Cheiiii!! Again, Yaradua spirit don dey scatter d whole Africa!

watch your mouth and dont bring nigeria into this. . .nonsense

abi u no see us when we hosted 24 international teams from the globe?

tkb417:

thts what ive been tryin to paste
spambot, u dey crase o

LOL!

Sorry tkb417, just checking in now. . .Let the fantasy game begin!!!

But mehn, this Togo fiasco na real yawa! SCARY!!!

Africa Cup of Nations ready for kick-off

[b]Venue and dates: [/b]Angola, 10-31 January
Coverage: Final and semi-finals live on BBC TV, BBC World Service and commentaries on BBC Sport website.
Live commentary on opening match on BBC World Service and BBC Sport website


Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure thinks his team are justified as favourites to win the Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off on Sunday in Angola.

In the semi-finals two years ago, the Elephants were thumped 4-1 by Egypt who went on to beat Cameroon in the final.

But Manchester City star Toure told BBC Sport: "It's going to be really tough but with all the good players we have, we can break anyone."

The tournament begins with hosts Angola playing a strongly fancied Mali team.

They too will be looking to make amends after a poor 2008 Nations Cup which saw them exit at the group stage.

Mali can boast one of the best midfields of the 27th edition of the tournament which will act as a perfect warm-up before Africa hosts the World Cup for the first time in June.

The Mali team, like defending champions Egypt, will miss out on football's global showpiece event in South Africa and will rely on the likes of Barcelona's Seydou Keita, Juventus midfielder Momo Sissoko, Real Madrid's Mahamadou Diarra and Seville striker Frederic Kanoute.

But it is the Ivory Coast squad which is most enviable, with Toure joined in Angola by his brother Yaya from Barcelona, as well as Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue and Pompey striker Aruna Dindane.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8446504.stm

Sad news. 

Togo footballers shot in ambush
Gunmen have fired on a bus carrying Togo's football team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, wounding players and reportedly killing the driver.

The attackers machine-gunned the vehicle in Angola's oil-rich territory of Cabinda, where rebels have been fighting for independence.

The government called the incident an "act of terrorism". There are reports of serious injuries.

Togo is due to play its first cup game in Cabinda on Monday.

Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was on the bus but is unhurt. In a statement, Manchester City said Adebayor had been "shaken by the terrible events" but was "unharmed".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8449319.stm

what did they say that happened to Togo team. is the Nations cup stil going to be hosted after two togo players were shot wounded and all that?

Caf I need reply

mukina2:

Africa

this is bad business.

As in eh. . i no fit shout.

http://www.wsn.com/2010/01/08/football/news/africa/african-nations-cup-to-go-ahead-caf_27242/

LUANDA, Jan 8, 2010 (AFP) - The African Nations Cup will go ahead as planned despite Friday's deadly attack on the Togo team buses which killed the driver and injured nine, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed to AFP.

"Our great concern is for the players, that's our key priority, but the championship goes ahead" Souleymane Habuba, CAF's communications director, insisted.

Tragedy struck the build-up to the Nations Cup which starts here on Sunday when gunmen fired on the Togo team as they crossed the border from Congo-Brazzaville to the troubled province of Cabinda.

The head of the Togolese football federation reported the driver had been killed and nine other passengers injured in the attack claimed by the armed wing of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC).

Habuba revealed that CAF's vice-president had set off from the Angolan capital of Luanda to Cabinda to find out at first hand what had occurred.

"We need to know all the facts about what's happening on the ground, we haven't got them all yet. We can't give a full reaction from reports that we have got from the media."

Habuba did, however, question why Togo, in contrast to the other 15 teams making their way to Angola for the biennial competition, had elected to travel by road rather than flying.

"CAF's regulations are quite clear, teams are required to travel by air, not road.

"We had a meeting of all the teams this morning, or at least almost all of them - Togo didn't show up, and it was only later on Friday afternoon that we heard via information from the media that they had been the victims of an attack.

"But at no point were we told they were travelling by road."

Virgilio Santos of the local organising committee confirmed they had been in the dark as to how Togo were arriving at the Nations Cup.

