By Akyereko Emmanuel

Drogba wants to be at 2014 World Cup in Brazil

Didier Drogba has insisted he will be at the 2014 World Cup with the Ivory Coast despite being at the twilight of his career.

Nigeria coach Uche being side-stepped ahead of World Cup

The Nigeria Football Federation has concluded plans to engage a foreign technical adviser ahead of July 2011 FIFA women world cup in Germany.

The development came as a result of growing discontent among members of the NFf technical committee about the ability of incumbent handler Eucharia Uche to lead the team to an impressive outing at the mundail.

A close watch at the build up for the team has continued to give the technical committee cold shivers as to the ability of the former national women captain, forcing the committee to recommend the engagement of a TA that will boss Uche.

The recommendations, has reportedly been approved by the executive committee of the NFF.

A sourec close to the technical committee chairman Chris Green hinted that for the paucity of funds in the football house the TA would have already started work adding that the matter will soon be resolved as funds are available.

But Uche, who only recently got a formal letter appointing her as chief coach after almost 18months on the saddle, cried foul when she discovered that her appointment would lapse the early days of July. She was said to have rejected the offer arguing that the ploy would rob her of a life time chance of leading the team to the world cup.

Green we gathered however allayed her fears pointing out that her job is still intact since she would be with the team that will go to Germany.

“We have watched her (Uche ) and we are not confident she can take the team far; so we have resolved to bring a foreign technical adviser to beef up the crew.

“Funds are now the constraints to realizing the objective” Green was quoted to have said.

It was gathered that the Sani Lulu led board only gave verbal contracts to most of the national coaches, including John Obuh who recently complained to the House Committee on sports that the NFF has not been paid salaries in the last twelve months.

Spain winning the cup in South Africa

Fifa is giving each football nation an extra $US300,000 as a share of profits from the 2010 World Cup.

It means member associations on the African continent who didn’t qualify for the World Cup are also entitled to the monies allocated.

The governing body said on Friday the payment is in addition to the $US250,000 every country gets annually toward football development and running costs.

Each of FIFA’s six continental confederations gets an extra $US2.5 million ($A2.52 million).

‘This decision by the FIFA executive committee has been made possible thanks to the outstanding success of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which led to a very good financial result for FIFA for the entire 2007-2010 period,’ the governing body said in a statement.

Brunei are currently suspended and are the only one of FIFA’s 208 members excluded.

Zimbabwe hopeful of clinching 2015 Womens Worlds Cup hosting rights

Zimbabwe football officials say they are optimistic of hosting the 2015 Women’s World Cup, despite numerous allegations of of match-fixing.

Mavis Gumbo, head of Zimbabwe’s women’s football league, says  her outfit and the national football body are hopeful of their chances but money is needed to improve facilities, which she calls “the barest minimum” for such a tournament.

Zimbabwe and Canada, the only two countries competing, have until Feb. 11 to submit final bids to FIFA. The host nation will be chosen in March.

Men’s national team players admitted accepting bribes last year to throw matches on an Asian tour, blaming hardships at home after years of political and economic turmoil.

Super Falcons

Nigeria will finalise preparations for the 2011 Womens World Cup in the country the tournament is being hosted, Germany.

The Super Falcons, the six-time African champions will play their group matches against France, Canada and the hosts, Germany, at the finals all in group A.

The team’s programme proposal was tabled by Head Coach Uche Eucharia, and it has been formally ratified by the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

As part of the programme, there is an arrangement for a warm-up match against Finland. The match will hold in Helsinki on May 17.

According to the federation, efforts are in place to see that the team get other friendly matches against Norway and Hungary.

But before the World Cup, the federation also hopes to send Eucharia on a refresher course in either Germany or England, in order to have her better-equipped in the technical department for the job ahead.

The refresher course for Eucharia is apparently in response to the question raised about her technical depth after the Falcons were giving an embarrassing 8-0 hiding by Germany in a friendly match in Leverkusen in November last year.

