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African Stars File Out as AFCON 2019 Kicks Off
Stars of African football are billed to step out from today as the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations starts on Friday (today) with a record 24 teams slugging it out for the most coveted trophy in African football.
Seven-time champions and hosts Egypt are billed to set the ball rolling with a tricky fixture against Zimbabwe at the Cairo International Stadium.
The Pharaohs will be hoping to go one step further than they did at the 2017 edition of the competition in Gabon, where a late Vincent Aboubacar’s goal denied them a record 8th trophy.
Reacting to their opening game of the competition, Egypt’s head coach, Javier Aguirre, said their opening match is extremely crucial.
He said, “We have reached a very good form since we started preparing, and we have no problems either physically or technically. It’s a very important game as it’s the opening and we know the responsibility for us, yet we feel no pressure.
“We respect Zimbabwe and know them well. We will do our best come Friday (today). We are just thinking of the Zimbabwe game now and will take one game at a time.”
However, captain of the Pharaohs, Ahmed Elmohamady, said the team were in top shape to win another title.
“We are ready for the first game and our morale is very high. We play at home and promise our supporters that we will emerge champions. Our treble between 2006 and 2010 gave us great confidence and we were unlucky not to win two years ago. Being at home will push us more.”
In their pre-match press conference head coach of Zimbabwe’s national team, Sunday Chidzambwa, insists that his players are prepared for the task ahead.
“We prepared well and we believe we will do well. We are playing in a very difficult group and we also had the same in the qualifiers.
“Facing Egypt is not going to be easy because they play at home and they won the title seven times. But we are one of the best 24 teams in Africa and we will do our best.”
Group B
In Group B three-time African champions Super Eagles will be staging a return to the big stage after missing out on the 2015 and 2017 editions.
The Eagles last won the AFCON in 2013 in South Africa, beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final to lift the trophy.
On paper, the Eagles have one of the easiest groups as they are billed to face Burundi, Guinea and Madagascar. Most pundits see the Eagles as one of the favourites to lift the trophy despite coach Gernot Rohr calling for caution.
Group C
West African football powerhouse Senegal are one of the six countries to have got to the AFCON final without winning it, a trend this talented set of Teranga Lions stars will be hoping to change in Egypt.
Led by in-form Liverpool forward, Sadio Mane, and other stars, the Lions, one of the favourites to win the AFCON, will face Tanzania in their opening game of the competition.
Also hoping to make their presence felt at the tournament will be Algeria. Past winners of the tournament, Algeria have Manchester City’s forward Riyad Mahrez.
The Desert Foxes will be hoping to give Senegal a run for their money in Group C.
Group D
Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, and Namibia make up Group D, which is regarded as the group of death.
Ivory Coast won the 2015 edition of the competition and will be hoping to go all the way once again.
The star-studded Ivorian team will face 1996 champions South Africa in their opening game of the campaign and a favourable result will help them hold their own as one of the favourites to win the 2018 edition of the competition.
Group E
Tunisia, Mali and Angola are the favourites to make it out of this group. Although these teams might not be considered as favourites to win the competition, they will certainly pose some problems for the other heavyweights.
Group F
Defending champions Cameroon are one of the favourites in this group alongside Ghana.
The five-time African champions will have a lot to do to claim a back-to-back AFCON win in Egypt.
The Punch
Headlines
Aftermath of Visa Revocation: Trump, a Petty-minded Dictator, Soyinka Knocks U.S President
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has sensationally described U.S. President Donald Trump as a “petty-minded dictator” whose rise to power fuelled hate-driven violence and worsened racial tensions in the United States.
Speaking in an interview with BBC News Pidgin on Facebook on Wednesday, Soyinka said Trump’s presidency exposed the “dark side” of America and emboldened acts of hatred, particularly against minorities.
“This is a petty-minded dictator. You see how he deals with his objects of hate,” Soyinka said, barely two weeks after the Trump administration announced permanent revocation of his entry visa to the country.
“We saw that dark side of the American side. There were more killings, extrajudicial killings by the police of black people, of minorities, during that build-up, during the campaign, and on account of hate rhetoric, the hate rhetoric of this individual,” he added.
