Costs Rica 2022: FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifier Matchday Wrap

Tanzania and Senegal secured first leg advantage with home win against Burundi and Guinea respectively, while Ghana forced an away draw against Zambia, in the third qualifying round of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup scheduled for Costa Rica from 10th August to 28th August 2022.

Tanzania emerged victorious with a hard fought 3-2 win over Burundi at the Azam Complex stadium, Dar es Salam, in the third round of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifier.

Tanzania’s goals were scored by Clara Luvanga in the 9th minute, Joyce Lema in the 15th minute, Aisha Masaka in the 44th minute while Burundi got their goals through Estella Gakima in the 22nd minute and Noella in the 58th minute.

The return leg is scheduled for December 18 in Bujumbura, and the aggregate winner will face either Ethiopia or Botswana in the next round.

Ghana and Zambia will have it all to play for when they meet for the second leg of the third round of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifier in Accra on December 18.

The young copper Queens of Zambia marginally dominated the leg but failed to utilized any of their scoring chances as Ghana black princesses pulled off a goal less draw at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.

Senegal left it late to win 2-0 against Guinea, thanks to goals from Coumba Sylla Mbodji in the 70th minute and Adji Ndiaye who sealed the win with one minute left on the regular time.

Cameroon vs Gabon is cancelled due to Gabon withdrawal. Cameroon is now automatically qualified for the next round. Gabon becomes the seventh nation to withdraw after South Sudan, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Tunisia, Mauritania and Guinea Bissau.

Also, the match between Morocco and Gambia has been postponed until Monday, 6th of December while the second leg of the encounter will come up on the 12th of same month.

Action continue tomorrow when Congo welcome the most successful Africa nation at under 20 women’s world cup, Nigeria.

Oparanozie on target for Dijon after returning from injury

Former Super Falcons captain, Desire Oparanozie scored her fourth league goal of the season to forced a 1-1 draw at the Sainte Germaine du Bouscat stadium against Bordeaux.

Andréa Lardez finds Katja Snoeijs in the box which centers on Eve Perisset who puts in the axis on Mélissa Gomes to give the hosts the advantage in the 14th minute.

Absent due to injury in recent matches, Christophe Forest could once again count on his captain Désiré Oparanozie.

A minute before halftime Jenna Dear assisted her team captain, Desire Oparanozie who equalized to salvage a point for Dijon, before being replaced in the 71st minute by Ines Barrier.

Oparanozie has now scored four goals in eight league games for Dijon this season equalling her last season goal record.

Christophe Forest’s reaction: “I’m happy with this result. After conceding this goal, we were able to logically equalize. Then we rounded back… By taking a point here, it prepared us well for our next home match. We still have a very important game to win next week. If we manage to have 14 points at the break, we will have come a long way in sustaining it.”

Moshood Abiola Stadium ready in time as CAF ban Teslim Balogun stadium

The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has announced that Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos has now been banned from hosting international games.

According to the statement released by CAF, “the stadium did not meet the set CAF stadium minimum requirement to host CAF international matches”.

The stadium has been the home ground for the Super Eagles of Nigeria and has hosted all of their FIFA world cup qualifiers till date. All efforts made to ensure the Lagos based stadium meets the CAF requirements has proved futile.

“Based on the inspection report, the stadium continues to lack CAF criteria and requirements in order to host international competitions” says the letter from CAF.

Although, the national team fans in Lagos – one of the largest and most populated cities in the country- will not be able to see more games of their darling national team played in front of them.

However, the Abuja Stadium fully refurbished by Dangote group has been handed over to the Federal Ministry of Sports in time for the national team to have a new home for their coming games.

“As we all know, Nigerian players are international but until now, we don’t have an international standard facility and our commitment is to work with the Ministry to make sure that this particular facility remains of international standard. We are therefore happy to contribute by this renovation, and by the arrangement to maintain it for the next two years.” – representative of the Chairman of Dangote Industries Group, Mr. Ahmed stated during the handing over.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, also assured that the MKO Abiola stadium pitch in the nation’s capital could host FIFA and other International matches following the completion of renovation works at the ground.

“Two months ago, the FIFA President was in Nigeria. I made it a point to bring him and the CAF President to this place. He felt it and he said, ‘Look, we can play international matches here’ and promised to make sure this place hosts international matches”, he said.

Akinkunmi Amoo among top three nominees for the Swedish League Young Player of The Year award

The annual gala Allsvenskan’s grand prize will be held on Tuesday, December 7, and as one of three nominated finalists for the Young Players of the Year category, is Nigerian international Akinkunmi Amoo.

Amoo has caught the eye since linking up with Swedish club Hammarby from local side Sidos FC in 2020.

The jury, which consists of all Allsvenskan clubs’ coaches and team captains and 32 sports journalists who cover the league, selects the season’s best players and leaders divided into goalkeeper of the year, defender of the year, midfielder of the year, forward of the year, coach of the year, young player of the year and most valuable player of the year. The criterion is that everyone must have played at least 15 matches this season.

