Salah beats club mate Mane to African player of year award
January 9 – Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah has won the African footballer of the year award for the second consecutive time.
Gold Cup 2025
Rampaging Canada tear Honduras apart
Canada 5 Honduras 0
June 17 – Canada over the past six years have forced their way into Concacaf’s elite but have so often flattered to deceive. They are the team everyone quite likes but have never delivered the championship title their talent screams for. Re-adjust everyone.
Oman’s Verbeek sets sights on 4 points in a group he expects to go down to the wire
January 9 – Dutchman Pim Verbeek has forged a managerial career in Asia and, with his latest team, Oman, has had immediate success with their surprise win at the Gulf Cup last year. Expectations are high for the Asian Cup. He spoke to Samindra Kunti
Man Utd join race to China with plan to open three ‘experience centres’
January 9 – The timing is presumably co-incidence but having cast off the oppressive shadow of Jose Mourinho’s management regime for the more free-flowing joy of Ole Gunnar Solsjaer (albeit interim), Manchester United has announced it will open three “experience centres” in China by 2020.
Japan rising. Yoshida says new look team will take responsibility
January 9 – Japan’s captain Maya Yoshida has called on Japan to forget about disappointment four years ago and deal with the pressure at the 2019 Asian Cup. The Samurai Blue kick off their campaign against Turkmenistan in Group F.
Katanec fortified by Iraq’s last gasp winner and says he won’t repeat his mistakes
January 8 – Iraq coach Srecko Katanec has backed his team to grow during the 2019 Asian Cup, but demanded improvement from his players, citing a ‘horrible’ first half and his own mistakes after a hard-fought 3-2 win over Vietnam.
Iraq steal vital opening points with last gasp winner against Vietnamese
By Samindra Kunti in Abu Dhabi
January 8 – In a game of nerves, overconfidence and plenty of naive defending Iraq broke Vietnamese hearts with a last-minute free kick from Ali Adnan to win a topsy-turvy Group E game 3-2.
Egypt beats South Africa to hosting of AFCON 2019 finals
January 8 – Egypt has replaced Cameroon as hosts of this summer’s Africa Cup of Nations, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced today.
South Korea take group points but Eriksson proud of Philippines’ debut
January 8 – Former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, now in charge of the Philippines, expressed his pride at his side’s performance against hotly fancied South Korea in their first-ever appearance at the Asian Cup Finals on Monday.
Turkish Super Lig clubs given financial lifeline with plan to restructure $2bn of debt
January 8 – Turkish Super Lig clubs have been handed a financial lifeline via a deal brokered between the country’s banks and the football federation to allow clubs to restructure their debts.
Discrimination: Eto’o says black coaches seen as ‘second-class citizens’
January 8 – Former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea star Samuel Eto’o says black coaches are seen as “second-class citizens” around the world and don’t get the trust they deserve.
It’s official, for now. Ahmad shunts Guinea back to 2025 for AFCON hosting
January 8 – Just two months after assuring Guinea that they were still clear to host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, African football boss Ahmad Ahmad is at it again with yet another u-turn.
AFC women lobby for position on FIFA Council
January 8 – The race for the next occupant of the Asian women’s seat on the FIFA Council has got under way with the Maldives’ candidate, Mariyam ‘Mayan’ Mohamed, meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Somali start technical centre build as they wait for return of Mogadishu stadium
January 8 – The Somali Football Federation, which last October began a clean-up of its Mogadishu national stadium in a bid to return it to football usage, has now embarked on the redevelopment of its technical centre.
Ribery rant over steak stunt leaves him with a juicy Bayern fine
January 8 – Bayern Munich are to impose a “heavy fine” on former French international Franck Ribery over an obscenity-laced outburst on social media.
Infantino hits the African trails with 7-nation tour
January 8 – With his re-election campaign surely very much in mind, Gianni Infantino has embarked on a seven-nation tour of West Africa that started in Guinea last weekend.