CAF: Liberia’s First Lady, Clar Weah, Named CAF Ambassador for Women Football

"It is a task that I am ready to do because I know the importance of football right from what it did for my husband and now my family." - Clar Weah

It has been quite the week for the Weahs. George Weah’s son, Timothy recently made his debut for PSG in their 2-0 win against Troyes. This was 23 years after his father made his debut for the same club. Now, Clar Weah, the mother of the Liberian first family has been ordained with the task of promoting women’s football at the first CAF symposium for women football in Marrakech, Morocco.

Legends: Jay-Jay Okocha Inducted Into the Bundesliga Hall of Fame

The magician, with feet like Ronaldinho graced the German top flight between 1992-96 where he scored 18 goals and registered 13 assists in 90 games for Eintracht Frankfurt . That’s not what he was mostly known for though, he was a crowd favorite both at home and abroad who will always be remembered to care more about entertaining himself and the fans than putting numbers on the scoresheet. He has now joined the Bundesliga Legends Network, the 11-man legends network that will be flying the Bundesliga flag across the world.

Russia 2018: Only Two Players Based in Nigeria Included in Rohr’s 28 Men Squad

Gernot Rohr’s choices might not positively reflect a lot on home soil but definitely endorses the depth that most people know the Super Eagles have when it comes football. Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Victor Moses and Wilfried Ndidi are some of the notable names in the Nigerian camp to face Poland and Serbia in friendlies as they prepare for the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia. Only goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa and the CHAN starman Gabriel Okechukwu are the local players to make this squad. Nigeria will face-off with Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in June finals for a place in the knockout rounds.

AFCON : Morocco Backs Cameroon to Successfully Host the 2019 Tournament

There were doubts as to whether the West African nation would be able to host next year’s AFCON, the first to feature 24 teams, after the CAF President had remarked that they had “work to do.” And now, Cameroon will be happy to learn that Morocco, who are looking forward to land the bid to host 2026 world cup, are fully behind them. This is what the president of the Moroccan Football Federation (FMRF) had to say about the matter at CAF’s first ever symposium for women football:

"We wanted to put an end to rumours making rounds in the media for a while. The FMRF is at the disposal of the Cameroonian federation to make the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon an African football festival.” - Faouzi Lekjaa
Read more about 2019 here.

Russia 2018 : EPL Based Players Dominate Egypt’s Squad For Friendlies

The Pharaohs’ coach has picked West Brom duo Ali Gabr and Ahmed Hegazi, Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) and of course Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) for the friendlies against Portugal and Greece in preparation for Russia. Other players who made the squad are from other European leagues such as Belgium and Turkey. The coach is expected to add more Egyptian based players in the coming few days

The world cup finals are less than a hundred days away and any crop of players picked for friendlies would probably, more or less, resemble the actual team to compete in the June finals.

Read more on the team selections here.

Weekend Highlights: Pirates Win the Soweto Derby but Campaign Against Women Abuse Took Center Stage

One of the most anticipated football matches on African soil was dominated by Orlando Pirates, winning 3-1 and keeping them within four points of the leaders, Mamelodi Sundows (PSL’s Man City). However, this time, the headlines were about the women of South Africa. The nation’s major influencers in the form of the most loved beer, Carling Black Label, and the two Soweto giants came together for a post-match group photo in solidarity of the #noexcuse campaign. The message was clear, “whether your team lost a football match or you are just drunk, neither should be an excuse for gender-based violence.” Here at FirstTouch, we couldn't agree more. Read more about Soweto on Supersport.

Africans To Watch Out For In The UCL Round of 16: #1 Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah

We simply cannot tire to talk about this particular Egyptian. By now, you might have an idea why. The Liverpool forward has scored 30 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions, with five of those coming in the UEFA Champions League. He also knows a thing or two about assists, having made seven so far. He is inarguably one of the most dreaded forwards in the football world right now. Check out our Champions League Super XI article to learn how he made it into the list ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Africans To Watch Out For In The UCL Round of 16: #2 Sadio Mane

Sadio Mane

He might have scored just nine goals and bagged six assists so far in all competitions but the Senegalese’s quality needs no introduction. His three UCL goals came in just four appearances and clocked 31km/hr. top speed, more than Mo Salah. He has not had a spectacular season at Liverpool this time, not because of inability but largely the ingenuity of his African counterpart in the form of Salah. Their combination upfront is even a better show of brilliance than their individual performances. With Mane and Salah on one side and Brahimi and Aboubakar on the other, the Porto vs Liverpool match presents a marvelous show of African talent.