Amoo has made 24 appearances in the Allsvenskan, scoring nine goals and assisted four.

Nominees for the Swedish league Young players of the year:

Hampus Finndell, Djurgården
Akinkunmi Amoo, Hammarby
Veljko Birmancevic, Malmö FF

The young player of the year award goes to a player born in 1998 or later who at the same time has not made less than 15 matches in the Allsvenskan before the 2021 season.

The 19-year-old winger has 18 direct goal contributions in 2021 for Hammarby in all competitions, with Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax & Leicester City reportedly among those tracking his progress. The wonderkid signed a four-year deal with Hammarby in June 2020.

Uganda secures first leg advantage over South Africa in the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers

Uganda fought hard to overcome South Africa in the first leg of the third round of the 2022 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifier match played on Friday at the St. Mary’s Stadium.

Hadijah Nandago rose to the occasion to score the lone goal of the game in the 19th minute, from a Magret Kunihira’s corner kick.

The winner on aggregate will advance to the fourth round where they will face the winner between Ghana and Zambia.

Games continue tomorrow.

At the other end, the CECAFA U20 women’s champions, Ethiopia win away from home at Botswana thanks to goals from Araiet, Turist and Mesay for the visitors before Manewe managed a 57th minute consolation goal for the hosts.

Uchenna Kanu set to join Tigres Femenil on permanent deal

Following the expiration of her contract with Swedish outfit, Linkopings FC in November, Super Falcons forward, Uchenna Kanu is set to join the Mexican Champions, Tigres Femenil on a permanent deal.

The 24-year-old has reportedly penned down a two year deal with an option of extending with another 12 months with the Liga MX Femenil champions as she will help her new side continue their league dominance as they gun for their fifth Liga MX Femenil title.

Uchenna was sighted on Wednesday morning at the Monterrey airport in line to finish the last details of her potential move, such as medical tests and the signing of the contract, before being made official. She was even seen at the University Stadium in the semifinals game of the Apertura 2021.

The Nigerian international spent two seasons with Linkopings scoring 22 goals in 44 appearances in all competition for Swedish club Linköpings FC.

Kanu has contributed five goals in 10 caps for Nigeria National Women’s Football team since making her debut in 2019. Her two goals in the first leg of the AWCON qualifier earned the Falcons a 2-1 aggregate win over Ghana to progress to the next round.

When the deal is finalized, she will become the second foreigner on Tigres Femenil’s roster after signing Stefany Ferrer last summer.

Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro offer free tattoos to fans to celebrate first league title in 50 years

Brazilian Serie A champions Atletico Mineiro are to treat fans with free tattoos to celebrate their first title win in half a century, a radio station in the club’s home city of Belo Horizonte claimed.

Radio Itatiaia has claimed that champions Atletico Mineiro are to treat fans with free tattoos to celebrate their first title win in half a century.

The club won the Serie A trophy on Thursday night by beating Bahia 3-2 and their sponsor told fans it would pay for free tattoos next week.

The sponsor, construction company MRV, is to reveal more details on Friday. It has not yet said what size or designs it will pay for, nor whether the company logo, which will also adorn a new stadium it is currently building for the club, will appear.

“This action, which starts at 9 in the morning at the home of Galo, will be on a first-come, first-served basis,” Radio Itatiaia said on its web site.

The club won the Brazilian league for the first time since 1971 and thousands of fans took to the streets to celebrate, with roads closed and fireworks let off across the city

NWFL Countdown: Sunshine Queens risk automatic relegation due to registration fee

The first tier of the Nigeria Women’s Football League, NWFL Premiership is set to kick off on the 8 of December. It is no news that the league organizers do not condone non-compliance when it comes to registration and licensing.

Before the kick-off of the NWFL Premiership season 2019/2020 on December 9, 2020, two Premiership clubs, Heartland Queens FC of Owerri and Adamawa Queens of Yola were relegated to the NWFL Championship for failure to meet the season’s club licencing. This left only 14 clubs to play in the 2019/2020 NWFL Premiership season from an earlier earmarked 16 clubs.

History is about to repeat itself as Sunshine Queens risk relegation possibility ahead of December 8 kickoff.

Despite placing fourth at the end of the 2020/2021 NWFL Premiership season, one of the top Nigeria Women Football League Premiership top clubs, Sunshine Queens of Akure, from all indications risk a possible relegation from the top flight of Nigeria Women Football League to the lower division, NWFL Championship, if at midnight of Monday, December 6, 2021, fail to complete it’s players club licencing registration.

This was revealed by the Chief Operating Officer of the Nigeria Women Football League, Modupe Shabi, in her office in Abuja, today.

The NWFL COO, disclosed that, already Sunshine Queens didn’t meet the deadline set out for Premiership clubs to complete their players’ licensing registration, and must pay the fine of N400,000. The additional punishment of relegation to the lower division may come down heavy on the Akure club.