The new Ghana boss interacting with the media

Goran Stevanovic has declared its time to win trophies as he takes over the reins as the head coach of Ghana’s senior national team, the Black Stars.

The 44-year-old made the pronouncement at his presentation to the media on Wednesday at the Ghana FA’s secretariate in Accra.

Though delighted to be Ghana coach, Stevanovic is under no illusion at all how difficult a task it is to manage the Black Stars especially after the team’s impressive feat in recent times.

“I am delighted and grateful that after fierce competition in a thorough interviewing process you have chosen me to be the coach of the highly respected Black Stars of Ghana,” he said.

“Ghana is a very good team and i know many coaches would love to me in my position today.

“I am aware that my job would not be easy. In this moment Ghana is one of the top five countries in the world.

“Finalists at the last African Cup of Nations and U-20 Champions.”

The former Partizan Belgrade coach however noted his immediate challenge is to motivate his team who have already been to two World Cup’s to give off their best under his regime.

“Now my biggest challenge in this job to motivate the players to believe they can do better and this is very challenging because they have achieved so much,” he added.

The new Ghana was paid 200,000 Euros as his signing fee and would be on a monthly wage of 30,000 Euros, on an initial two-year deal which could be extended by a further two based upon performance.

Super Falcons

Nigeria coach Uche Eucharia has invited 40 players for a special camping exercise in preparation for the 2011 Fifa Womens World Cup in Germany.

Eight goal keepers and thirty two outfield players have been invited to the camp which opens later this month.

All members of the Super Falcons team that won the African Women’s Championship (AWC) title in South Africa last year were invited.

Several foreign and home based players who were not in South Africa were also called up.

Coach Uche told reporters that the exercise would help her immensely as she gets into the preliminary stages of her plans to prosecute a loaded World Cup programme.

“This camping exercise is the first of its kind. I call it training and screening camp. It will help me see the level of fitness of the players that I will use for the World Cup. Those that were in South Africa and those that were not will have equal opportunities to fight for shirts, ” she said.

The camping exercise will last for a forth night and Uche believes she will have a full house for the programme.

“We missed some players at the AWC last year because their clubs refused to release them.

“There will be nothing like that this time because all the foreign based players are currently on holidays here in Nigeria. That is why I chose to do this in January,” she added.

Nigeria has been pitted against Canada, France and world champions, Germany in group A of the Women’s world cup which begins in June.

Gyan in goal celebration at World Cup

Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan has welcomed Goran Stevanovic as he takes over the reins as the new coach of the national team, the Black Stars.

The 24-year-old however warned the new man of the team’s jovial character and asked him to take it easy if he is quick tempered.

“We will be behind him as players and play our heart out for the nation as we always have,” Gyan said.

“But we joke a lot so if he is quick tempered he should take it easy.”

The ex Partizan Belgrade coach takes over from compatriot Milovan Rajevac who built a good rapport with the players culminating in successful outings at the 2010 Nations and World Cups.

However the Sunderland hitman said irrespective of whatever strategy the 44-year-old Serbian is bringing on board the team would adapt to it with time.

“Every coach has his program and how to achieve that. A new coach could mean new tactics, new training methods and a lot of things. But we know ourselves, we have been a group for so long and if there is anything we have done well, it has been our ability to adapt. We will get used to him in no time,” he assured.

Stevanovic has agreed a four year deal to become Ghana coach subject to a major review after two years.

If 2010 was the ‘Year of Africa’ in football circles, it will be remembered for a spirited celebration of the FIFA World Cup that left little room for much of the pre-event doubts.

The successful hosting of the tournament was a timely boost for the continent’s image in the eyes of the global community, and never before have Africans spoken so fondly of their region, which can now proudly point to their capacity and ability in staging the event.

For South Africa, it offered a chance to change perceptions and greet the world like few others have before.

