23 MAN PHARAOH'S TAKE THE TRIP TO GABON

Seventh time Champions Egypt names 23 man squad for the 2017 Africa cup of Nations billed for Gabon.  The pharaoh's who were 2010 Champions on home soil are said to be in good shape under coach Héctor Cúper as take on west African Duoof Ghana and Mali and East African Uganda side in Gabon.

Experienced Cúper's side with likes of Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny,  AS Roma Mohamed Salah, Ahmed Fathi in defence and others  will battle  Mali on the 17th of January in the first group D match before taking on Ghana and Uganda respectively.
The full squad includes:

*GOALKEEPERS
Ahmed El-Shennawy (Zamalek)
Essam El-Hadary (Wadi Degla)
Sherif Ekramy (Al Ahly)

DEFENDERS:
Ahmed Fathi (Al Ahly)
Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City – England)
Mohamed Abdel-Shafy (Al-Ahli – Saudi Arabia)
Karim Hafez (Lens – France), Ahmed Hegazy (Al Ahly)
Saad Samir (Al Ahly)
Ahmed Dweidar (Zamalek)
Ali Gabr (Zamalek)
 Omar Gaber (FC Basel – Switzerland).

*MIDFIELDERS
Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal – England)
Tarek Hamed (Zamalek)
Ibrahim Salah (Zamalek)
Abdallah El-Said (Al Ahly)
Amr Warda (Panetolikos – Greece)
Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City – England)
Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’ (Royal Mouscron – Belgium).

*FORWARDS
Ahmed Hassan ‘Koka’ (Braga – Portugal)
Marwan Mohsen (Al Ahly)
Mahmoud Abdel-Moneim ‘Kahraba’ (Al-Ittihad – Saudi Arabia)

Mohamed Salah (AS Roma – Italy).

UGANDA LIST 23 FOR AFCON GLORY.

 

 

1978 AFCON runner up Uganda will have their hope of winning the cup of Nations tested in this year in group D as they find themselves in the same group with Ghana, Egypt  and Mali.  Milutin Sredojević camp is filled with players within the African sore and some European professionals as they take the trip to Gabon. 

Coach Milutin ''s side may look like minors in group D but may prove to be giant slayers when the tournament gets underway in Gabon. 

Uganda final 23 man squad for AFCON2017 includes :

*GOALKEEPERS:

Salim Jamal (Al Merrikh, Sudan)

Robert Odongkara (Saint George, Ethiopia)

Denis Onyango (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa)

*DEFENDERS:

Timothy Dennis Awany (KCCA, Uganda)

Joseph Ochaya (KCCA)

Shafiq Batambuze (Tusker, Kenya)

Denis Iguma (Al Ahed, Lebanon)

Isaac Isinde (Unattached)

Murushid Juuko (Simba, Tanzania)

Nicholas Wadada (Vipers, Uganda)

*MIDFIELDERS:

Khalid Aucho (Baroka FC, South Africa)

Mike Azira (Colorado Rapids, USA)

Geoffrey Kizito (Than Quang Ninh, Vietnam)

William Luwagga Kizito (Rio Ave, Portugal)

Tony Mawejje (FC Thotur, Iceland)

Hassan Wasswa (Vipers SC, Uganda)

Moses Oloya (Hanoi T and T, Vietnam)

Godfrey Walusimbi (Gor Mahia, Kenya)

*FORWARDS:

Geoffrey Massa (Baroka FC, South Africa)

Faruku Miya (Standard Liege, Belgium)

Yunus Sentamu (Ilves, Finland)

Geoffrey Sserunkuma (KCCA, Uganda)

Muhammed Shaban (Onduparaka, Uganda)

SENEGAL DROP 23 MAN LIST FOR AFCON

Liverpool's Saido Mane, team captain Cheikhou Khouyate  of West Ham,  Moussa  Sow of Fenerbahcę and host of others makes coach Aliou Cissé  Teranga lions of Senegal list to this year cup of Nations in Gabon. 

The west African side will battle it out in group B with giants Algeria, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. Known for strength, power and tactical awareness,  coach Cissé ''s side will depend on his team in the battle for survival in group B. 

The 23 man squad includes :

*GOALKEEPERS:
Abdoulaye Diallo (Caykur Rizespor, Turkey)
Khadim Ndiaye (Horoya AC, Guinea)
Pape Seydou Ndiaye (Niary Tally)

*DEFENDERS:
Lamine Gassama (Alanyaspor, Turkey)
Kara Mbodj (Anderlecht, Belgium)
Zargo Touré (Lorient, France)
Kalidou Koulibaly (Naples, Italy)
Saliou Ciss (Valenciennes, France)
Cheikh Mbengue (Saint-Etienne, France).

