23032019 - Osun Gov Poll: Court nullifies APC’s victory

46 — SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 23, 2019
The qualification for the 2019
Africa Cup of Nations comes
to a close this week with 24
matches on the card. Already,
14 of the teams are already
known while the remaining 10
slots will be filled by the end of
the week.
Two of the matches on Sunday
are crucial. They are the two
Group L matches and both are
crucial in the shaping of the 24-
team format tournament in
Egypt. Cape Verde takes on
Lesotho while Tanzania host
Uganda. Cape Verde Island
will host Lesotho in Praïa in a
must win encounter while
Tanzania are in similar situation
when they later in the day host
Uganda.
The match in Dar Es Salaam
holds great significance.
Nigeria’s Emmanuel Amuneke
may qualify Tanzania for the
country’s first Africa Cup of
Nations in 40 years since last
qualifying for the 1980 edition
in 1979.
Tanzania will be hoping to
beat Uganda while expecting
that Lesotho will not upset
Cape Verde at home. If the
Tanzanian team beats the
already qualified Uganda
AFCON 2019 QUALIFIERS ! AFCON 2019 QUALIFIERS!!
Amuneke e set to give Tanzania
first t AFCON ticket in 40 yrs
tomorrow in a Group L duel, it will be a
major achievement as Taifa Stars of
Tanzania will qualify.
Incidentally, it was in Nigeria in 1980
that Tanzania last played in the Africa
Cup of Nation’s tournament. Now a
Nigerian is set to get the country back
into the tournament.
Already, Uganda has picked one of
the two tickets of the group in the
previous match day after a 1-0 defeat
of Cape Verde.
The qualification was also a landmark
for Uganda who also experienced a 38
year wait before qualifying two years
Musa: African pitches affect
our performance
By John Egbokhan,
Asaba
Stand-in Super Eagles
captain, Ahmed Musa has
complained that African pitches
were affecting the performance
of the players on national
assignment in the continent.
Musa, who was Nigeria’s top
scorer at the 2018 FIFA World
Cup in Russia, scoring beautiful
goals against Iceland and
Argentina to the sheer delight
of the watching crowd at the
stadium and on television, said
it was near impossible for
national team players to play
free-flowing football on the
surfaces that they get to play
on in the motherland continent.
‘’We want to delight the fans
with good football but that is
almost impossible to do on the
pitches that we play on in
By John Egbokhan,
Asaba
Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr
has said it would be stupid for him to
back the Nigerian team to win the 2019
African Cup of Nations trophy.
The biggest football tournament on the
continent kicks off in less than three
months in Egypt, with a record 24 teams
competing for the prized diadem.
Eagles have lifted the gold-coated
trophy thrice in their history, first on home
soil in 1980, followed by their conquest
at the 1994 edition in Tunisia, with their
most recent victory being at the 2013
edition in South Africa, where they beat
Burkina Faso in the final at the Soccer
City Stadium, on the outskirts of
Johanesborg.
With their place at the upcoming edition
already sealed, the Eagles, who were the
first team to qualify for the 2019 AFCON
and also were one of five teams to
represent Africa at the last World Cup in
Africa. We all want to be
at our best , with freeflowing
football but
that is not possible
on African
pitches.
‘’We need
improvement
on the pitches
so that we can
replicate what we do
at our clubs for our
country in Africa but
no matter what we get
back on the continent,
we are always going to
give it our best shot
possible so that our
fans can be happy’’,
said Musa, who
now plays
professionally
in Saudi
Arabia.
•Musa
Rohr: It would be stupid to tip
Eagles to win 2019 AFCON trophy
Russia, are unwittingly being tipped
as one of the teams to lift AFCON
2019 trophy.
But speaking to reporters in Asaba
, venue of the upcoming international
friendly match against the hosts of
the next AFCON, Egypt, Manager
Rohr said it would be totally
foolhardy for him to accept the
favourites tag to lift the trophy.
‘’Obviously every team that would
be playing at the next AFCON hope
to win it but realistically, It would
be stupid to tip the Super Eagles to
lift the trophy. I say this because
there are teams who are better
ranked than us and stand in better
stead than us to lift the trophy.
‘’My friend Herve Renard, who
coaches Morocco is being diplomatic
when he tipped us to win the trophy.
I believe he is playing mind games
because Morocco are the favourites,
followed by Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia
in that order.”
ago. Before their qualification for the
2017 tournament, Uganda last
qualified in 1978 when they beat
Nigeria 2-1 in the semi-finals.
The Ugandans have now qualified
for back-to-back tournaments for the
first time since 1974 and 1976.
Tanzania football has been on the rise
since Emmanuel Amuneke took
charge in August last year and hopes
to crown his efforts with a historic
qualification for the Africa Cup of
Nations.
