The draws for the final stage of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup/African Cup of Nations is out and the Black Stars of Ghana are in arguably the toughest group of the draws, and would have to stay strong to return to the World Cup finals after making their debut in Germany two years ago.

The Ghanaian team was pooled in group D of the pools along side fellow West African teams, the Squirrel of Benin and the Eagles of Mali. The Ghanaians would also have to make the tricky trip to Khartoum to face the Nile crocodiles of Sudan.
Number one ranked African team according to World Soccer governing body, FIFA, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are drawn in group A along with 2006 finalists the Hawks of Togo. The other teams in the group are the Atlas Lions of Morocco and Gabon.

Group B would see the Super Eagles of Nigeria, who finished the last round with a 100% record, hope to continue the impressive run when the final round kicks off. They would however have to contend against the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia, the Harambee stars of Kenya and Mozambique.

Reigning African Champions, the Pharaohs of Egypt are drawn in group C alongside the Chipolopolo of Zambia, the Wasps of Rwanda and the Desert Warrior of Algeria. The group looks relatively easy on paper for the Pharaohs, but on the field of play, it is entirely a different ball game entirely.

The Egyptians would be hoping to make their first appearance at the Mundial soccer fiesta, and this seems their easiest opportunity to achieve that.

The final group of the World Cup will see the Elephant of Cote d’Ivoire square up against the Syli Stars of Guinea, the Stallions of Burkina Faso and the Flames of Malawi in group E.
The final qualifying round for the world cup in Africa would begin in March 2009

Group Standings

Group A:
Togo
Cameroon
Morocco
Gabon

Group B:
Mozambique
Nigeria
Kenya
Tunisia

Group C:
Rwanda
Algeria
Egypt
Zambia

Group D:
Ghana
Benin
Sudan
Mali

Group E:
Guinea
Malawi
Burkina Faso
Côte d’Ivoire

Have you heard the one about the goalkeeper who made history on his MLS debut? Well, that’s exactly what happened when New York Red Bulls debutant Danny Cepero scored from 80 yards to help his team to a crucial 3-1 win over Columbus.

Cepero, a 23 year old rookie, made his first ever start in a must win match for the Bulls as they took on eastern conference champions Columbus Crew.
The Bulls needed to win in order to stay in the play off picture and they did just that with a brace from Juan Pablo Angel and an astonishing goal from Cepero.

Former Aston Villa star Angel opened the scoring on 48 minutes, slotting home after a precise
through ball from Macoumba Kandji.

Steven Lenhart dragged Columbus back on level terms with an unmarked header on 62 minutes, following an excellent cross from former Boca Juniors playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
However, a clinical half volley by Angel almost broke though the back of the net as he put his team ahead on 76 minutes. Angel now has 13 goals for the season.
Columbus threatened regularly but could not convert any possession into meaningful chances.

Danny Cepero provided one of the moments of the season so far as he became the first goalkeeper ever  to score in MLS history. His 80 yard kick upfield caught out his opposite number Andy Gruenebaum in the Columbus goal as the ball took an awkward bounce, sailing into an empty net.

Next up for the Bulls, a final regular season game away at Chicago Fire, who have already sealed their place in the playoffs.
Columbus round off their regular season schedule with a home clash against playoff chasing D.C United.

Abdul Kashif

Spanish giants Barcelona are on the verge of launching a bid to become co-owners of a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami.

Barcelona hope to team up with Bolivian entrepreneur, Marcelo Claure, who owns Bolivia’s FC Bolivar.

The MLS currently has 14 teams but is set to expand with Seattle joining in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010 before a further two franchises are included a year later.

Barcelona recently toured America and played MLS side New York Red Bulls in an ‘international friendly’ which they won 6-2.
Miami Fusion played in the MLS from 1998 to 2001 before losing its franchise. Barcelona hope to revive soccer in the city of Miami.

ABDUL KASHIF

President of the Ghanaian Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi say lapses in Security is responsible for the stampede at the Essipong Stadium in Sekondi on Saturday when the Black Stars of Ghana hosted the Crocodiles of Lesotho in a group 5 World Cup/Nations Cup qualifying game.

Reports estimate hat about 18 people were injured in the chaotic environment, as the stadium was highly overpopulated. The maximum capacity for the stadium is suppose to be 20,000, but about 30,000 people found their way into the arena.
Nyantakyi told BBCSports that the security personnel on ground were grossly inexperienced.

“What’s happened in Sekondi was a case of inexperience by those responsible for security and ticketing, because these were two key problems that manifested themselves throughout the match,” he told the website

“A lot of people had tickets but did not have seats in the stadium and that suggests the tickets were probably over-printed beyond the capacity of the stadium - and that was a big mistake.”

“Security appeared to be highly lapsed, because there were so many security personnel at the stadium but it appeared to me that the deployment was a problem.” he added

According to reports, the Stadium was hosting the Black Stars for the first time and the GFA President believes that the presence of the team in the city for the first time might have overwhelmed the local organizers.”

He however pointed out that the stadium would not be discounted, but rather if the stadium is to hold future games proper preparations would be made weeks before the game-day.

“What I think we need to do next time is to bring people from Accra and maybe Kumasi to come and stay here a week before the match and take care of all these things to prevent the recurrence of situations that occurred.

“If the facility’s overstretched, damage could occur, a catastrophe could occur, a tragedy or deaths could occur, and that’s what we all have a duty to prevent,” he stated

No official report has been released on the incident yet.

Awenlimobor Sylvester

The seeding for the Third round of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup/Nations Cup qualifying campaign is out and there are hardly any surprises in the seeding. The top five countries in the continent according to recent FIFA rankings are in listed as the top seeds.