Africans To Watch Out For In The UCL Round of 16: #3 Yacine Brahimi

Yacine Brahimi

He is not perhaps as celebrated, but he is Vincent’s partner in crime at the Portuguese club. The 28-year-old Algerian has become a very important component of the Porto midfield. This season alone, he has scored seven goals and has seven assists to his name, averaging a passing accuracy of 79.2%. In the UEFA Champions League alone, he recovered 14 balls and covered 55.7km in six matches. It promises to be an interesting affair when they clash with fellow Africans from the Premier League in the form of Liverpool.

Africans To Watch Out For In The UCL Round of 16: #4 Vincent Aboubakar

Vincent Aboubakar

FC Porto will be looking up to the Cameroonian forward to replicate his group stages performances if they are going to see off Liverpool. The 26 year old has scored 24 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions and registered five assists. Five of those goals were in five UCL appearances and turning up the style in big games is a very familiar territory to him. Do you remember the sensational winning goal he scored against Egypt in the AFCON finale in 2017?

Africans To Watch Out For In The UCL Round of 16: #5 Geoffroy Serey Dié

Geoffroy Serey Dié

The veteran Ivorian midfielder is a figure of maturity and resilience in the Basel midfield. At 33 years old, he still has a thing for bossing midfield. He made just three appearances in the group stages but recovered 10 balls, making four tackles and a passing accuracy of 90%. He peaked in their famous victory against Manchester United when he produced a man of the match performance. However, with the Swiss team facing the Premier League run away leaders, Manchester City, this opportunity presents a different challenge for Serey and his teammates.

Batman in Town!

About a year ago, the English Premier League was in awe of the performances of Liverpool attacker Sadio Mane who had joined the team from Southampton. He graced the stench supporters of the Merseysiders who had lacked quality in the final third after having lost Suarez, Sterling and losing Daniel Sturridge to injuries. Now the 2017/18 season brought more excitement to the League through the team’s acquisition of a gem in Mo Salah who has surprised most by his goals. But that is not the end of it. Arsenal have brought their own.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (nicknamed the Batman for his heroic antics) is a prolific goalscorer proven in the German Bundesliga where he outscored Robert Lewandowski before his move to Arsenal. Aubameyang’s move created a buzz and brought hope to the Arsenal side that have been struggling in recent months if not years. He showed early signs of what he is capable of when he chipped Jordan Pickford as he scored Arsenal’s fourth goal against Everton. We hope the striker lights up the league as his predecessors in Mahrez, Mane and Salah in recent years.

African Football 101: FirstTouch’s 8 points

Introduction

Nwako Kanu, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, George Weah, Samuel Kuffor and now Mohamed Salah – these are some of the big name African footballers who have illuminated Europe’s top domestic leagues. But with so many dazzling stars over the years, what does football on the African continent really look like? Do they have leagues, transfer windows? Are there any more Sadio Mane’s that some clubs could benefit from? How do Africans and the world see their football? Well, the list of questions goes on but here is one perspective from an African.

A.It all begins with a rubbish ball

Old newspapers, plastics, string, foam rubber and a touch of fire are all the right ingredients that make a soccer ball. In the streets of Harare, kids barely five years old scan through rubbish dumps to collect materials to make their own soccer balls either because their parents cannot afford a real one or that it would smash windows when they play in the streets. That’s where stars are first made, in the tiny tarred roads separating homesteads, battling it out barefooted. Fast forward a few more years and then the kids are old enough to play in dust community football pitches or at school where they soon become town celebrities. This is largely the narrative, not only in Harare but most parts of Africa. They are not a lot of fancy football academies there.

