Sports

AFCON 2023: Osimhen, four other stars to look out for

Published

2 years ago

January 7, 2024

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The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) takes place in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11.

Some of the biggest names in world football will feature at the tournament, and AFP Sport picks out five to follow:

VICTOR OSIMHEN (Nigeria)

The prospect of Osimhen leading Nigeria into the AFCON is a mouthwatering one for Super Eagles fans. He heads to Ivory Coast fresh from being named the African player of the year for 2023 off the back of his brilliant form in Napoli’s run to the Serie A title.

He scored 26 goals for Napoli last season but has struggled in comparison in this campaign, netting only eight times. However, he has just signed a new contract at his club and will be eager to make up for lost time at the Cup of Nations.

Osimhen hardly featured as Nigeria finished third at the 2019 tournament and sat out the last edition two years ago due to a combination of a facial injury and an untimely bout of Covid.

MOHAMED SALAH (Egypt)

The 31-year-old Liverpool forward is a superstar of the English Premier League and a sporting icon across the Arab world. He is the joint top scorer in the Premier League this season with 14 goals, helping take Liverpool to the top of the table. The danger for Jurgen Klopp’s team is that their title challenge could be blown off course as they would lose Salah for four league games if he goes all the way at the AFCON with Egypt.

That though is the aim for Salah, who made his international debut in 2011, a year after Egypt won the last of their record seven Cup of Nations crowns. He played in the teams that lost the AFCON finals in 2017, to Cameroon, and in 2022 to Senegal, and will be hoping this year to take the extra step.

SADIO MANE (Senegal)

Mane was the hero as Senegal shook off years of underachievement to win the Cup of Nations for the first time in 2022, scoring the winning penalty in the shoot-out against Egypt in Yaounde.

The two-time former African footballer of the year was the runner-up for the Ballon d’Or in 2022 but there might be concerns his career has gone backwards to some extent since then.

Injury ruled him out of the World Cup in Qatar, and he then left Bayern Munich after just one season to join Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Does that mean that, now aged 31, he might have lost some of his edge since leaving Europe? Senegal fans will hope not. He is still averaging almost a goal every second game for his club, where he plays alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, and is key to his country’s chances of retaining their continental crown.

SERHOU GUIRASSY (Guinea)

Guinea are ranked only 15th in Africa, have made little impact on the latter stages of recent AFCON tournaments, and face a fight just to get out of a group containing Senegal, Cameroon and Gambia. Yet they do boast a player who has been a sensation in the German Bundesliga this season in Guirassy, the 27-year-old French-born striker.

The former France Under-20 international had averaged a very respectable 10 league goals a season over the last three years at Rennes and then VfB Stuttgart but his form with the latter in this campaign has been remarkable.

Guirassy has 19 goals in 16 games in all competitions for his club, including two hat-tricks, to help Stuttgart up to third in the table. Only Harry Kane of Bayern Munich has scored more Bundesliga goals. Now it remains to be seen if he can transfer his club form to the international stage, where his record so far with Guinea is modest.

ACHRAF HAKIMI (Morocco)

The marauding Paris Saint-Germain right-back is the biggest star in a Morocco team ranked number one in Africa and who come into the AFCON with big ambitions after reaching the World Cup semi-finals just over a year ago.

The runner-up to Osimhen for the African footballer of the year award is theoretically a defender, but he provides a huge attacking threat down the flank and has been in outstanding form for his club this season. If Hakimi stays fit and performs at his best, Morocco have every chance of winning a first AFCON since 1976.

AFP

Sports

WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2026

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Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

Sports

BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

Published

1 month ago

March 17, 2026

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

Sports

FG fulfils promises as D’Tigress receive national honours, house documents

Published

1 month ago

March 17, 2026

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The Federal Government has fulfilled its outstanding promises to the senior women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, delivering National Honour certificates and title documents for houses in Abuja.

The presentation took place in Lyon, where the African Champions are currently participating at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

The move follows a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at clearing a backlog of promises made to the team following their 2023 Afrobasket victory in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, led the delegation alongside the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade. Speaking during the handover, Dikko characterized the prompt delivery as a “clear departure” from previous administrations, where state-promised rewards often faced multi-year delays.

“This is a prompt fulfilment of promises made by a President who leads with action,” Dikko stated. “Mr. President is giving every Nigerian athlete a renewed confidence that sports is a serious business capable of changing lives.”

While the physical assets (housing and honours) have been delivered, the NSC Chairman confirmed that the cash rewards promised to the squad are currently in the final stages of administrative processing. He assured the players that disbursement into their respective bank accounts is imminent.

The Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, noted that the current administration of President Tinubu is institutionalizing a “reward system” modelled after developed sporting nations to ensure high-performance outcomes.

President of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Engr. Musa Kida, credited the Presidency for prioritizing athlete welfare, citing it as a “legacy of a lifetime” for the sports sector.

Head Coach Rena Wakama and Captain Amy Okonkwo formally accepted the documents, affirming that the timely delivery of these incentives would serve as a catalyst for the team’s upcoming international qualifiers.