[cite]Posted By: olster[/cite]i saw morocco play togo in a WC qualifier. i'd be very surprised if they do well, they looked poor.
shame senegal aren't in it, but their squad is essentially the same from '02.
Shame i remeber when they (Morrocco) played in France 98 in Scotlands group. Smashed Scotland 3-0 (good). Senegal did they not qualify for it i diddnt think there would be any qualification for this tournment but i guess there must be as the great Cape Verde Islands are not there either :-).
Pretty sure they use world cup qualifications as qualifiers for this. Thats why SA played in the WC qualifiers when they didnt really need too. I might be wrong tho!
African nations is decent when you get to the latter stages, but in general the early stages are appaling. Not sure how they ended up with Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast in the same group though.
I don't know how they still get away with playing the tournament every two years in the middle of most domestic seasons.
When African countries were 'second-rate' football nations with most of the players playing domestically then it was understandable but now with a major World Cup presence and many players plying their trade in Europe, then surely it is time for Africa to fall in line with the rest of the footballing world with an off-season tournament every four years.
But FIFA won't make that decision of course, so I'll look forward to watching a few of the games on South African cable out here.
[cite]Posted By: olster[/cite]i saw morocco play togo in a WC qualifier. i'd be very surprised if they do well, they looked poor.
shame senegal aren't in it, but their squad is essentially the same from '02.
Shame i remeber when they (Morrocco) played in France 98 in Scotlands group. Smashed Scotland 3-0 (good). Senegal did they not qualify for it i diddnt think there would be any qualification for this tournment but i guess there must be as the great Cape Verde Islands are not there either :-).
Pretty sure they use world cup qualifications as qualifiers for this. Thats why SA played in the WC qualifiers when they didnt really need too. I might be wrong tho!
O right yea that would make sense. SE9 im not sure they use the same seeding system as the other tournemnts do they ?
as GA says, the coach was ambushed passing through the Congo on a highway
the coach was sprayed with automatic rifle fire and at least 5 passengers were wounded, including 2 players, a physio, the assistant manager and a journalist travelling with the squad
[cite]Posted By: Bangkokaddick[/cite]I don't know how they still get away with playing the tournament every two years in the middle of most domestic seasons.
When African countries were 'second-rate' football nations with most of the players playing domestically then it was understandable but now with a major World Cup presence and many players plying their trade in Europe, then surely it is time for Africa to fall in line with the rest of the footballing world with an off-season tournament every four years.
But FIFA won't make that decision of course, so I'll look forward to watching a few of the games on South African cable out here.
But FIFA have already asked for it to be moved despite the problems this will cause with games either being played in summer heat or the wet season.
"Ahead of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations several European clubs called for a rethink of the tournament's schedule. As it takes place during the European season, players who are involved miss several matches for their clubs[. In January 2008, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced that he wanted the tournament to be held in either June or July by 2016, to fit in the international calendar. This would preclude many countries in central and west Africa from hosting the competition (as these months occur during their wet season) and if the tournament were to remain biennial, it would have to be moved to odd-numbered years so as not to clash with the World Cup."
[quote][cite]Posted By: ValleyGary[/cite][i]"I am fine but several players are in a bad way," Nantes striker Thomas Dossevi is reported to have old Radio Monte Carlo.[b][/b][/i][b][/b]
That is terrible news and I would expect FIFA have had a rush of sweaty palms tonight. I'm looking forward to following it but looks like none of the American networks are covering the games live.
I know its not in SA but alarm bells should be ringing at FIFA.
Africa's a continent, not a country. i.e. it's a very big and varied place. You wouldn't panic about a World Cup in England because some people had been shot in Bulgaria for example
That being said, it is terrible news, and part of a worrying new trend of terrorists singling out sports teams
22 year old Serge Akakpo of FC Vaslui has survived potentially life-saving surgery after being shot in the back and losing a lot of blood according to latest definite quotes
I know its not in SA but alarm bells should be ringing at FIFA.
Yeah if any of the teams are planning to get a bus there through the fucking Congo, they should be careful. Otherwise they'll probably be fine and there won't be any need for alarm bells.
I like the way that every one has rushed to confirm that the tournament continues, no review of security, its big money so who cares if a few people get shot, presumably the squads are big enough to cope.
I find people who fight for independence pretty bizarre. They are prepared to slaughter people to get it and when they achieve it they'll only end up with some new government they don't like either. The land they fight for is usually impoverished as a result of the trouble and so you end up with an independant nation that is a basket case. Sad.
Comments
dont post on the thread then!
;-)
Pretty sure they use world cup qualifications as qualifiers for this. Thats why SA played in the WC qualifiers when they didnt really need too. I might be wrong tho!
Ok mate I'll make sure I won't
When African countries were 'second-rate' football nations with most of the players playing domestically then it was understandable but now with a major World Cup presence and many players plying their trade in Europe, then surely it is time for Africa to fall in line with the rest of the footballing world with an off-season tournament every four years.
But FIFA won't make that decision of course, so I'll look forward to watching a few of the games on South African cable out here.
O right yea that would make sense. SE9 im not sure they use the same seeding system as the other tournemnts do they ?
Ghana are one of the better teams mate. Mozambique would have been more of a larff team.
the coach was sprayed with automatic rifle fire and at least 5 passengers were wounded, including 2 players, a physio, the assistant manager and a journalist travelling with the squad
very worrying
I know its not in SA but alarm bells should be ringing at FIFA.
Adebayor???
But FIFA have already asked for it to be moved despite the problems this will cause with games either being played in summer heat or the wet season.
"Ahead of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations several European clubs called for a rethink of the tournament's schedule. As it takes place during the European season, players who are involved miss several matches for their clubs[. In January 2008, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced that he wanted the tournament to be held in either June or July by 2016, to fit in the international calendar. This would preclude many countries in central and west Africa from hosting the competition (as these months occur during their wet season) and if the tournament were to remain biennial, it would have to be moved to odd-numbered years so as not to clash with the World Cup."
Adebayor???[/quote]
wasnt on the bus BBC says
adebayor was not hurt
Villa's player saliphou (sp?) has not been contactable as yet
According to reports the bus driver was killed and two Togo players and two medics suffered injuries during the attack.
But City have revealed in a statement that Adebayor was uninjured, although "shaken" by the incident.
The statement read: "Manchester City can confirm that striker Emmanuel Adebayor is uninjured after the attack on the Togo team bus in Angola."
The Sparrow Hawks are in the country ahead of the African Nations Cup, which gets under way on Sunday.
Togo and Nantes striker Thomas Dossevi told French radio station RMC: "I'm okay but several players are in a bad state.
"We are still at hospital. We were machine-gunned like dogs and had to remain hidden under our seats for around 20 minutes to avoid the bullets."
Togo are scheduled to begin their campaign against Ghana on Monday.
Midfielder Alaixys Romao admits the players feared the worst and thinks Togo are now likely to pull out of the tournament.
"We're not thinking yet of what could happen," said the Grenoble player. "But it's true that no-one wants to play.
"We're not capable of it. We're thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground.
"For the moment there is not much news because they have been taken to different hospitals.
"In cases like these we're thinking of those near us, of those we love because that really could have been the end of us."
that is horrendous news about the shootings
Africa's a continent, not a country. i.e. it's a very big and varied place. You wouldn't panic about a World Cup in England because some people had been shot in Bulgaria for example
That being said, it is terrible news, and part of a worrying new trend of terrorists singling out sports teams