B. Club football

Probably 1 in maybe 1000 talented footballers actually end up playing for the local clubs. Most of them are lost in the system of “get good grades to get a job,” a popular slogan of risk averse parents. But who would blame them, as most of the domestic football leagues are poorly funded and dominated not by young talent but more mature “talent” looking to fend for their families.

For those few who actually make it, there is a bit of silver lining in some leagues. For example, the South African Premier League (PSL) which is fast becoming a powerhouse. It ships players mainly from Zimbabwe, Nigeria and many other African countries because in reality, other countries seem to host better talent than them. They do have a footballing calendar closely aligned to that in Europe and transfer windows where millions of rands are spent. But for a long time, club football on the continent has been dominated by North African clubs such as Al Ahly and Zamalek.

It is in some of these football leagues, where the Mo Salahs or George Weahs are first spotted and find themselves living the dream in Europe. There is another route where affluent parents send their children to academies abroad or that the families relocate and the kids found themselves growing up in foreign countries and pursuing the dream. This is the case of Alex Iwobi, the Nigerian and Arsenal youngster who grew up in England, Delle Alli (a Nigerian adopted by English parents), Mario Balotelli and many more.

C. Internationals

Like anywhere else in the world, when nations clash, its mostly about the bragging rights. Over the years, Africa has been dominated by West Africans such as Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Mali and Ivory Coast. They are known for their huge physicality while North Africans who consistently rank hire boast of some scintillating passing football, probably because they are close to countries like France and Spain. But all this is slowly changing, physical or scintillating football is coming from anywhere, it all depends on who is coaching the team especially now when most African teams employ coaches from outside the continent.

In terms of performances on global tournaments like the World Cup, because of the talent both at home and abroad, Africans should be doing more. But usually, inconsistent showings are earmarked by stories of low or non-payment of allowances and lack of insurance for players.

The nicknames of most national teams are as fierce as they come, Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Super Eagles of Nigeria, Lions of Terranga (Senegal), Warriors of Zimbabwe, Lions of the Atlas (Morrocco), Desert foxes (Algeria), Copper Bullets of Zambia, the list is endless. What a powerhouse of names!

The Legacy of African Football

Introduction

For many years, the African continent has been described as the “dark continent” because of its myriad of challenges such as civil wars, malnutrition, poor governance amongst many other reasons. That narrative is slowly changing, as Africa the has become the second fastest growing economic region. Just as citizens are working together to bring out the much desired change in Africa, football stars have been no different. Coming from humble and sometimes difficult backgrounds and then going on to bag big monies in Europe or elsewhere, they hardly forget their roots. Here is a list of some of the icons who have left their mark on the continent.

Didier Drogba

Who else to begin with but the Chelsea man who scored more than 100 English Premier League goals and won them their only UEFA Champions League trophy in 2012. He certainly was a fan favorite in London but even more adored in the West African nation. Even though he failed to win the Afcon title for the Ivory Coast, he did give them a lot to cheer about. Drogba once used his influence to broker a ceasefire between rebel fighters and the government by advocating for an African Cup of Nations qualifier to be held in the rebel town of Bouake.

He established the Didier Drogba Foundation to improve the health and education of children in Africa. Didier once pledged to use all his endorsement revenues for charitable causes beginning with the $3 million he got from Pepsi. He used it to set up a hospital in Abidjan in 2009.

Michael Essien

The midfield maestro who was loved by Mourinho for his resilience and strong tackles on the pitch was truly a “black star” in Ghana, giving light and hope to thousands. He had a very successful career in Europe playing for Chelsea, Real Madrid and AC Millan. The ever smiling Ghanaian set up the Michael Essien Foundation to raise funds to help the less fortunate access basic amenities such as public toilets, health care equipment, libraries and clean drinking water. He is also involved in Reading Goals initiative which seeks to inculcate reading habits in students. In June 2013, Essien organized the “Game of Hope” charity match in Accra which pitted African footballers against other global footballers to raise awareness on the need of peace.