Modupe Sabi said: “If by midnight of Monday, December 6, 2021, the club couldn’t fulfill their obligation, NWFL would be left with no option than to send Sunshine Queens of Akure on relegation and they would have to wait for the NWFL second tier league, the Championship to play for promotion back to the NWFL Premiership.”

She added: “This is clearly stated in the Rules and Regulations governing the NWFL Premiership. So what we are doing concerning defaulters in club licensing is written down and not as a result of hatred for any of the clubs, but we are simply going to apply the rules.”

Shabi noted that, it’s a tradition in the NWFL Premiership to ensure players are not owed from previous season and also going into the new season. All players are medically certified, as well as the confirmation of the clubs bank guaranty to ensure all players get their remunerations as at when due throughout the new season.

Sunshine Queens FC of Akure finished fourth place in the 2020/2021 season after the Super Six at the Dipo Dina International Stadium, in Ijebu Ode.

“Sunshine Queens FC of Akure are yet to fulfill all these and the NWFL has given all the clubs the deadline to perfect their club registration and players licensing, but we cannot wait beyond Monday, December 6, 2021, if the league must kick off at the scheduled date of Wednesday, December 8, 2021. That is why we are announcing to the owners of the club, the Ondo state government and management of Sunshine Queens of Akure that, the club will be relegated if by midnight of Monday, December 6, 2021, they cannot meet up their club licensing.

“We will know at the end of December 6, if the number of clubs in the NWFL Premiership will reduce to 13, from the earlier slated 14 clubs if Sunshine Queens drop from the top flight,” the NWFL Chief Operating Officer said.

Diego Costa and Hulk lead Atletico Mineiro to first Brazilian Serie-A title in 50 years

Atletico Mineiro beat Bahia 3-2 on Thursday to win their first Brazilian league title in 50 years.

Diego Costa, 33, played his part alongside Hulk, 35, in helping Mineiro win their first league title in 50 years and in the process destroy the Flamengo/Santos axis that has dominated this league in recent times.

Atletico were 2-0 down after 66 minutes but scored three times in the last 17 minutes, the last two from winger Keno, to give them an unassailable 11-point advantage at the top of the Brazilian Serie-A with their closest rivals having three matches to play.

Keno was the key man on the night but it was Hulk, the scorer of Atletico’s first goal, who was at the heart of their title run.

The 35-year-old has enjoyed an unforgettable season, scoring 18 goals to top the Serie A scoring charts, since joining the team in February.

Diego Costa also bolstered the strike force further when he joined the club in August. In the 14 games that he featured in some capacity for Atletico, the serial-winning striker still managed a respectful five goal contributions to the course.

After leading the club to their first and only Copa Libertadores, head coach, Alexi Stival, commonly known as Cuca further cemented his name in the Atletico pantheon.

The last time Atletico won the Brazilian title was in 1971, the year Brazil inaugurated its first national league after decades of prioritising state championships.

The club have two more league matches to play and then will aim to do the double with the Copa do Brasil, which is played over two legs against Athletico Paranaense on Dec. 12 and 16.

Atletico have the second-best attack and the best defence in the league, losing just 10 games in a calendar year of 82 matches.

U20 WCQ: “We will win well” -Deborah Abiodun and Joy Jerry vow to crush Congo in Brazzaville

Africa’s most successful team at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals, the Falconets of Nigeria will on Sunday commence another race to qualify for the global tournament when they square up to their counterparts from Congo in the third qualifying round.

Rivers Angels FC attacking midfielder, Deborah Abiodun has expressed her confidence going into the game and how the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League experience has shaped her game.

“It’s a dream come true to be among the first set of players to represent in the first CAF Champions League,” she said.

“The Champions League experience has really improved my game on and off the pitch and I am ready to take it forward to the World Cup qualifying game. We are going to Congo with so much determination to win and win well.

“It’s a good experience for myself and my team technically. Though, it’s quite unfortunate we were not able to do more and meet the expectations of our fans. But everything I have learnt personally will be useful when we play Congo.”

Falconets have played in every edition of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup since the competition was launched as an U19 tournament in Canada in 2022, winning the silver medals in 2010 in Germany and in 2014 in Canada, and were semi finalists in 2012 in Japan.

Joy Jerry of Bayelsa Queens FC also believed in her team’s determination and confidence ahead of the Congo clash. She stated that it’s time to put to use what the coaches have been impacting in them.

“We are ready! We are well prepared to bring Congo down. They are not push over, we saw what they did against Egypt but the goal is to win and win well, that’s what we are going to do.

“They are an obstacle we have to bring down to qualify for the next round.”

Nigeria’s Falconets will face Congo on Sunday, December 5 at the Stade Alphonse Massamba Debat in Brazzaville, with the return leg scheduled for Mobolaji Johnson Arena Onikan, Lagos, two weeks later.