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AFCON: Ivory Coast Beat Guinea Bissau 2-0 In Tournament’s Opener

Goals from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso gave the host nation, Ivory Coast a deserved victory over the African wild dogs of Guinea Bissau late Saturday night at the Olympic Stadium Ebimpe in Abidjan.

28-year-old Fofana who plies his trade with Al-Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia opened the AFCON 2023 scoring chart in the fourth minute. He hit the woodwork in the 35th minute, failing to hit a brace in the tournament.

The Elephants of Ivory Coast won the first half with the lone goal in the keenly contested match.

13 minutes into the second half, Krasso doubled the lead sending the host stadium section into a frenzy and joyous mood.

The orange colour supporters of the host nation filled the 60,000-seater stadium and beautified everywhere with drums and songs.

The host nation’s Evan Ndicka received the first yellow card of the tournament in the 30th minute from the Egyptian referee Amin Omar. Sangare also got a card.

Moro Cassama from the opponent’s team was also booked a minute to end the first half due to a foul on Krasso.

Singo, Diomande, Sangare, Krasso and Bamba were the five players substituted by the host nation.

On the other hand, Guinea Bissau substituted Cassama, Rodrigues, Balde and Mane.

Both teams had 10 shots each with 4 on target for the host nation and three for the visitors.

At full time, the possession was Ivory Coast 62% and Guinea Bissau 38%.

Ivory Coast leads the Group A table in Match Day 1 with three points.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria face Equatorial Guinea tomorrow at 3pm (UTC+1)

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Liverpool and Manchester City interested in signing Super Eagles defender Ola Aina

English Premier League giants, Liverpool and Manchester City are interested in signing Nigeria defender, Ola Aina.

Aina has few months left on his contract with Nottingham Forest and is yet to pen an extension even though the club is desperate to tie the Nigeria international down to a new contract.

The 28-year-old has caught the eye with his impressive displays for Forest this season and made his 50th Premier League appearance for the Tricky Trees against Manchester City last weekend.

Liverpool are considering him as a replacement for Trent Alexander- Arnold, who could leave for Real Madrid this summer according to the Sun UK while City want him to take the place of Kyle Walker, who is expected to move to AC Milan on a permanent this summer.

Ola Aina joined Nuno Espirito Santo’s side on a free transfer two years ago

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Ex-NFF president, Amaju Pinnick loses FIFA council seat

Pinnick: Why I decided against seeking third term as NFF president

Former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has failed in his bid for re-election into the FIFA Council, missing out by just one vote.

The two-term president of NFF missed out by just one vote.

At the Confederation of African Football General Assembly in Cairo on Wednesday, Djibouti’s Souleiman Waberi secured the last available seat with 29 votes, edging out Pinnick, who managed 28.

Morocco’s Fouzi Lekjaa topped the election with 49 votes, while Egypt’s Hani Rida and Niger’s Djibrilla Hamidou each polled 35 votes.

Mauritania’s Ahmed Yahya and Waberi also secured their places with 29 votes apiece.

The outcome marks a setback for Pinnick, who had served on FIFA’s highest decision-making body since 2021 and was hoping to extend his tenure.

In the women’s category, Kanizat Ibrahim from Comoros clinched the seat with 30 votes, outpacing Lydia Nsekera (13 votes) and Isha Johansen (7 votes).

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Manchester United announce plans to build 100,000-seat stadium

The new 100,000-seater stadium will be the centrepiece of the Old Trafford regeneration. Photo: @ManUtd/X

Manchester United on Tuesday announced plans to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium that co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said would be the “world’s greatest” football ground.

The decision by the Premier League club came after an extensive consultation process around whether to develop their existing historic Old Trafford stadium or build a new one close by, in conjunction with the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force.

United have now confirmed their “intention to pursue a new 100,000-seater stadium as the centrepiece of the regeneration of the Old Trafford area”.

The club hopes the new ground can be finished in five years.

The new 100,000-seater stadium will be the centrepiece of the Old Trafford regeneration. Photo: @ManUtd/X
Scaled models and conceptual images for how the new Old Trafford and surrounding area could look like were revealed on Tuesday at the London headquarters of architects Foster + Partners, appointed in September to design the stadium district.

“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford,” Ratcliffe said.

“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport.”

Ratcliffe said by building next to the existing site the club would be able to “preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home”.

The new 100,000-seater stadium will be the centrepiece of the Old Trafford regeneration. Photo: @ManUtd/X
The club said the stadium and a wider regeneration project had the potential to deliver an additional £7.3 billion ($9.4 billion) per year to the UK economy, including the possible creation of 92,000 new jobs.

The move to a new ground has been backed by former United boss Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles during his reign of more than 26 years.

“Manchester United should always strive for the best in everything it does, on and off the pitch, and that includes the stadium we play in,” Ferguson said.

“Old Trafford holds so many special memories for me personally, but we must be brave and seize this opportunity to build a new home, fit for the future, where new history can be made.”

Sebastian Coe, who chaired the task force, said Tuesday “marks an important step forward in what I firmly believe can be the biggest and most exciting urban regeneration project in the UK since the 2012 London Olympics.”

United hope the stadium can be built in five years, with sections to be constructed off site and transported along the Manchester Ship Canal.

The start date remains uncertain.

Regarding the financing of the project, chief executive Omar Berrada added: “It’s a very attractive investment opportunity so we’re quite confident we’ll find a way to finance the stadium.”

(ChannelsTV/AFP)

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