Cote d’Ivoire Vs Nigeria: 2023 AFCON Match Preview

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January 18, 2024

In a surprising turn of events, Nigerian striker Sadiq Umar who was last-week ruled out due to injury from the Nigeria squad for the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023, made a return to the field as a substitute in Real Sociedad’s Copa del Rey clash against Osasuna.

The match ended 0-2 in favour of Real Sociedad with Umar introduced in the final quater.

The turning point in the Copa del Rey fixture on Wednesday, January 17 occurred in the 56th minute when Osasuna’s Catena received a red card, leaving the team with ten players on the pitch. Seizing the advantage, Sociedad swiftly capitalized on the numerical superiority.

Mikel Oyarzabal broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, delivering a crucial goal that propelled Real Sociedad into the lead. The pressure continued to mount on Osasuna, and the match took a definitive turn when Mikel Merino added a second goal deep into stoppage time.

However, the most notable moment of the match was the return of Sadiq Umar to competitive action.

Having been withdrawn from the Nigeria squad for AFCON 2023 due to injury concerns, Umar’s appearance as a substitute marked a remarkable comeback earlier than the three weeks predicted by the Super Eagles doctors, reason he was replaced by Paul Onuachu on the list.

AFCON2023: Match Day 5 Summary, Morocco In Bright Start

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January 18, 2024

Two matches of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) were played on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. Here is a summary for the days games.

Morocco Dominates Tanzania with Convincing 3-0 Victory in AFCON 2023 Opener

In the opening game of Group F in the AFCON 2023, the Atlas Lions of Morocco showcased their prowess with a commanding 3-0 win over Tanzania at the ongoing tournament in Côte d’Ivoire.

Match Highlights:

30th Minute: Romain Saiss opened the scoring for Morocco, giving them a crucial lead.
70th Minute: Tanzania faced a setback as Novatus Miroshi received his second yellow card, reducing them to 10 players.
77th Minute: Azzedine Ounahi extended Morocco’s lead, making it 2-0.
80th Minute: Youssef En-Nesyri secured the victory with a goal in the 80th minute, sealing a comprehensive 3-0 win for Morocco.

The victory positions Morocco as one of the top favorites in the tournament, aiming to add another AFCON title to their collection. Their first and only AFCON triumph dates back to 1976 in Ethiopia.

The next fixture in Group F will witness the Democratic Republic of Congo facing off against Chipolopolo of Zambia.

DR Congo and Zambia Share Spoils in Intense 1-1 Draw at AFCON 2023

In a riveting encounter at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw, leaving both teams with a point in Group F.

Match Summary:

23rd Minute: Zambia thrilled their fans by taking the lead through Kings Kangwa’s goal.
27th Minute: DR Congo responded swiftly with an equalizer, courtesy of a brilliant strike by Yoane Wissa.
Second Half: Despite numerous goal-scoring opportunities, both teams were unable to break the deadlock.
VAR Drama: DR Congo had a chance to secure the win with a penalty, but VAR intervened to cancel the decision.
Final Result: After a fiercely contested battle, the match concluded with both Zambia and DR Congo settling for a point each.

Tanzania Sets Aside 48bn For Diploma Students Loans

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January 17, 2024

The government of Tanzania has set aside 48bn/- for provision of loans to diploma students for 2023/2024 academic year.

Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa revealed this during the inauguration of the Catholic University of Mbeya (CUoM) in Mbeya Region.

According to the Premier, the plan which are vision and directives of President Samia Suluhu Hassan aim at ensuring provision of quality education which will enable graduates in the country to be confident and survive competition at the national and international labour market.

He said another objective of Samia is to see many youth acquire education which impart them with skills and capability to take part in national building.

The PM also said the government has set aside 1 million US dollars through Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) for training 27 lecturers from private universities.

He said the funds will also be used to finance training for seven lecturers for Master degree and 29 lecturers for PhD in health and allied sciences programs.

He added that through this project the government has been thinking of private universities, such act demonstrates its intention to empower private sector to participate fully in provision of education at all levels.