"We asked all the delegations to tell us how and when they were coming, as well as the players' passport numbers. Togo was the only team not to reply and they didn't tell us they were coming by road," said Santos.

Habuba said CAF would make further comment on the shooting once they had more details either later Friday or Saturday.

The Togo team came under machinegun fire as they were travelling from their training camp in Point Noire in Congo to Cabinda where they were scheduled to play their opening match against west African neighbours Ghana on Monday.

Meanwhile, the African division of the player union FIFPro called on organisers to "leave no stone unturned, assuming the Cup can go ahead, to ensure the security of players and those accompanying them."

"Football is an instrument of peace, a festival," said FIFPro. "It should not be used as a vehicle for mindless violence, whatever the claims of those who seek to take it hostage" for their own ends.

Assuming the tournament does continue as Habuba insists then CAF and the Angolan authorities have a series of major issues to tackle, not least whether to maintain the original programme with games being held in Cabinda or transfer them to the other Cup venues in Angola in Luanda, Benguela or Lubango.

The other teams in their group are Burkina Faso and the star-studded Ivory Coast whose squad includes Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure.

Super eagles arrive, optimistic.

One of Africa’s five world cup qualifiers the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Friday at 5.15 pm, touched down at the Luanda international airport, aboard a chartered air craft from Durban South Africa where they had gone to prepare for the competition, hopeful of a good outing in the Orange CAF Africa Nations Cup.

Led by coach Amodu Shaibu, most of the staff at the airport stopped work briefly to herald the star studded Nigerian team, with Portsmouth of England striker Nwankwo Kanu receiving the greatest attention.

Other players who were the cynosure of excited airport staff included John Mikel Obi of Chelsea, Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Joseph Yobo of Everton, Osaze Odenwigie and Taiye Taiwo of Olympic Marseille.
Coach Shuaibu told the press at the airport that he was happy with the quality of work that was done in Durban and he believed Nigeria will give a good account of herself as always.

The team then connected another flight to their group b base in benguela where they will play their opening match on January 12 against defending champions the pharaohs of Egypt. Other teams in the group are Mozambique and Benin.

http://www.cafonline.com/competition/african-cup-of-nations-angola_2010/news/4193-super-eagles-arrive-optimistic.html

Statistics: Orange Africa Cup of Nations

Number of players playing in their national championship:
Egypt: 19
Tunisia: 16
Mozambique: 12
Angola: 11
Algeria, Malawi: 9
Benin, Zambia: 5
Gabon, Ghana: 3
Mali, Togo: 2
Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire: 1
Cameroon, Nigeria 0

TOTAL: 98 players

Number of players playing outside their country of origin
France: 67
England: 26
South Africa: 23
Germany: 21
Spain: 12
Portugal: 9
Israel, Italy, Russia, Turkey: 7
Egypt, Netherlands, Switzerland: 6
Cyprus, Qatar, Romania: 4
Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Scotland, Libya, Moldova, Sweden, Tunisia: 3
China, UAE, Hungary, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, DR Congo: 2
Angola, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Greece, Ireland, Macedonia, Morocco, Mozambique, Czech Republic, Sudan, Ukraine: 1
TOTAL: 267 players

3 of the 368 players in Angola are currently without a club.
72.55% of players at 2010 ANGOLA move out of their country

Older Players
Essam El Hadary (Egypt) born 15/01/1973
Bucuane Manuel "Tico Tico (Mozambique) born 16/08/1973
Mohamed El Zaqqa (Egypt) born 30/01/1974
Adel Nefzi (Tunisia) born 10/03/1974
Nelinho (Mozambique) born 18/05/1974

Young Players
Emmanuel Mbola (Zambia) born 10/05/1993 or 16 years 8 months and 6 days from the date of January 13, the first game against Tunisia
Germain Moussa Sanou (Burkina Faso) born 26/05/1992
Joel Matip (Cameroon) born 08/08/1991
Mouftaou Adou (Benin) born 10/04/1991

