2015 AFRICA CUP - SENEGAL - SADIO MANE INCLUDED IN SQUAD

Senegal coach Alain Giresse has included Sadio Mane in his final squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations despite his calf injury.

11 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - CAMEROON - FINKE STICKS WITH CORE GROUP

Cameroon coach Volker Finke has kept faith with the players he used in the qualifiers in his final 23-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

10 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - CONGO - LE ROY FINALISES SQUAD

Congo coach Claude LeRoy has finalised his squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations after cutting three players from the provisional list.

10 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - TUNISIA - MIKARI & TOUZGHAR CUT FROM SQUAD

Striker Yoann Touzghar and defender Yassine Mikari have not made it into Tunisia's final squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

10 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - EQUATORIAL GUINEA - SQUAD ANNOUNCED

Africa Cup of Nations hosts Equatorial Guinea have included 14 players who were born in Spain in their final 23-man squad for the tournament.

9 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - ZAMBIA - KALABA TO LEAD NATIONAL TEAM

Zambia coach Honour Janza has given the captain's armband to Rainford Kalaba after naming his 23-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

8 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GHANA - NO BOATENG OR MUNTARI IN SQUAD

Ghana's new coach Avram Grant has named his first Black Stars' squad with an initial list of 31 players for January's Africa Cup of Nations finals.

8 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - CAMEROON - SONG MISSES OUT ON SQUAD AND QUITS DUTY

Cameroon and West Ham midfielder Alex Song has retired from international football after his exclusion from his country's Africa Cup of Nations squad.

7 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - ALGERIA - ABEID AND BELKALEM OUT OF SQUAD

Algeria have confirmed that their Newcastle midfielder Mehdi Abeid and Trabzonspor defender Essaid Belkalem have been ruled out of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations because of injury.

6 Jan 2015

FIFA - CANDIDATE Luis Figo pulls out of election

Luís Figo

 

Ex-Portugal midfielder Figo, 42, pulled out on the same day as Van Pragg, 67, to leave Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan as Blatter's only rival.

Blatter is favourite to win a fifth term as president and Figo said: "This process is anything but an election.

"This process is a plebiscite for the delivery of absolute power to one man - something I refuse to go along with."

Each of Fifa's 209 member associations have a vote in the election and Van Praag, who is president of the Dutch football federation, says he will now support Prince Ali.

The English Football Association also intend to support Prince Ali, while the Scottish FA had previously said they would back Van Praag.

The Dutchman held a joint news conference with Prince Ali in Amsterdam on Thursday, urging his supporters to get behind the Jordanian to unseat Blatter.

"Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein convincingly demonstrated that at this moment in time he is the candidate who has the biggest chance to challenge Sepp Blatter," Van Praag said.

"It is impossible that Fifa moves on with its current presidency," he added.

Figo also highlighted the need for change in his withdrawal statement.

"I travelled and met extraordinary people who, though they recognized the value of much that had been done, also concurred with the need for change, one that cleans up Fifa's reputation as an obscure organization that is so often viewed as a place of corruption," he said.

"I have seen with my own eyes federation presidents who, after one day comparing Fifa leaders to the devil, then go on stage and compare those same people with Jesus Christ. 

Nobody told me about this. 

I saw it with my own eyes."

He also questioned an election process in which a main candidate - Blatter - had not produced a manifesto "so that federation presidents know what they're voting for".

Figo added: "There has not been a single public debate about each candidate's proposals."

The latest withdrawal comes after another presidential candidate, Frenchman Jerome Champagne, a former Fifa deputy general secretary, pulled out in February.

Former Tottenham and Newcastle midfielder David Ginola, backed by a betting company, originally announced his intention to stand against Blatter in January, but withdrew two weeks later.

The vote will be held in Zurich at Fifa's annual congress and requires the winning candidate to secure a two-thirds majority in the first round of voting.

If subsequent rounds are required then a simple majority is all that is required for victory.

 

 

22 May 2015
(BBC Sport UK)

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