Majaliwa further called upon private universities to set up strategic plans of increasing the number of academicians especially professors, senior lecturers and lecturers for the programs which are being offered.

In another development, Majaliwa said the government recognizes and value the contribution of religious institutions including Catholic Church for being in forefront in provision of servicers in various sectors including health, education and social welfare.

The CUoM Council Board Chairman, Bishop John Ndimbo expressed appreciation to Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) for granting the university higher learning status after fulfilling all the required conditions.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Dr Franklin Rwezimula who represented Minister for Education commended Catholic Church on how it has invested in education sector.

TCU at its 116th meeting held on October, last year granted approval for Catholic University College of Mbeya (CUCoM) to transform into a fully-fledged University to be known as Catholic University of Mbeya (CUoM) with effect from January 1, this year.

Last year the government launched guidelines for provision of loans to diploma students for the academic year 2023/2024.

Speaking during the launch ceremony held at Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) in Dar es Salaam, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Adolf Mkenda said the government needs to increase the number of experts by providing loans to students at the diploma level.

2024 UTME: JAMB Okays 747 CBT Centers For Registration

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January 17, 2024

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has certified 747 Computer Based Test, CBT, Centers for the 2024 UTME exercise which started on Monday.

The Board made this known in a bulletin issued in Abuja by the Public Communication Advisor, PAC, Dr./ Fabian Benjamin.

The Board had shortlisted 907 CBT centers for accreditation, but after revalidation and integrity tests, it could only certify 747 centers for the 2024 UTME exercise.

Some of the candidates who shared their experiences said the registration was seamless, while others said otherwise.

At the Future Gate CBT center in One-Man Village, a candidate, Chinaza Onuegbu, who expressed worry over his inability to register, said he was directed to register in another center without any reason.

Onuegbu, however, said that on another thought, he went back to request why he won’t be allowed to register but was told to come back on Tuesday with his JAMB profile code, which he has not gotten.

FUTA Postpones Resumption Over Protests, Orders Students To Vacate Hostels

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January 17, 2024

Following the ongoing protest at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, the school management has postponed the resumption of students for the 2023/2024 academic session indefinitely.

The school also ordered all students currently on campus and in hostels to vacate them within 24 hours.

FUTA management gave the directives in a statement made available to Newsmen by its Director, Corporate Communication, Adegbenro Adebanjo.

The Management also directed that registration of returning students and payment of fees for the new academic session via the university portal scheduled to start January 15, 2024, be put on hold.

The statement read, It is important to state that the institution did not open the portal for Registration for Returning Students for the new session contrary to what was being bandied about in the public domain.

On the proposed new fees and charges, they are mainly for students-related services which are sourced from the economy and the costs of such goods and services provided by the University for the students will certainly be impacted by costs of goods and services in the economy.

To ensure the smooth running of the University, certain consumables and payments for municipal services such as hostel maintenance, water, electricity and cleaning and sundry among others are necessary and the costs of providing the services have shot up and the new charges are in response to this.

the institution further says it is important to note that Tuition is free for all students and no money is being charged as tuition fee.

The protest by students of the institution was as a result of 100% increase in their tuition.

UNILAG Debunks Claim Of Hoodlum Attack

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January 17, 2024

The management of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has debunked the claim by a section of the media that some hoodlums attacked its vehicle on transit and carted away some of the graduation gowns in the bus, saying the report was not true.

The university in a statement made available by its spokesperson, Adejoke Alaga-Ibraheem, explained what transpired.

It reads … The University of Lagos (UNILAG) Management wishes to debunk certain online reports claiming that the University was attacked by hoodlums on Monday, January 15, 2024.

So, for the purpose of clarification, the incident that occurred at the university on the said date had to do with crowd control during the release of academic gowns to graduating students of the School of Postgraduate Studies (SPGS) ahead of their convocation ceremony scheduled for Thursday, January 18.

And during the incident, some yet-to-be-issued gowns were taken, and the vehicle where the gowns were kept and being distributed from was damaged by some suspected students who may have lost patience of waiting.

