AFRICA CUP 2017 QUALIFIERS - this weekend

Seeded sides set for winning starts.

13 Jun 2015
STARS IN EUROPE - MOROCCO - CLUB - Taarabt leaves QPR for Benfica

Adel Taarabt has left Queens Park Rangers and signed for Portuguese side Benfica .

13 Jun 2015
RISING STARS - CONGO DR - Lukoki set for emotional return to birthplace

Jody Lukoki was just 12 months old when his family left Congo DR.

13 Jun 2015
U-20 WORLD CUP 2015 - Nigeria knocked out of tournament

Nigeria exit the Fifa Under-20 World Cup at the Round of 16 stage.

12 Jun 2015
U-20 WORLD CUP 2015 - Mali and Senegal reach quarter-finals

Mali stunned Ghana, while Senegal beat Ukraine on penalties.

11 Jun 2015
STARS IN EUROPE - GHANA - CLUB - Swansea sign Andre Ayew

Swansea City sign Ghana forward on four-year deal.

11 Jun 2015
NATIONAL TEAM - LIBERIA - George Weah junior gets call-up for 2017 qualifier

George Weah's son has been named in Liberia's squad.

10 Jun 2015
NATIONAL TEAM - NIGERIA - STARS IN EUROPE - Enyeama

Nigeria captain Vincent Enyeama hopes to bow out on a high.

9 Jun 2015

African Champions League 2014 - group stage - 2nd matches - fixtures

Democratic Republic of Congo rivals AS Vita Club and TP Mazembe will meet this weekend in a Champions League tie only two weeks after their last match ended in tragedy. Fifteen people were killed and dozens more injured in a stampede at the sides' league match at the Tata Raphael Stadium in Kinshasa. The Confederation of African Football has expressed its deepest sympathy to the families of the deceased but the governing body has put no specific security measures in place for Sunday's game in Lubumbashi.

While Mazembe were 1:0 winners in that fateful league match, clinching the league title in the process, the club are bottom of their Champions League group and AS Vita are top after the first matchday. Vita beat Egyptians Zamalek 1:0, while Mazembe fell 1-0 to Al Hilal of Sudan. It means there is a lot at stake on and off the pitch for the teams, who will each be keen for a victory and a peaceful event.

Those opening results also mean the pressure is on Zamalek as they face Al Hilal in the weekend's other Group A tie. But Zamalek coach Mido remains confident, telling reporters: ""We will not drop any points during the coming games." He also wrote on Twitter: "I am betting on us qualifying from this group and reaching the final after a lengthy absence."

The last of Zamalek's five African triumphs came 12 years ago when they edged Moroccans Raja Casablanca 1:0 over two legs. Hilal will be wary of Moemen Zakariya, the leading Zamalek scorer in Africa this season with three goals. No Sudanese has scored more than once, but Mido must have noted the aerial strength of Salah Al-Jazouli, which brought him the winner against Mazembe.

Tunisians Esperance , favourites to win Group B and go on to secure a third title, suffered a shock 2:1 home defeat against Algerians Entente Setif last weekend. They travel to Sudanese city Omdurman for the match against Al Ahli Benghazi, who cannot play at home because of civil unrest. Haythem Jouini of Esperance and Zimbabwe-born Edward Sadomba of Benghazi have scored 10 Champions League goals between them this season.

The other fixture pits Setif against Tunisians CS Sfaxien in a top-of-the-table.

 

23 May 2014
(BBC Sport UK)

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