventually fall by the wayside. Kundananji says this sort of response is still heard by girls across Zambia.
“What I really want to say to girls is that they just need to follow their dreams and do what they love doing. Many of our parents will force us to do what we don’t love but then we end up with regrets,” she added.
“Choose your own path and work hard; then, as time goes on, your parents will support you.”
Teaming up with Oshoala
One of Kundananji’s new team-mates is someone who has been an example to her for several years.
Oshoala, six times Africa’s player of the year, has been newly acquired from Barcelona.
“She’s been a great African player for a long time. A lot of us in Africa try to play like her,” Kundananji said, beaming.
Kundananji is endearingly modest and needs some convincing that she is now also a role model to young Africans.
The talented forward grew up as a Chelsea fan – watching Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard in the Premier League, dreaming that one day she might emulate them.
“Every time I watched Chelsea I would see the camera following the individual players. I thought, ‘I just want to play football in front of a camera’,” she said.
“I thought about my face coming up on TV and my mum thinking, ‘Oh that’s my child’.”
Having scored in the Uefa Women’s Champions League and Women’s World Cup, and faced the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid in Liga F, Kundananji is certainly no stranger to the TV cameras.
Watching closely as her prowess and profile have grown has been Chris Atkins, her agent since 2018.
He was first alerted to her ability after watching some grainy YouTube footage of the then talented teenager scoring a hat-trick against Ghana in a friendly ahead of the 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
“Racheal is dedicated, humble and obviously an unbelievable goalscorer,” Atkins said.
“She always had raw speed but has improved so much in terms of her finishing, her tactical awareness and her physicality in the past few years.
“It is great to see someone who started with nothing has managed to reach the level she has.”
From Kazakhstan to the USA
Kundananji made her Zambia debut in 2018, and scored three goals at that year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations
Kundananji’s success has required a few career steps.
The first significant one was in 2019 with a transfer from Zambia’s Indeni Roses to BIIK Kazygurt, the biggest women’s club in Kazakhstan.
It was a dramatic shift for the then 18-year-old, who was delighted to be earning a guaranteed $1,500 per month – with free accommodation included.
She secured a move to Liga F side Eibar in 2021 before her abilities were spotted by Madrid CFF, and it is in the Spanish capital that Kundananji has really flourished.
Fellow Zambia forward Prisca Chilufya is confident her team-mate can handle the pressure that will inevitably accompany her record price tag.
“She’s very determined and very hard-working. That’s why she has been dominating in every league she has played in,” Chilufya told BBC Sport Africa.
“She is someone you want on your team because she has a good heart and she also makes life easy on the pitch.”
Chilufya is hopeful that Kundananji’s high-profile move to the USA will help to further the growth of women’s football in their homeland.
“I think this news will be shocking to many because Zambia has never had any expensive players and women’s football is still developing in the country,” Chilufya said.
“It’s amazing to know that Zambia has the most expensive player in the world. Players like Racheal have played a big role in inspiring people.”
Although Kundananji has made history with her move, Atkins is expecting the world transfer record to tumble regularly in the coming years.
“We’ve taken a big leap up now in the record, but that could easily be broken in the next six to 12 months,” Atkins said.
“The NWSL is now reacting after perhaps realising it had slipped down the pecking order in terms of women’s leagues.”
It is a huge move for Kundananji, who is swapping the 3,500-seater Estadio Fernando Torres in Madrid for the 18,000-capacity PayPal Park in San Jose.
She admitted she will miss life in Spain but is relishing the prospect of proving herself in the NWSL.
“My team-mates in Madrid have been my family and it was so difficult for me to make this decision,” Kundananji said.
“I won’t put myself under pressure. My goal is to continue where I ended in Madrid and to achieve bigger things.
“I’ll never give up because if I give up, I’ll disappoint the young girls who message me asking advice about how they can get the best out of themselves.”
Kenya’s Sarah Chepchirchir has been handed an eight-year ban after the former Tokyo Marathon winner was found to have violated anti-doping regulations for a second time.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said the 39-year-old had returned an adverse analytical finding for testosterone in a sample collected at a marathon in Thailand in November.
Chepchirchir’s results will be disqualified from 5 November last year, with her ban backdated to 22 December.