The incident is currently being investigated to ascertain its cause, culpable individuals, level of damage and to prevent a recurrence.

So, we appreciate our esteemed stakeholders for their concern, and plead with the general public to disregard wild narratives trailing the incident

The university at the moment is holding its 54th convocation ceremonies with a total of 17,464 students with first, second, and third degrees as well as diploma and certificate, graduating.

The first degree students are scheduled for two days, Tuesday and Wednesday while the postgraduate students and three eminent Nigerians who will be receiving honorary doctoral degrees are scheduled for Thursday.

Broos Attributes Loss To Missed Penalty And Physicality Of Mali

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January 17, 2024

Hugo Broos has attributed South Africa’s TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 opening loss to Mali to the missed penalty in the first half as well as the physicality of the Eagles.

South Africa were humbled to a 2-0 defeat after a positive start in the first half that lacked the all-important finishing touch.

Speaking after disappointing result, the 2017 tournament winner with Cameroon said the missed penalty by Percy Tau and the physicality that the Malians came with in the second half contributed to the loss.

“The performance of South Africa was good, and I think if we scored the penalty, we would have been good. They were more physical than the first half. This was the major difference. We lost a lot of balls and mostly because of the physical conditioning of Mali was better than us. So this is the difference and this is where Mali was able to change the game, not at the football playing level” said Broos.

“The coach of Mali saw what he had to do, and they were stronger on duels in the second half and we couldn’t play our game anymore. We lost the ball where we shouldn’t have lost it but then again, I think the performance was good but just not good enough” concluded a dejected Broos.

Up next for the South Africans is a Southern African tie with their high in confidence neighbors, Namibia who secured a historic 1-0 victory over Tunisia in the earlier kick off.

The Sunday clash will take place at the at the Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly in Korhogo at 20h00 local time.

Eagles: Our medical team approached Sadiq Umar’s case with every sense of professionalism

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January 17, 2024

The camp of Nigeria’s senior men football team, Super Eagles has decried reports in sections of the media that have continued to garnish the medical case of Spain-based forward Sadiq Umar with conspiracy theories, incorrect assumptions and unbecoming insinuations. The camp has released a statement with regards to how the player was withdrawn from Nigeria’s squad for the 34^th Africa Cup of Nations finals ongoing in Cote d’Ivoire.

We are surprised at the news trending on social media concerning Sadiq Umar and how he was withdrawn from the team camp. The fact is that our medical team meticulously abided by the best medical procedures and were diligent in their processes and conclusions before advising Head Coach José Peseiro that the player be withdrawn from the squad.

The player, Sadiq Umar, was okay when he arrived at camp; he had to undergo the standard pre-competition medical assessment and he was good. He started to train with the team. Unfortunately, he copped an injury on the back of his left knee during our friendly match against Guinea in Abu Dhabi on 8^th January, that led to a penalty against our opponents. The medical team advised that he substituted, as a cautionary measure, but he said he was fine and could continue the game. At half time, he said he reiterated that he was good to continue playing, and he played the entire 90 minutes.

However, the following day, he woke up to see the knee swelling, and the medical team had to apply ice which is the normal thing. The same day, we had to travel to Lagos and on the 10^th January, flew to Abidjan. Then, the swelling became worse.

Most of the reports we have seen are not a true representation of what actually happened. We have a very competent medical team who are well-trained in sport and exercise medicine and highly experienced and exposed to the most modern techniques and practices. They followed all due processes and protocol in tandem with the consultant knee surgeon that the player himself contacted in Spain, before the decision was made in the interest of the nation and the career of the player.

As much as the medical team has refused to join issues with anyone due to their professional patience and privacy policy, we will not allow anyone to rubbish our collective responsibility as Team Nigeria to this Africa Cup of Nations championship. We reiterate that the player was carried along throughout the process, and he started his rehabilitation with the team physiotherapist before he returned to his club in Spain.

AFCON 2023: Eagles look forward to interesting encounter with Elephants

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January 17, 2024