*MIDFIELDERS:
Idrissa Gueye (Everton, England)
Cheikhou Khouyaté (West Ham, England)
Cheikh Ndoye (Angers, France)
Pape Kouly Diop (Espanyol Barcelone, Spain)
Pape Alioune Ndiaye (Osmanlispor, Turkey)
Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle, England)
Henry Saivet (Saint-Etienne, France)
Sadio Mané (Liverpool, England)
Diao Baldé Keita (Lazio Rome, Italy)
Ismaïla Sarr (Metz, France).

*FORWARDS:
Moussa Konaté (FC Sion, Switzerland)
Famara Diedhiou (Angers, France)
Moussa Sow (Fenerbahçe, Turkey)
Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City, England).

HERVÉ RENARD NAMES AFCON LIST

Formal Cote D'ivoire national team coach and two times winner of the Africa cup of Nations  Hervé Renard will this year be on the touchline in Gabon as the coach of the Atlas lions of Morocco. Renard who has won the competition two times with both Zambia and Cote D'ivoire will be the coach to beat this time around for other coaches in Gabon as he looks set for record third title in the competition. 

The Atlas lions camp is filled with great stars ahead of the tournament  with the likes of defender Medhi Benatia of juventus,  Sofiane  Boufal of Southampton,  Nordin  Amrabat of Warford, Youssef  En-nessyri of Malaga and many more. 

The formal Les Éléphants tactictian who is well known with lots of African football experience will face his formal side Cote D'ivore, DR  Congo and Togo in group C when the tournament gets underway. 

Full squad includes :

*GOALKEEPERS :

Munir Mohammadi (Numancia, Spain)

Yassine Bounou (Real Saragosse, Spain)

Yassine El Kharroubi (Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Bulgaria)

*DEFENDERS:

Medhi Benatia (Juventus, Italy)

Romain Saïss (Wolverhampton, England)

Marouane Da Costa (Olympiakos, Grèece)

Fouad Chafik (Dijon, France)

Hamza Mendyl (Lille, France)

Nabil Dirar (Monaco, France)

Amine Attouchi (WAC Casablanca).

*MIDFIELDERS: 

Youssef Aït Bennasser (Nancy, France)

Mounir Obbadi (Lille, France)

Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord Rotterdam, Holland)

Faycal Fajr (Deportivo La Corogne, Spain)

Mbark Boussoufa (Al-Jazira, EAU)

Sofiane Boufal (Southampton, England)

Nordin Amrabat (Watford, England)

Mehdi Carcela (Grenada, Spain).

*FORWARDS : 

Khalid Boutaïb (RC Strasbourg, France)

Youssef En-Nessyri (Malaga, Spain)

Rachid Alioui (Nîmes, France)

Youssef El Arabi (Lekhwiya, Qatar)

Aziz Bouhaddouz (Sanit Pauli, Germany).

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS COTE D'IVOIRE NAMES AFCON SQUAD .

Defending champions cote d'ivoire  will be without notable names like Yaya  Toure,  Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Eboue amongst other as their journey to  Gabon for the 2017 edition of the Africa cup of  Nations. Prior to this year edition,  Les éléphants were the winner of the competition and are set for this year's edition in Gabon. 

With the exclusion of yaya and Drogba,  head coach Michel Dussuyer have lined up stronger defence with players like Eric Bailly  of Manchester United and Aurier Serge of PSG to shield his back line and young talent Wilfried Zaha of crystal palace, fast and energetic  Salomon Kalou of Hertha Berlin to lead his attack.

*GOALKEEPERS
GBOHOUO Sylvain (TP Mazembe – DR Congo)
SANGARE Badra Ali (AS Tanda – Côte d’Ivoire)
SAYOUBA Mande (Stabaek – Norway)

*DEFENDERS
AURIER Serge (Paris SG – France)
BAGAYOKO Mamadou (St Trond VV – Belgium)
BAILLY Eric (Manchester United – England)
DELI Simon (Slavia Prague – Czech Rep.)
KANON Wilfried (ADO Den Haag – Holland)
KONE Lamine (Sunderland AFC – England)
TRAORE Adama (FC Basel – Switzerland)