She was previously banned for four years in 2019, backdated to 11 April 2018, because of abnormalities in her athlete blood passport.
Chepchirchir, who won the Tokyo Marathon in 2017, had the option to have her latest ban reduced by one year by formally admitting to the charge, but failed to do so by the AIU’s deadline of 11 February.
Last month the AIU banned Kenyan pair Hosea Kimeli Kisorio and Ayub Kiptum for three years, for use of recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) and testosterone respectively.
Meanwhile, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has referred Nigeria’s anti-doping agency to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over its alleged non-compliance.
The Nigerian body was sanctioned by Wada in November for failing to address “critical requirements”, but disputes Wada’s allegations.
Under Wada’s recommended punishments, Nigeria’s flag would not be flown at competitions and the West African nation would be ineligible to host major sporting events until reinstatement conditions were met.
Kenya’s President William Ruto has sent engineers to the home of the late marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum, with instructions to build a three-bedroom house.
Kiptum had planned to build a home for his family before he was killed in a road accident last Sunday.
The president’s office has denied local media reports that the house has to be ready by Kiptum’s funeral next week.
Excavations have already started, the family spokesman said.
The house is being built on a four-acre farm which Kiptum had bought about 16km (10 miles) from the family home in the Rift Valley, where he was planning to construct his home later this year.
“There are three engineers here who are being supervised by senior government officials,” family spokesperson Philip Kiplagat told the BBC.
It is hoped that the house will be ready by the end of the 40-day mourning period.
Kiptum’s funeral is due to take place on 24 February.
Police said Kiptum, a 24-year-old father of two, was killed after the car he was driving veered into a ditch.
His Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana also died in the accident while a woman passenger was injured.
Kiptum’s father has called for an investigation, saying that four unidentified men had visited his son days before his accident.
The suspects are currently in police custody for questioning after being arrested, according to local media.
Kiptum’s death, just four months after he broke the marathon world record, shocked Kenya and the world of athletics.
He had been planning to attempt to become the first person to run a marathon in under two hours at the Rotterdam marathon in April.
Cash, houses and honours are being bestowed on footballers from Ivory Coast and Nigeria, after Sunday’s riveting Africa Cup of Nations final.
Every player in Ivory Coast’s winning squad will pocket $82,000 (£65,000) and get a villa worth a similar amount, the presidency announced.
“You have brought happiness to all Ivorians, bravo, bravo,” said President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, which hosted the pan-African tournament.
Nigeria also got a heroes’ welcome.
Although their 2-1 loss in the final spelled heartbreak for the Super Eagles’ millions of fans at home and in the diaspora, their efforts are being handsomely rewarded by President Bola Tinubu.
Each member of the Nigerian squad has received one of the country’s highest honours – the Member of the Order of the Niger. The president is also giving them each an apartment and a piece of land near the capital, Abuja.
Third-placed South Africa are also set to receive about $52,000 per player, according to local media.
It is not clear what cash payment Nigeria’s players are to receive from the state purse.
But all of the perks listed above are in addition to the usual prize money doled out by the Africa Cup of Nations, which they say they have boosted by 40% since the last tournament.
This means that winners Ivory Coast get $7m, runners-up Nigeria get $4m, semi-finalist South Africa and DR Congo each get $2.5m, while the four teams who made the quarter-finals take home $1.3m each.
This year’s Africa Cup of Nations enjoyed the highest viewing numbers in its 67-year history – thanks to bigger broadcasting and commercial deals, and social media buzz. Almost two billion people are said to have watched worldwide.
Analysts hope the global appreciation for Africa’s footballing flair will translate into more starting slots for African teams at future World Cups.
As it stands, Africa has only nine World Cup spots to Europe’s 13, despite the fact these two continents have a near-identical number of Fifa-affiliated countries.
African national teams have in the past complained their salaries and bonuses have not been paid.
The Cameroon side who won global admiration for their quarter-final performance against England in the 1990 World Cup waited over 30 years to get houses they were promised, by which time their captain had died.
At last year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup, South African footballers won a pay dispute after sitting out a match in protest. Their hastily assembled substitutes had included a 13-year-old girl.
After winning over a century of caps for South Africa during her playing days, Amanda Dlamini broke new ground at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
The former midfielder became the first woman employed by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to be an analyst on its official international TV commentary of the continent’s showpiece men’s tournament.