Players who will celebrate birthdays at Orange CAN 2010
January 13: Souleymane Bamba (Côte d'Ivoire), 25
January 15: Essam El Hadary (Egypt), 37
Otshudi Lama (Mozambique), 25
January 17: Abdou Traore (Mali), 22
January 18: Bino (Mozambique), 21
January 20: Elderson Echiejile (Nigeria), 22
Karim Haggui (Tunisia), 26
Adama Sawadogo (Burkina Faso), 20
Achille Webo (Cameroon), 28
January 22: Mohamed Lamine Sissoko (Mali), 25
January 23: Abdelmalek Ziaya (Algeria), 26
January 24: Emerse Fae (Ivory Coast), 26
Dario Khan (Mozambique), 29
Stelvio (Angola), 21
January 25: Ali Mohamed Nafkha (Tunisia), 24
January 26: Moustapha Yattabare (Mali), 24
January 28: Issam Jemaa (Tunisia), 26
January 29: A Tchoyi Somen (Cameroon), 27
January 30: Souleymane Diamoutiéné (Mali), 27
Mohamed El Zaqqa (Egypt), 36

http://www.cafonline.com/competition/african-cup-of-nations-angola_2010/news/4190-statistics-orange-africa-cup-of-nations.html

In my Heart of Hearts I pray Nigeria manage at least a 3rd place.

I have a sneaky feeling that the Finals will be Between Cameroun and CIV.

However, With the recent Gun attack on the Togolese Team in transit to their match City and them threatening to bow out of the Competition  in solidarity with their Shot/injured players and the dead bus driver i DOUBT if there still will be any glamour to the event.

The Angolan Government Spoke person has already branded the attack an act of Terrorism-True it is but , is this whole Terror madness shifting squarely to Africa now.

What should we expect at the Summer world cup  then, Political, religious, ideological, Xenophobic shootings or what?

I Hope our African players don't start carrying guns to the locker room like some NBA players here in the U.S, God help us abeg!

Who are the ones that voted Nigeria?

hehe

May b the bandits that attacked the tologese national team didn't know who they were

mike oscar:


However, With the recent Gun attack on the Togolese Team in transit to their match City and them threatening to bow out of the Competition  in solidarity with their Shot/injured players and the dead bus driver i DOUBT if there still will be any glamour to the event.

The incident no doubt has cast a cloud over CAN 2010,I thought one of the players said they were surrounded by police vehicles and that when the shooting started,the police responded,prolly that's why the casualty figure was not higher as no one knows how far the attackers would've gone if there was no return fire from the police,nonetheless it's still a BIG SHAME

According to other reports, the bus driver was killed. "They should not have traveled by road," Togolese football federation vice president Gabriel Ameyi said in Lome. "They did not tell CAF that they were traveling by road. They should have flown to Angola."

So could the attacks have been prevented if the team had travelled to Angola by air and not by road

Its hard to shake off, but I think the Togolese should go ahead and play - they'll have the support and sympathy of fans all around the globe & if they do, it's also going to potray Africa in a positive light and show to the world that we do have strength of character in abundance. . . . & in addition, it'd sending a big message to all rebels, millitants & terrorists - you cannot hold a whole race of people to ransom!

Togo. . . . pls, hang on in there; AFCON - let the games begin!

The problem is i cant still place my trust on the new set of low eagles we got,they are not playing with football spirit the way our older ones played,they are there to make money just like they pay a lot of money to the crew before getting their names listed.I cant even vote them to be winner cos they dont merit it at all.They should all go there and play their ass out.Africa is improving in football but Nigeria is not.

these togolese dey behave like dem name o
why den go dey travel by road?
den dey fear mutallab? den come go jam madmen
lol

i cant shout o

1st of all i totally condemn the attack on the togolese team its a pity that a game which unites us is being trashed in this disgusting way. its a pity about the driver who was killed but thankful the players survived(though with injuries). i think CAF messed up big time i mean didn't they know cabinda had a separist group b4 allowing matches to be hosted they? look @ FIFA and the u-17s when the whole militant thing was still on they made sure matches were not hosted in that region. yes we can argue that the togolese should have gone by road but isn't security of a country criteria for awarding rights?