*MIDFIELDERS
ANGBAN Victorien (Grenade CF – Spain)
DOUKOURE Cheik (FC Metz – France)
KESSIE Franck (Atalanta Bergame – Italy)
N’GUESSAN Yao Serge (AS Nancy Lorraine – France)
SEREY DIE Geoffroy (FC Basel - Switzerland)
SERI Jean Michaël (OGC Nice – France)

*ATTACKERS
BONY Wilfried (Stoke City FC – England)
GRADEL Max Alain (AFC Bournemouth – England)
KALOU Salomon (Hertha Berlin – Germany)
KODJIA Jonathan (Aston Villa FC – England)
PEPE Nicolas (SCO Angers – France)
SIO Giovanni (Stade Rennais – France)
ZAHA Wilfried (Cristal Palace FC – England)

AFCON 2017; MALI NAMES SQUAD

Les Aigles  of Mali are war ready as the side names final 23 legs to fly the country's flag in Gabon as the prestigious Africa cup of Nations kick start mid January this year. The Alain  Gresse tutored side will have to stand the test of 90 minutes alongside Ghana,  Egypt and  Uganda in group D of the competition in other to gain access to the knockout stages.

Mali will be without the services of prolific midfielder  Seydou Keita during the tournament in Gabon.

The full list includes:
 

GOALKEEPERS: 

Soumaila Diakité (Stade Malien De Bamako)

Djigui Diarra (Stade Malien de Bamako)

Oumar Sissoko (Orléans, France)

 DEFENDERS:

Ousmane Coulibaly (Panathinaikos, Greece)

Hamari Traore (Reims, France)

Molla Wagué (Udinese, Italy)

Salif Coulibaly (TP Mazembe, DR Congo)

Mohamed Oumar Konaté (RS Berkane, Morocco)

Mahamadou N’Diaye (Troyes, France)

Youssouf Koné (Lille, France)

 MIDFIELDERS : 

Yves Bissouma (Lille, France)

Mamoutou N’Diaye (Royal Antwerp, Belgium)

Lassana Coulibaly (Bastia, France)

Yacouba Sylla (Montpellier, France)

Samba Sow (Kayserispor, Turkey)

Adama Traoré (AS Monaco, France)

Sambou Yatabaré (Werder Bremen, Germany)

 FORWARDS: 

Moussa Marega (Vitória Guimarães, Portugal)

Kalifa Coulibaly (Gent, Belgium),

Moustapha Yatabaré (Karabukspor, Turkey)

Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace, England)

Moussa Doumbia (Rostov, Russia).

CAMEROON NAMES AFCON SQUAD.

The indomitable lions of Cameroon head coach Alexandre  Belinga has officially released his final 23 man squad for this year Africa cup of Nations scheduled for January  14 in Gabon.  Ahead of the competition,  the indomitable lions are said to be battle ready as they lock horns with other African nations in group A which has host Gabon and the likes of Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau.
Alexandre Belinga's men will keep off their campaign in the group on the first day of the tournament with Burkina Faso in clash described to be west Africa derby.

The final 23 man squad includes :

GOALKEEPERS:
Fabrice Ondoa (FC Séville, Spain)
Jules Goda (AC Ajaccio, France)
Georges Mbokwe (Coton Sport de Garoua).

DEFENDERS:
Nicolas Nkoulou (Lyon, France)
Ambroise Oyongo (Impact Montréal, Canada)
Mohamed Djeitei (Nastic Tarragona, Spain)
Fai Collins (Standard Liège, Belgium)
Michael Ngadeu Ngadjui (Slavia Prague, Czech Rep.)
Adolphe Teikeu (Sochaux, France)
Jonathan Ngwem (FC Progresso, Angola)
Ernest Mabouka (MSK Zilina, Slovakia).

MIDFIELDERS :
Sébastien Siani (Ostende, Belgium)
Georges Mandjeck (Metz, France)
Arnaud Djoum (Heart of Midlothian, Scotland)
Franck Boya (Apejes).


FORWARDS:
Vincent Aboubakar (Besiktas, Turkey)
Benjamin Moukandjo (Lorient, France)
Jacques Zoua (Kaiserslautern, Germany)
Edgar Salli (Saint-Gallen, Switzerland), Karl Toko-Ekambi (Angers, France), Clinton Njie (Marseille, France)
Robert Ndip Tambe (Spartak Trnava, Slovakia)

Christian Bassogog (Aalborg, Danemark).

SPURS VS CHELSEA PREVIEW

*Tottenham vs. Chelsea*: Premier League – Match Preview

Chelsea will look to record an incredible 14th league win in a row when they travel to White Hart Lane on Wednesday evening.