Spokesman for the Continent’s football soccer house CAF, Sherif Ahmed revealed that the basis for the stratification was solely based on the current FIFA rankings and nothing else.

The draws for the third stage will see the top seeds each heading a group to be composed of four teams each. The winner of each group will qualify automatically for the 2010 World Cup, while the top three teams would head to the African Nations Cup in Angola.

Seedings for the Third and final round of Qualifiers

First seeds
Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon.

Second seeds
Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Algeria, Guinea.

Third seeds
Burkina Faso, Gabon, Zambia, Kenya, Benin.

Fourth seeds
Rwanda, Togo, Mozambique, Sudan, Malawi.

Awenlimobor Sylvester

Veteran striker for Egyptian club side Zamalek FC, Abdul-Halim Ali has declared that he would be leaving the club when the January transfer window opens after he was seriously jeered at by fans of the club during a friendly encounter between the club and a lower division side, Menouf.

The Zamalek supporters were frustrated by the numerous chances the 35 year old wasted in front of the goal, and responded by booing him on the field of play.

Ali, who is incidentally the club’s highest goal scorer in African competitions declared that he would be out of the Cairo club at the start of next year.

“I can’t stay here anymore. I will leave Zamalek when the transfer window re-opens in January,” he player told reporters
The striker has not found the back of the net this season despite being given some vote of confidence by German born technical adviser of the club, Reinhard Hollman.

Awenlimobor Sylvester

Arsenal of England striker, Sheyi Adebayor has rescinded his decision not to feature for the Hawks of Togo in this weekend’s crucial 2010 World Cup/Nations Cup qualifying encounter against Swaziland in Accra Ghana.

A big win for any team on the day would see them climb top of the group and automatically qualify for the next phase of the competition.

In an interview with BBCSports.com, Adebayor stated that he was very unhappy with the manner the Togolese Football Federation (TFF) has been treating him, but his love for his country transcends his personal feelings.

“This is a very important game for the future of football in my country and that’s why I have put aside my concerns,” The lanky Arsenal striker told the website

“We played at the World Cup in Germany and we should have used that opportunity to improve the administration of the game in Togo.

“Yet the problem over the bad treatment of the players and coaches by the federation still persists and as the captain of the team I won’t turn the blind eye.”

“There is enough time from now until the next phase of the qualifiers for these issues to be addressed so that the future of Togo football can be secured,” he added

Adebayor however believes the Hawks can defeat the Southern Africans heavily and cruise to the next phase of the qualifying campaign.

“We respect Swaziland and what they have achieved in recent times but we will stop them on Sunday,” Adebayor said.
“It is important for us to beat them massively so that we can qualify for the next stage and we will deliver.” he added

Awenlimobor Sylvester

AFTER three straight defeats, the New York Red Bulls battled to a 1-1 draw away at Real Salt Lake to get their playoff challenge back on track.

Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio had asked his team to ’simply play football’ following three losses in a row.
Playing in front of a sellout crowd in the first ever game at Salt Lake’s new Rio Tinto stadium, the Bulls endured an onslaught to gain a crucial draw.

Real Salt Lake, who sit third in the western conference, are within touching distance of a playoff spot and  they attacked the Bulls from the first whistle to the last.

However, the Bulls struck first as Dave Van Den Bergh rifled in a shot on 31 minutes. The raucous home crowd were stunned into silence.

The visitors lead only lasted 10 minutes as Jamison Olave looped a header past Jon Conway on 41 minutes.
The second half opened much like the first, with the Red Bulls forced to defend.

Real Salt Lake created a number of good openings but could find a way past a determined Bulls defence which had been leaking goals of late.

Juan Pietravallo was given a straight red card for an elbowing incident on 83 minutes as the match ended in a draw.
Next up for the Bulls, a tough home game against eastern conference front runners Columbus next Saturday. Real Salt Lake take on FC Dallas at home on the same night as the playoff race hots up.

BY ABDUL KASHIF

Enyimba’s opponents in this year’s Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) Champions League semi-final, Al Ahly, have claimed that they have entered into an agreement to sign one of the Nigerian club strikers, Stephen Worgu.

Worgu, 19, is this year’s highest goal scorer in the CAF Champions League with 13 goals in 13 games, an average of one goal per match.

But 711football.com understands that the Enyimba teenage forward is being chased by Al Ahly and this was disclosed by the Egyptian club’s Marketing Manager, Adli Al-Qaeyi.

Al-Qaeyi claims that the Egyptian champions have struck an understanding with Enyimba to sign the striker though a fee is yet to be agreed upon.

The Egyptian club was represented by one of its board members, Amri Farouk, during its negotiation with Enyimba over Worgu’s ownership.
“Our talks with Enyimba went well and our representative, Mr. Amri Farouk, believes that we have a deal with Enyimba to sign the player but we are yet to agree on the amount,” Al-Qaeyi disclosed to 711football.com.

Though both clubs have agreed on a deal in principle, which could be finalised in the return leg when Enyimba visit the Military Stadium in Cairo, Egypt on the weekend of October 17 and 19 after a goalless draw in Aba, 711football.com gathered that the two-time CAF Champions League winners, Enyimba, are holding out for a transfer fee of $1 million.
South African Premier League side, Mamelodi Sundowns, are also reportedly interested in Worgu.

Brian Baloyi of Mamelodi Sundowns has been called up to South African senior
national team as replacement for Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Joseph Moeneebs
who suffered an injury in a weekend clash for his club side.

Media officer for the South African team, Sifiso Cele revealed this
information, while also disclosing that 17 of the 23 players invited for the
clash against Equatorial Guinea in Malabo this weekend have already arrived
in camp.

Baloyi has not featured for the South African side in almost two years, and
is getting his first call-up under the new Brazilain tactician.

Awenlimobor Sylvester