Another match that will be of interest
is that of Libya hosting South Africa in
Tunisia. Libya, forced to play home
matches outside its territory owing to
political instability may upstage initial
Group E frontrunners, South Africa.
Should that happens, the Africa Cup
of Nations enters a new phase as it will
be the first in which all the five North
African countries will be participating.
Already, Egypt, the hosts, qualified
even before getting the hosting rights.
Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria are also
through to the finals.
Rohr: I’m not
satisfied with
Iheanacho
By John Egbokhan,
Asaba
Super Eagles and Leicester City
forward, Kelechi Iheanacho has
been warned to shape up if he must
get priority place in the national
team and club set-up.
Handing down this tough stance
yesterday, Eagles Manager
Gernot Rohr said it was
important for the UAE 2018
Under-17 top scorer to rediscover
his scoring prowess before being
declared surplus to requirement for
both club and country.
Speaking on Iheanacho’s noninvitation
for yesterday’s AFCON
qualifier against Seychelles and
next Tuesday’s international
friendly against Egypt, Rohr told
reporters here in Asaba that ‘’I told
Kelechi why he was not listed for
the matches. One of the reasons is
because I want to offer
opportunities to other strikers that
I have not tried.
‘’Iheanacho is playing for a club
with a new manager and because
he has not been scoring, it is
important for him to remain there
so as to gain confidence of the coach
. I am not really satisfied with his
performance and his
professionalism . I am not being
funny about this and expect him
to show more desire in this regard
quickly’’, added Rohr.
Over 300 grassroots teams
set for Trophy 5-a-side tourney
As at week two since its launch, over 380 teams
have emerged in the ongoing registration
of interested participants of the Trophy 5-a-side
Field of Honour tournament. The 10-man teams
which were recruited through in-bar
accreditations across Lagos, Osun, Ogun and
Oyo states will be representing their
communities in a round-robin stage, after which
winners will proceed to the knock out stages.
The campaign which is expected to run for 10
weeks will produce a final winner by May 12,
2019.
The in-bar activation which commenced
March 7 recorded such a success that
participants, who collected their tokens and
have been grouped into teams, are already
warming up to begin the qualifying matches,
while accreditation continues.
The winning team will take home N3 million
cash prize, meet with Samuel Eto’o, renowned
African football superstar and have the
opportunity to participate in the continental
finals taking place in Tanzania later this year.
Winners at the knock-out stages will also be
rewarded with various consolation prizes and
memorabilia, in appreciation for their
participation.
While some of the teams are yet to come up
with club names, some others already have and
rearing to go.
2019 AFCON Finals:
Star lager beer thrill
Super Eagles fans in
Asaba
The first indigenous beer to be brewed in Nigeria,
Star Lager, yesterday in Asaba, Delta State
celebrated with passionate fans of the Super Eagles
as they took on Seychelles in their last African Cup
of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match at the Stephen
Keshi International Stadium.
The encounter, which was a dead-rubber as the
team had already secured a qualification ticket to
play at the continental premier football tournament
in Egypt in June, saw Star Lager beer, the official
beer of the Super Eagles thrill passionate football
fans in and around Asaba, at the famous Fan Park
located outside the stadium during the match.
Aside the AFCON qualifying match, Star Lager
will also thrill fans at the same ground on Tuesday
when the former African Champions and host of the
next tournament, Pharaohs of Egypt engage the
Super Eagles of Nigeria in a high profile
International friendly match.
“As an official partner of the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF), Nigerian Breweries Plc is solidly
behind the Super Eagles to continue to conquer
higher grounds and we as a corporate organisation
will continue to build a fan base for the team as
Nigeria stages a comeback to the African Cup of
Nations tournament," the Marketing Director,
Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Emmanuel Oriakhi
stated Thursday ahead of the matches.
UEFA Champions League:
Heineken launches
limited edition bottles
International premium lager beer, Heineken will
be launching limited edition UEFA Champions
League bottles to further celebrate the 2018/2019
season. The new bottles will highlight the brand’s
partnership with UEFA as the participation in the
competition, as it takes place every week.
This football inspired special edition bottles carry
the bold red star crest while mirroring the UEFA
Champions League Trophy, representing club football’s
most illustrious accolade, with a green backdrop
which represents Heineken and the UEFA
Champions League.
Commenting on the special edition Heineken bottle
design, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries
Plc, Emmanuel Oriakhi had this to say,
“Heineken has been a big part of football for the
last 25 years, particularly by sponsoring the UEFA
Champions League. During this time, we have been
giving our fans the opportunity to connect with club
football’s biggest competition, while also rewarding
their passion by taking some lucky few to Europe
in the past. The launch of the special edition
bottles is just another way of delivering on the brand
promise.”
Heineken, has been a long-standing sponsor of
the UEFA Champions League since 1994. This illustrious
collaboration with club football’s biggest
and most watched competition has seen Heineken
become one of the most recognizable brands in the
world of football.