Nwako Kanu

The ex-Arsenal and Nigerian Super Eagles star was such a wonder on the pitch. Standing over 6 ft. tall, he would dance past defenders and surely became a reliable marksman for the Gunners. After escaping a heart scare himself, Kanu opened the Nwako Kanu Heart Foundation in 2000 to assist young children in Nigerian and the rest of Africa to obtain heart surgeries. The UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador’s Foundation has arranged for over 1000 children to travel abroad and get heart surgeries done.

George Weah

Mister George is perhaps the most decorated African player of all time. He really had a great time in Europe where he played for Monaco, PSG, AC Millan, Chelsea and Manchester City. In that period, he won two French titles, 2 Italian Serie A titles, 3 CAF Player of the year awards and the FIFA Ballon d’Or. After being involved in Goodwill ambassadorial work for the UN and UNICEF, Weah began a political career which peaked with him becoming Liberia’s President in a historic election for the country.

Joseph Yobo

The former Everton and Nigerian center-half is probably not as popular as the above four man in football matters but his work off the pitch has been equally beneficial. He started the Joseph Yobo Charity Foundation in Nigeria which has seen over 300 students ranging from primary to university receive educational scholarships. Yobo also set up a football academy in Nigeria’s Ogoni Region.

Conclusion

It may not be all of them but if we are to sum up the legacy of African football legends in a sentence, it would be that of developmental work on the continent. With their contributions and that of other individuals from varied industries, the rising continent of Africa has a bright future that will forever be linked to the game of football..

From king of the pitch to king of a nation: George Weah

“My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation. I measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today. Change is on.” George Weah tweeted these words on the night of Thursday, 28th of December 2017 as he waltzed into history books once again but now as the first ex-football star to become president of a nation.

Yes, his story is a typical success story of “came from a humble background and then made it in life through hard work and perseverance,” but Mr. Weah is no ordinary successful man. He is idolized in the West African nation as “Mister George.”

The beginning

It all started from Clara Town slum of Monrovia, one of the poorest counties in the nation founded by freed American slaves, Liberia. George was born to William T. Weah, Snr. and Anna Quayeweah but raised mostly by his paternal grandmother. Like any other child with decent opportunities in Africa, he attended middle school at Muslim Congress and Wells Hairston in high school before but at the time, only himself knew that he was firstly a footballer before he was a student. Mister George’s football career started off quickly in the domestic leagues where he won few titles and some personal accolades including the Liberian Premier League title. Sometime during his domestic football career he had to work as a switchboard technician at Liberia Telecommunications to get by in life but his successes would soon catch the attention of Arsene Wenger. He was quickly brought to Monaco by Arsene and then the conquest began.

Football career

The story goes on, the wheels wouldn’t just come off in this man’s illustrious career, there was no stopping him. He went on to win a four major titles in France with Paris St Germain in the 1989-1995 period before moving to Italy. George Weah then bagged two Italian Serie A titles in four years with AC Milan playing alongside Roberto Baggio in the frontline. His European successes were also coupled with dominance in Africa, winning three CAF African Player of the Year titles in 1989, 1994 and 1999 and became the first and up to now, the only African player to have won the coveted Ballon d’Or and FIFA’s World Player of the Year in 1994. He is known for his strength, speed and dribbling ability. Most people remember the goal he scored at Milan against Verona where he dribbled past seven players from his own box until he scored. FIFA described him as the “precursor of the multi-functional strikers of today.” He became popularly known as King George. Mr. Weah’s decorated football career ended with short spells at Chelsea, Manchester City and finally Al-Jazira in UAE in 2003. He was voted Africa’s Player of the century by sport journalists, the same recognition that the Brazilian Pele got for South America and Johan Cruyff for Europe. But the story is only half done. He was always a patriotic, who went back home to Liberia when he won his first CAF award while he was at Monaco to celebrate with his country. Watch what happens next.

Off the pitch

He was always a person of goodwill, even though there was an incident where he broke the Portuguese, Jorge Costa’s nose in the tunnel after a Champions League match at Porto in 1996. He alleged that Jorge had made some racist comments on which he never got any witnesses. George later apologized to Costa but the Portuguese wouldn’t have any of that. He was however named FIFA Fair Player of the year that year and also became UNICEF and UN Goodwill Ambassador later. Back home, Mister George was a President of Junior professionals, a football club that required school attendance for entry. Most of the recruits have gone to play for the national team. In 2016, he partnered with Indian Entrepreneur, Nirav Tripathi in a multi-million deal that would set up global football academies to assist youth in impoverished and emerging nations.