CAF as a matter of urgency should relocate the games in group B to another city e.g luanda. also CAF should do a security re-assessment of the host country no matter how long it takes lives are more precious.

to the togolese team my sympathies whatever they decide to do all the best to them but i hope they choose to continue in the competition to send a message to those 'terrorist' that they have failed

make the best use of the africa's nation cup by prediction and win, you don't have to predict the exact scoreline just say nigeria beat benin or nigeria draw with egypt you also have the benefit to predict the matches of you top team in leagues all over europe and the rest of the world for more info send your name and email address to 07033929809 for the info. check your inbox or spam message afterward the info would be delivered to your inbox

i think this thread should be how many players will get out of Angola alive

African elite set to do battle

Every two years, the CAF African Cup of Nations sheds a vibrant light on the passions roused by the beautiful game in Africa. Tucked in at the start of the calendar year, the upcoming edition in Angola could almost be mistaken for a late Christmas present, with former winners Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and Tunisia all eager to boost their trophy tally when the actions gets underway between 10 and 31 January.

Adding spice to the mix, the first ever FIFA World Cup™ to be held on African soil now lies just five months away, all of which should make for a special atmosphere around the host cities of Luanda, Cabinda, Benguela and Lubango.

FIFA.com now takes a closer look at the five South Africa 2010 contenders gearing up to vie for honours in Angola, a list of sides that excludes Bafana Bafana themselves after they failed to seal their place. From favourites to outsiders, all will be hoping to make an early statement.

Tipped for glory
Cameroon: The highest placed African team in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, the Indomitable Lions nonetheless struggled before finally sealing their passage to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, having lived through a difficult spell after losing the 2008 African Cup of Nations final 1-0 to Egypt. They took just one point from their first two outings in the last round of qualifiers and opted for a change of coach, replacing Otto Pfister with Paul Le Guen and earning reward for that decision when the former Lyon trainer helped them end their campaign with a run of four impressive wins.

With Samuel Eto’o at the summit of his art and captain of a side boasting gifted and combative youngsters like Alexandre Song and Stephane Mbia, the Lions can certainly afford to be optimistic. “You can’t say that the African Cup of Nations is a warm-up for the World Cup,” explained Le Guen recently. “It’s a competition you need to go into with a lot of ambition. We want to do well, go as far as possible and why not come out winners?”

Ghana: Since marking their first ever FIFA World Cup finals appearance with some eye-catching displays in Germany four years ago, when they ultimately fell to Brazil in the Round of 16, the Black Stars have continued their upward trajectory. Hosts of the African Cup of Nations under Claude Le Roy in 2008, they came in third – their best finish since losing the 1992 final – and the appointment of coach Milovan Rajevac in the wake of that tournament further fuelled their progress.

Led by European-based talents such as Michael Essien, Asamoah Gyan and Richard Kingson, Ghana were unstoppable in qualifying and were one of the first teams to stamp their ticket. That was shortly followed by a global title for their U-20 squad, which will be well-represented in Angola with adidas Golden Ball and adidas Golden Shoe winner Dominic Adiyiah joined by seven of his team-mates from Egypt, including Daniel Agyei, Samuel Inkoom, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu and Andre Ayew.

Eager to impress
Algeria: Until a few months ago, the once-regal Fennecs (Desert Foxes) still seemed to be hibernating. Absent from the two previous editions of the African Cup of Nations, they had only memories of their heyday in the 1980s to give them hope, but that all changed with their almost perfect route through qualifying for South Africa 2010, which culminated in a dramatic duel with Egypt, continental champions twice in a row.

“It won’t be easy because all of the qualified teams are excellent,” explained coach Rabah Saadane. “We want to go as far as we can in this competition, which will be a crucial preparation for the World Cup.” Once their bid in Angola begins, the likes of Madjid Bougherra, Nadir Belhadj, Karim Matmour and Abdelkader Ghezzal will set out to show why they have been making such a name for themselves of late.

Côte d'Ivoire: A quick glimpse at the list of players available to coach Vahid Halilhodzic makes it obvious why the Elephants are considered among the true heavyweights of African football. Emmanuel Eboue, Yaya Toure, Salomon Kalou, Didier Drogba: all ply their trade at powerhouse European clubs. Getting those illustrious individuals to function as a team is a different matter altogether, however, as the 2008 African Cup of Nations highlighted all too clearly.