The Nobel Laureate noted that Trump’s campaign rhetoric normalised hate speech and created a climate of intolerance that had lasting consequences.
Soyinka recalled that he had earlier warned about Trump’s leadership style, predicting that one of his first actions as president would be to target immigrants.
“I saw it and I said, listen very carefully, and you can go and check this, I said, ‘When that man comes to power, the first thing he will do is cancel even the green cards’,” he said.
The literary icon, who has often criticised authoritarian tendencies in global politics, maintained that Trump’s administration reflected a deep moral and cultural decline within American society, particularly in its treatment of minorities.
Headlines
Alleged Genocide: Approach Nigeria’s Security Situation with Understanding, FG Tells Trump
The Federal government has again urged United States President, Donald Trump, to demonstrate understanding in his approach to Nigeria’s security challenges.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made the call during a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, days after Trump threatened military action against Nigeria over what he claimed is a genocide against Christians in the country.
“We call on our American friends and partners to approach the Nigerian situation with an understanding of its complex realities. Nigeria is a vast, multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation, making significant strides in economic reforms and strengthening its security architecture.
“We believe constructive engagement is the surest and most effective way to achieve peace and stability not only in Nigeria but in any part of the world.
“Nigeria welcomes dialogue, we welcome cooperation, and we also welcome support from foreign nations, including the United States of America, in addressing our shared security concerns,” the minister said.
Idris reiterated the current administration’s commitment to tackling the menace of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes in the country.
The minister maintained that the Federal government was winning the war against terrorism with major achievements recorded in the North-Eastern part of the country.
“In March this year, a report by the Global Terrorism Index indicated that terrorist attacks were at their lowest in over a decade in Nigeria. The Nigerian government did not say this; it is the international community that has given out this information,” he stated.
“In the last eight months, the Nigerian military has neutralised over 592 terrorists in Borno State alone. Many of them have been sent to their onward beyond.
“Over 11,200 hostages have been freed, and this is still going on. More importantly, over 124 insurgents and their families have surrendered. They have handed over more than 11,000 weapons to the security agencies,” Idris added.
According to the minister, the current administration has made multi-million dollar investments in modernised equipment for security agencies.
Noting that President Bola Tinubu has always supported the nation’s armed forces, Idris said the Commander-in-Chief has increased the budgetary allocation for the military.
He explained that Tinubu has demonstrated the political will to root out terrorism, rampaging bandits, and other criminal elements terrorising Nigerians.
The minister also highlighted military operations in the North-West region of the country, saying that the onslaught against criminals had led to the surrender of bandits in the region.
Idris cited cases where notorious bandit leaders had been eliminated by military strikes in Niger and Zamfara states.
“In the North-West, especially in Zamfara and Kaduna, 11,250 hostages have been freed, and some of the terror leaders that have made life very unbearable for people there have been neutralised.
“They include Ali Kachalla, Boderi, Halilu Sububu, and many others. All these have been sent to where they belong. Only this August, the military intercepted and killed in one operation over 400 armed bandits who had converged to attack a village in Zamfara State,” he stated.
Last Friday, Trump said Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria, describing the alleged killing as a “mass slaughter”.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” he wrote.
The US president added that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening” and directed Congressman Riley Moore and House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole to investigate the matter.
“I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘country of particular concern.’ But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!
“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter and report back to me.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!” Trump wrote.
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is putting Nigeria back on the watchlist, reversing a Joe Biden-era policy due to the extermination of Christians, Fox News reports.
The US President, Donald Trump, on Friday, ordered the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, saying that Christians in Nigeria are facing an existential threat. He also called on American lawmakers to investigate the mass slaughter.
A day later, Trump revealed that he had ordered the Pentagon to prepare for possible action in Nigeria as he continued accusing the Federal Government of violence against Christians.
Trump, who posted a statement on his social media handle, said that if the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, US troops will be ordered to enter Nigeria and wipe out terrorists.
He said: “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, “guns-a-blazing,” to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.
”I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians! Warning: The Nigerian government better move fast!”
However, Fox News is now reporting that Trump’s directive has been carried out as Rubio is putting Nigeria back on the watchlist.
Source: Fox News