Mr. President

In 2005, George Weah announced his intentions to run for Presidency against the Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Harvard educated, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Some people probably thought he was biting more than he could chew right there. Surprisingly he was leading the race in the first round of elections with 28.3% of the votes. He however eventually lost the presidency to Sirleaf getting 40.6% and his rival 59.4% in the second round of elections where he accused the opposition for voter intimidation and ballot tampering which was brushed aside by the African Union. He humbly took the loss. Weah was always criticized for lacking formal education to govern a nation by opposition leaders, they called him “a babe in woods.” He once replied to the critics in a statement, “With all their education and experience, they have governed this nation for hundreds of years. They have never done anything for the nation.”

After pursuing a business administration degree at DeVry University in Miami, Mister George returned home and successfully campaigned for the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) in Montserrado County senatorial by-election. In 2011, CDC unsuccessfully contested in the elections selecting Weah as the Vice-President with Winston Tubman as the presidential candidate. Three years later, Weah was elected into the Senate after overwhelmingly beating the president’s son, Robert Sirleaf. He became the first international athlete to make to represent a county in the Liberian legislature.

2017 has been the year when it all comes together outside the pitch for Mister George. He is officially the President of Liberia in historic election which saw the first democratic transition of power. He beat Vice President Joseph Boakai by getting 61.5% of the 98% votes counted with Boakai getting 38.5%.

He is the only African player to have won the FIFA World Player of the year in 1995, the Ballon d’Or in the same year and the first ex-football star to lead a nation, his is George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah and this is FirstTouch Football.

Benni McCarthy bemoans SAFA’s communication lines with overseas players

The Bafana Bafana’s all-time leading top scorer has expressed deep concern over South African Football Association’s handling of foreign based players. Recently, the Netherlands based star, Thulani Serero refused to honor the call to play for South Africa’s qualifier match against Senegal citing he needed guaranteed game time. McCarthy recently expressed his desire for more convenient communication between SAFA and its overseas-based players in his recent comments to the IOL. He stated, “I think people need to sit down with the player, the club that he plays for and our national football governing body (SAFA) and come to an agreement or an understanding.” Do you agree with his stance? Let us know in the comment section and check out rest of Benni McCarthy’s demands here.

Mohamed Salah named 2017 BBC African Footballer of the Year

The Egyptian beat teammate Sadio Mane, Victor Moses, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and soon to be teammate Naby Keita to the coveted award. He scored 13 Serie A goals, and registered 8 assists for AS Roma in the 2016-17 season before becoming Liverpool and Africa’s most expensive signing when he joined the Merseyside club in the summer. He is currently the EPL top scorer with 13 goals from 16 appearances. Read more about who placed after Salah and previous winners of the award.

Bony Goal Lifts Swansea, Mahrez Shines For Leicester, and Mo Salah Can’t Stop Scoring

The ex-Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony scored the only goal of the match between Swansea and West Brom on Saturday in the English Premier League. Captain Bony’s goal saw Swansea register just their first win in as many matches lifting them up from the bottom of the league to 18th. The Welsh club are counting on him and striker partner Jordan Ayew (Ghana) to get them the goals to stay afloat in the EPL. Swansea will face runaway leaders Manchester City in an EPL clash on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the Algerian, Riyad Mahrez scored a wonder goal for Leicester as they came from a goal down to beat Newcastle 3-2. The 2016 CAF player of the year is surely back on top of his game. Another Ivorian was also on show, Wilfried Zaha. He won two penalties for struggling Crystal Palace in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

Mohamed Salah continued his blistering goal scoring form with a brilliant individual goal in the Merseyside derby against Everton which ended 1-1. Salah is still the English Premier League top score with 13 goals ahead of Harry Kane on 12. Catch up on the derby with a live match recap.