Tipped to go all the way and impressive on their route to the semi-finals – winning their first four games, scoring 13 goals and conceding just one – Gerard Gili’s men then suffered a heavy 4-1 reverse at the hands of Egypt and were promptly beaten 4-2 by Ghana in the match for third place. Their supporters unsurprisingly expect better this time out and the players themselves are motivated to deliver. “We’ll fight with honour and dignity to win,” said Drogba.

Desperate for encouragement
Nigeria: The third highest African team in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and the only side from the continent along with Cameroon to have reached four of the last five FIFA World Cup finals, Nigeria have nonetheless lost much of their lustre in recent years. The likes of Rasheed Yekini, Daniel Amokachi, Jay-Jay Okocha and Sunday Oliseh have given way to Onyekachi Apam, Taye Taiwo, John Obi Mikel and Obafemi Martins, a skilled crop of players who have yet to find any sort of consistency.

There is a lack of competition for places too, best illustrated by the continued importance of 33-year-old Nwankwo Kanu to coach Shaibu Amodu’s plans, and the Super Eagles needed to dig deep to attain their place at South Africa 2010, having missed out on Germany 2006 and finished uninspiring quarter-finalists at the 2008 African Cup of Nations. Angola therefore represents a perfect chance to silence the critics, with the under-pressure Amodu daring look no further ahead than the continental showcase, which Nigeria have not won since 1994. “My principal concern is the African Cup,” he said. “Only after that will I think about the World Cup.”

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/news/newsid=1154978.html#african+elite+battle

The Togolese team has pulled out from the nations cup (Angola 2010).

The Togolese team has pulled out from the nations cup (Angola 2010).

Confirmento of the confirmed

harmeenut:

Confirmento of the confirmed

Watched it on BBC.

Togo withdraw from Africa Cup of Nations

Togo have pulled out of the Africa Cup of Nations following a deadly gun attack on their team bus in Angola.

Reports suggest three non-playing staff, including the coach driver have died. Two players were shot and injured in the attack in Cabinda on Friday.

Organisers insist the tournament will go ahead and are stepping up security.

But Togo midfielder Alaixys Romao told French paper L'Equipe: "We're talking to the other teams in our group to try to convince them to boycott too."

Togo were due to play Ghana in their opening match in Cabinda on Monday and the Black Stars players have confirmed they are happy for the tournament to go ahead.

Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso are the other teams in Group B.

Togo coach Hubert Velud told French radio station RMC that he thought the Angolan authorities should consider cancelling the entire tournament.

"We can at least pose ourselves that question," he said. ""It's an act of barbarism while we are here to celebrate African football.

"We left the hospital a short time ago to come to the centre for the teams in the competition. We stayed in the hospital a long time so that we could be very united.

"In these situations you become a bit paranoid, you doubt everything. We don't feel that the authorities are taking this very seriously."

Togo captain, and Manchester City striker, Emmanuel Adebayor said on Friday many players wanted to go home.

He told BBC Afrique: "It's a football game, it's one of the biggest tournaments in Africa and a lot of people would love to be in our position but I don't think anybody would be prepared to give their life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8449611.stm

Arsenal fans are responsible for the gun attacks.
They can't just come to terms that Adebayor has moved on to a BIGGER club.

Jail Wenger, Hang Song.

Sauron, you don mad finish!

But this ain't funny at all. I can only imagine what they went through. . .SCARY STUFF!!!

I can see other countries withdrawing too, i suspect a French solidarity in this case, fellow french speaking countries can withdraw in solidarity with Togo

FBS:

Sauron, you don mad finish!      

But this ain't funny at all. I can only imagine what they went through. . .SCARY STUFF!!!

Angolans should be ashamed of themselves.
An opportunity to show the world they can host a football event has gone belly up.

Togo have withdrawn from the competition and other African teams are threatening to walk.
Bad weather in the PREM. . . . . .Bulletz in Africa.  This is TORTURE.

~Sauron~:

Angolans should be ashamed of themselves.
An opportunity to show the world they can host a football event has gone belly up.

Togo have withdrawn from the competition and other African teams are threatening to walk.
Bad weather in the PREM. . . . . .Bulletz in Africa. This is TORTURE.

This is sad. O Africa! The land of milk and honey!