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Somalia's floodlit football returns 30 years later [Football Planet]

Football Planet

SOMALIA: FLOODLIGHTS FOOTBALL RETURNS AFTER 30 YEARS

Somali football fans have a new pastime! The country on Friday witnessed the first football match under floodlights in three decades.

The horn of Africa nation is trying to rebuild it’s football after decades of conflict and often due to that, the national side has been forced to play its ‘home’ matches in neighbouring Ethiopia.

But things are changing rapidly. We have prepared that story.

CAMEROON TO MISS OUT ON RUSSIA 2018

Africa Cup of Nations champions Cameroon are the first African side to be knocked out of the final qualifying standings for the Russia 2018 World Cup, after they were eliminated from the final round of qualifying last Monday. Hugo Broos’ side needed to beat Nigeria at home, but could only manage a 1-1 draw

S.A VS. SENEGAL QUALIFIER TO BE REPLAYED IN NOVEMBER

Some hope for the Teranga Lions! The Bureau for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers ordered a replay of the qualification match between South Africa and Senegal held on 12 November 2016. This decision follows the confirmation of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to uphold the lifetime ban of match referee, Jospeh Lamptey, for match manipulation.

GIRESSE RESIGNS AS MALI COACH

Mali coach Alain Giresse resigned from his post last week barely 24-hours after a barren draw against Morocco in a Match Day Four clash of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia qualifiers that almost ended Mali’s qualification hopes.

The 0-0 draw against Morocco followed a 6-0 drubbing by the same side in the reverse fixture in Rabat, one of the biggest losses in the history of the Malian senior national team.
On his resignation Giresse said: Quote: “It has become complicated for me. There are times when you must know how to stop.”

The 65-year old Frenchman now leaves Mali sitting at the bottom of Group C with only two points from four games, five shy of group leaders Cote d’Ivoire.
Giresse was in charge of the side between 2010 and 2012, leading them to third place at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

He was re-appointed in March 2015, but failed to steer the West Africans to glory as they failed to go past the group stage at the 2017 AFCON in Gabon.

TRACING KYLIAN MBAPPE’S AFRICAN ROOTS

You know everytime we see something amazing, we’d always want to know who’s associated with it. Kylian Mbappe is arguably the hottest thing in world football right now. We know he’s obviously got some African roots…he’s a son of the continent and we are proud to give out Mbappe to the world, to serve and entertain.

According to a Nigerian media outlet called The Punch, Kylian’s father, Wilfred Mbappe has Cameroonian and Nigerian roots. He was once a refugee, who migrated to France for greener pastures. Further reports say that Wilfred in a bid to get a permanent stay got married to an Algerian-French lady Fayza Lamari, an ex-handball player.

Kylian was given a Yoruba middle name Adesanmi meaning “crown fits me” by Wilfred, who also adopted a son, Jirès Kembo Ekoko, a professional footballer of Congolese descent, but has a biological son and younger brother of Kylian named Adeyemi Mbappe, in recognition of his Nigerian roots.

Adeyemi is a Yoruba name meaning “the crown befits you,” according to The Punch.

And Mbappe hit the ground running at PSG. On Friday he scored on his debut for Paris St-Germain as the Ligue 1 leaders maintained their perfect start to the season with a 5-1 thumping of Metz.

SADIO MANE EARNS EPL PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Senegal international Sadio Mane has been crowned as the English Premier League’s Player of the Month for August.

The Liverpool forward scooped the accolade after scoring in each of his three appearances in the competition to begin 2017-18 in style.

He beat Manchester United trio Phil Jones, Romelu Lukaku and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Huddersfield Town’s Jonas Lossl, Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata, and team-mate Mohamed Salah to get the award.

However Mane’s bliss soured when he was shown a red card during Liverpool’s match against manchester City on Saturday in which the reds were humiliated 5-0 by the Citizens.

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Football Planet

Football Planet is for you. We want to share your opinions on our programme. If you want to contribute to Football Planet, here are the best ways to get in touch : For more details on how to contribute, click here.