Dlamini says the role is a “major win for women”, but acknowledged the weight of her position scared her at first.
“I was nervous to make sure that I leave a good impression. I cover all my stats and tactics because that is my job,” Dlamini told BBC Sport Africa.
“The realisation of being the first woman at an Afcon, where the centre stage is mostly about men’s football, and having a female voice, surely matters. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is history’.
“It’s not just a major win for me personally in my career, but for many other aspiring women who want to be in the commentary space.”
Dlamini was based in the south-western coastal city of San Pedro, and found herself in a unique position for her final co-commentary game at the tournament.
The 35-year-old called the match, which saw South Africa send the continent’s top-ranked team out of the finals, a “super special” moment.
“I’m South African before anything, and this is our national team,” Dlamini added.
“As a former footballer, I know what it’s like to be on the pitch. The emotions were running high, but it’s South Africa at the same time. It was a whole rollercoaster of emotions.”
Dealing with criticism
Dlamini says there was a largely positive reception to her role at the tournament, but she was not immune to negative responses despite her historic achievement.
“We received a number of negative comments. I think the most recent one said, ‘She’s just there to tick a box’,” Dlamini said.
But, as a former player, she is not new to criticism of her performances – whether on the pitch or on microphone.
While Dlamini welcomes constructive feedback and uses it to improve her craft, she has found ways to “rise above” criticism over time.
“If a negative comment comes through, of course it will impact you because you’re a human being,” she explained.
“I think I’ve just learned that through meditation, through worship as well, it calms me. I feel like it’s always one of those things where you take it as well with the good criticism and you just have to move on.”
Amanda Dlamini captained South Africa women at the 2012 Olympic Games in London
Dlamini’s journey into co-commentary is rooted in her illustrious career as a professional footballer.
After calling time on her playing career in 2018, having featured 105 times for Banyana Banyana, she began her broadcast career with TV punditry on domestic matches in her homeland.
“Interpreting a game is not always easy. It comes with confidence,” she said.
“Personality wise, I’m not someone who talks quite a lot, and having to speak for 90 minutes was pushing me out of my comfort zone. I didn’t think that I would do it.
“The 2013 Afcon was my first big tournament [as an in-studio TV pundit].
“I can’t tell you how nervous I was. I thought everyone could just feel how my heart was pumping through the microphone.”
“It was my birthday the previous night, it was the best birthday present ever,” Dlamini said as she looked back at the country’s achievement.
“I was crying for two minutes; I couldn’t say a word in commentary.
“It was just such a beautiful moment – not just for that group, or class of 2022, but for all the other women that have been trying to win this important accolade.”
Athletics dream
Since retiring Dlamini has been involved in initiatives with world governing body Fifa
Dlamini’s sports career may have been on the football pitch but growing up in KwaZulu-Natal province she competed in many sporting codes and wanted to become a sprinter.
Economic hardship hindered her pursuit of that dream and instead turned her attentions to football.
“I was a sprinter [over] 100m, 200m and 400m but a lack of resources back in the rural areas hampered my progress into athletics,” the former midfielder explained.
“I fell back into soccer, because at every corner boys were playing football and I just stood out as the only girl.
“I just continued and pursued it until I had to move from home at 14 to try and follow this footballing career, because I needed to find an all-girls team so that I can progress and make it into the national team.
“That on its own was very difficult, to leave my parents and my family behind.
“Every milestone, every achievement every opportunity for me, it’s almost like it’s a full circle moment of coming back to the young Amanda who was always dreaming of those opportunities.”
Dlamini’s pioneering role at the men’s Nations Cup this year underscores her determination and resilience in chasing her dreams.
And she hopes this milestone can have an impact with other women across the continent in pursuing their aspirations.
“I started this journey simply because when I looked around back home, young girls who were my age back then, 12 or 13, were being forced to drop out of school because they had to go get married at a very young age,” Dlamini reflected.
“And I thought, ‘Aren’t their dreams valid? Does anyone care what it is that they want to do for themselves?’
“So, I’m hoping that with this opportunity that I’ve been afforded they can see that it’s okay to chase their dreams. But also, when the platform is there, don’t be afraid to be the first.”