In football terms, Africa remains at a crossroads, threatening to push on and become more of a world force but at the same time under threat of being turned back. With six representatives at the FIFA World Cup for the first time, 2010 offered an opportunity to make a stronger bid for success, but results on the pitch were mixed. Join FIFA.com for a look back at the year in African football.

Dramatic wins

Champions, Egypt still top of Africa

Egypt failed to reach South Africa 2010 after a bitter play-off defeat by Algeria in 2009, but in 2010 they kept up a remarkable continental run that has now seen them win an unprecedented three CAF Africa Cup of Nations tournaments on the trot. The Pharaohs were rarely even threatened and brushed aside all comers with six wins out of six in Angola.

The vanquished team in the ultimate match at the Cup of Nations was an injury-hit Ghana, coached by Milovan Rajevac. But the emergence of a young Ghanaian generation built around 2009’s FIFA U-20 World Cup success and the consistent goalscoring of Asamoah Gyan were a harbinger of things to come.

The most successful African team at the ‘African World Cup,’ the Black Stars stunned Serbia in their first match after a late Gyan penalty and rode Gyan’s extra-time goal past the USA in the second round. Those wins allowed Ghana to match the feat ofCameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) in reaching the last eight at the World Cup.

Although South Africa became the first host nation not to make it past the first round of the World Cup, Bafana Bafana gave their supporters a farewell gift in the form of a 2-1 victory over former champions France in boisterous Bloemfontein. Elimination on goal difference could not take away the pride of the nation or the memories of the vuvuzela.

Nigeria were runners-up at the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany this year, which is further than any African women have ever gone at a FIFA tournament. Their most important victory was a penalty shootout win over defending champions United States in the quarter-final, a round that the Falconets had fallen at in the previous three tournaments.

At club level, the FIFA Club World Cup offers the only forum for Africa to match itself up against the rest of the world, and after years of disappointing results, TP Mazembe Englebert became the first side from outside of Europe or South America to reach the final of the event after besting Brazilian opposition Internacional 2-0 in the semi-final.

Mazembe players in celebration

Cameroon captain Samuel Eto’o had a disappointing World Cup along with the rest of his national team, who finished bottom of their group without a point. Nonetheless, his exploits with all-conquering European club side Inter Milan were enough for him to win a record fourth CAF Africa Player of the Year Award.

Breakout stars
Egyptian striker Mohamed ‘Gedo’ Nagui was the revelation of the Cup of Nations in Angola. Having scored just once previously for the Pharaohs, Gedo managed five goals in five appearances as a substitute, including the late winner in the final.

Still only 25, Asamoah Gyan will surely see 2010 as the most significant year in his short career. After scoring three goals at the Cup of Nations, including two match-winners, Gyan still came to the World Cup with some questioning his ability to lead the line. But in the absence of talismanic Michael Essien, Gyan was Ghana’s inspiration, scoring three goals and embodying the team’s lively confidence.

Asamoah Gyan and Kwadwo Asamoah

Gyan was joined on the Ghana  team by a fantastic collection of promising talents, notably midfielders Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew and Kwadwo Asamoah, 21 and 22 years old respectively. Ayew, the son of Abedi Pele, was named a finalist for the Hyundai Best Young Player Award at the World Cup, while Asamoah picked up CAF’s Most Promising Talent Award at the end of the year.

Unforgettable moments
Tshabalala lifts the roof
Siphiwe Tshabalala’s fantastic goal opened not only the World Cup but South Africa’s campaign as hosts in style. It seemed like it might carry them through a difficult group, but although they fell at the first hurdle, this moment alone left a taste of triumph in the mouth.

Gyan converts a penalty
Three weeks after Tshabalala’s goal, Soccer City witnessed another moment for the ages. Just minutes after he had blazed over from the spot in the last minute of extra time against Uruguay – a miss that would have made Ghana the first African team to reach the semi-final of a World Cup – Gyan converted Ghana’s first attempt in the post-match shootout.

Although the Black Stars were eliminated moments later, it was a spectacularly brave display by the gutted striker and a worthy memory for the watching continent.