Tottenham are also in good form and thrashed Watford 4-1 on New Years Day.

Both Harry Kane and Dele Alli scored braces as they won for a fourth consecutive league fixture.

Chelsea were too strong for Stoke City on New Years Eve, winning 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.

Willian scored twice, with Gary Cahill and Diego Costa also finding the net for the hosts.

_Premier League form:_

Tottenham W4 D0 L1;

Chelsea W5 D0 L0

Premier League top scorers
Tottenham – Harry Kane 10 goals
Chelsea – Diego Costa 14 goals

*Match history*
The meeting between the pair earlier in the season saw Chelsea recover from a goal down to win 2-1.

Both matches last term finished level, including a goalless draw at the Lane.

*Last five Premier League meetings*
Chelsea 2 Tottenham 1 – 26/11/16
Chelsea 2 Tottenham 2 – 02/05/16
Tottenham 0 Chelsea 0 – 29/11/15
Tottenham 5 Chelsea 3 – 01/01/15
Chelsea 3 Tottenham 0 – 03/12/14

*Team news*
Spurs will welcome back both Kyle Walker and Toby Alderweireld from suspension here.

Mousa Dembele was a substitute against Watford, but is expected to start against Chelsea.

Marcos Alonso is a doubt for Chelsea, but should be involved, with Chelsea naming a similar XI here.

Pedro returns from a ban, but could be on the bench after Willian’s brace against Stoke.

_Expected starting XI’s_

*Tottenham (4-2-3-1)*: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Wanyama, Dembele; Sissoko, Alli, Eriksen; Kane

*Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois*; Azpiliceuta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Matic, Kante, Alonso; Willian, Costa, Hazard

NPFL RELEASES OFFICIAL MATCH BALL FOR 2016/17 SEASON

Ahead of the January 14 kick-off, the League Management Company (LMC), organizers of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), have released photos of the official ball for the 2016/2017 season via their official Twitter page.

The white ball has all sponsors of the NPFL and the LMC inscribed on it.

Champions Enugu Rangers will begin their title defence at home against Abia Warriors.

The biggest clash for Match Day 1 is the clash between Enyimba International FC and Sunshine Stars of Akure.

Match Day One Fixtures

Enyimba FC Vs Sunshine Stars
Kano Pillars Vs FC Ifeanyi Ubah
Enugu Rangers Vs Abia Warriors
MFM FC Vs Niger Tornadoes
Shooting Stars Vs Lobi Stars
ABS FC Vs Akwa United
Remo Stars Vs Plateau United
Katsina United Vs Gombe United
Rivers United Vs Elkanemi Warriors
Wikki Tourists Vs Nasarawa United

Other images of the official ball includes;

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GRANT NAMES BLACK STARS SQUAD FOR AFCON

Coach Avram Grant has named his named a 26- man provisional squad for the2017African Cup of Nations Cup competition. Captain Asamoah leads the side that will begin
an 11-day training tour in the UAE before travelling to Gabon on January 13 for the
competition.
Below is the list that has been travel to Al Ain:

GOALKEEPERS :

Razak Braimah (Cordoba, Spain),
Adam Kwarasey (Rosenborg, Norway) Richard
Ofori (Wa All Stars)

DEFENDERS:

Harrison Afful (Columbus Crew,
USA), Andy Yiadom (Barnsley, England), Baba
Rahman (Schalke, Germany), Frank Acheampong
(Anderlecht, Belgium), (John Boye (Sivasspor,
Turkey), Jonathan Mensah (Anzhi, Russia),
Daniel Amartey (Leicester City, England), Edwin
Gyimah (Orlando Pirates, South Africa)

 MIDFIELDERS:

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu
(Udinese, Italy), Afriyie Acquah (Torino, Italy),
Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid, Spain)
Mubarak Wakaso (Panathinaikos, Greece),
Christian Atsu (Newcastle, England), Ebenezer
Ofori (AIK Stockholm, Sweden), Samuel Tetteh
(Leifering, Austria), Joseph Larweh Attamah
(Baaktehir, Turkey)

FORWARDS:

 Asamoah Gyan (Al Ahli, UAE) Jordan
Ayew (Aston Villa, England), Abdul-Majeed Waris
(Lorient, France), Andre Ayew (West Ham,
England), Ebenezer Assifuah (Sion, Switzerland),
Bernard Tekpetey (Schalke, Germany), Rahpael
Dwamena (Austria Lustenau, Austria)

the west African side will be expected back on the continent before the tournament kick-start mid January.