Africa Football Discussion || Current Topic: AFCON 2025 Qualifiers - CAF.

[Cryptoprincess101]

A win for an African team is a win for all of Africa. The battle is now over for the rest of the world and it's now a battle between the European and Africa. Let's note that No African nation has won the Men's Olympic Football Tournament since Nigeria in 1996 and Cameroon in 2000 and this could be a perfect opportunity to see either an African team in the final or possibly two African teams playing themselves in the finals.

good luck, team Africa.
🚩Olympic Semifinals:

🇫🇷 France - Egypt 🇪🇬
🇲🇦 Morocco - Spain 🇪🇸

It's really interesting to see two African countries make it to the semi final stages, I believe there is no way the two countries will lose out in this Semi final stage, definitely one among Egypt or Morocco will make it to the finals and possibly win so am very happy to see that African teams are trying their best at the Olympics games even though Nigeria didn't make it through but just like you said, a win for one is surely a win for all so we should support our own African countries and be hopeful that the African teams will come out victorious. Though I haven't been following up the Olympic games due to my busy schedules but I will be making out time now that African countries are still very much active. Goodluck to Egypt and Morocco.

[SatoPrincess]

So far in this Olympics, the Nigerian female basketball team has been the only ones given true representation to the Nigerian squad at the Olympics, they are the only ones upon which Nigeria is hoping to get a good medal most of the others both team games and Individual games, they are not impressive enough to depend on them, hopefully they get something by the end of the tournament.

I have actually not seen be following the games judiciously but I have kept my eyes on the medal board and haven't seen Nigeria leading in most categories as expected of them and I can say for fact it's really sadden.

It is a bitter pill to swallow but the truth of the matter is that Nigeria is not a nation that is great at sports. We pride ourselves as a football loving nation and yet we cannot compete with other nations at international level. We are regressing in sports; in followership and in performance. If we can’t get it right in football (which is the most dominant sport in the country) how can we develop public interests in other sports?  

Congratulations to the D'Tigress! They are representing us and have given us something to be excited about in the Olympics. I don’t watch basketball but since the Super Falcons are out, my focus has shifted to the basketball games.

[Marykeller]

So far in this Olympics, the Nigerian female basketball team has been the only ones given true representation to the Nigerian squad at the Olympics, they are the only ones upon which Nigeria is hoping to get a good medal most of the others both team games and Individual games, they are not impressive enough to depend on them, hopefully they get something by the end of the tournament.

I have actually not seen be following the games judiciously but I have kept my eyes on the medal board and haven't seen Nigeria leading in most categories as expected of them and I can say for fact it's really sadden.

It is a bitter pill to swallow but the truth of the matter is that Nigeria is not a nation that is great at sports. We pride ourselves as a football loving nation and yet we cannot compete with other nations at international level. We are regressing in sports; in followership and in performance. If we can’t get it right in football (which is the most dominant sport in the country) how can we develop public interests in other sports?  

Congratulations to the D'Tigress! They are representing us and have given us something to be excited about in the Olympics. I don’t watch basketball but since the Super Falcons are out, my focus has shifted to the basketball games.

It will be fascinating for us all to note that the D'Tigress are making us proud in regards to basketball, as they have qualified for the first-ever quarterfinals at the Olympics as they beat Canada in today's basketball encounter by 75-54. They had first won Australia and now Canada. Only lost to France so far

That been said, The D'Tigress came into the year Olympics as the lowest rank team(12th), but here they are, won the 3rd and 5th of the best female basketball in the world. Big congrats to them, as they are representing us perfectly well. Maybe our first gold, silver or bronze may come from them, who knows???

[letteredhub]

So far in this Olympics, the Nigerian female basketball team has been the only ones given true representation to the Nigerian squad at the Olympics, they are the only ones upon which Nigeria is hoping to get a good medal most of the others both team games and Individual games, they are not impressive enough to depend on them, hopefully they get something by the end of the tournament.

I have actually not seen be following the games judiciously but I have kept my eyes on the medal board and haven't seen Nigeria leading in most categories as expected of them and I can say for fact it's really sadden.

It is a bitter pill to swallow but the truth of the matter is that Nigeria is not a nation that is great at sports. We pride ourselves as a football loving nation and yet we cannot compete with other nations at international level. We are regressing in sports; in followership and in performance. If we can’t get it right in football (which is the most dominant sport in the country) how can we develop public interests in other sports?

It is not actually true to say Nigeria as a nation is not great sports, check the records both in Africa sports tournaments and tournaments outside the shores of Africa Nigeria has been one of the best representatives. The bitter pill there is that right now all of that is now in the past as the South African and North African countries are now taking the lead because Nigeria has slacked behind.

And this slack is not as a result of a lack of talented sports men availability in the country but die to a lack of effective and efficient support and funds in grooming these talents. Like how sports training centers and academic are available nationwide, the infrastructures are lacking while the available ones are dilapidated. How do we intend to see growth in all areas of sports in the country? All has been an individual efforts on the part of the sports men only to be attracted by the national team when they have made their individual name. How pathetic.

Congratulations to the D'Tigress! They are representing us and have given us something to be excited about in the Olympics. I don’t watch basketball but since the Super Falcons are out, my focus has shifted to the basketball games.

Same here, I don't really get much interest in basketball games but I think that D, Tigres of Nigeria are changing the narrative for many Nigerians ever since the Super falcon got us all disappointed.

D, Tigres are making history in this France Olympic 2024 becoming the first team in Africa to get to the quarter final stage in Olympic games. Winning their two games losing just one out of three games. Will be a thing of joy to have them come back home with a gold medal and going with how they are performing it's possible they can do that.

[Ruttoshi]

So far in this Olympics, the Nigerian female basketball team has been the only ones given true representation to the Nigerian squad at the Olympics, they are the only ones upon which Nigeria is hoping to get a good medal most of the others both team games and Individual games, they are not impressive enough to depend on them, hopefully they get something by the end of the tournament.

I have actually not seen be following the games judiciously but I have kept my eyes on the medal board and haven't seen Nigeria leading in most categories as expected of them and I can say for fact it's really sadden.

It is a bitter pill to swallow but the truth of the matter is that Nigeria is not a nation that is great at sports. We pride ourselves as a football loving nation and yet we cannot compete with other nations at international level. We are regressing in sports; in followership and in performance. If we can’t get it right in football (which is the most dominant sport in the country) how can we develop public interests in other sports?  

Congratulations to the D'Tigress! They are representing us and have given us something to be excited about in the Olympics. I don’t watch basketball but since the Super Falcons are out, my focus has shifted to the basketball games.

I think the state at which the country is currently is what is also affecting us in sport and football precisely, because I could remember that way back when the country has not gotten bad to this level, Falcons don't disappoint us.

I am still happy that if we cannot go far in football, basket ball is there for us to still be proud of our country because D'Tigress are doing well in that field and it is possible for them to win the finals.

This year's Olympics is different and not favorable for Nigeria because in previous ones, you will see Nigerians winning gold in various sports.

[DiMarxist]

So far in this Olympics, the Nigerian female basketball team has been the only ones given true representation to the Nigerian squad at the Olympics, they are the only ones upon which Nigeria is hoping to get a good medal most of the others both team games and Individual games, they are not impressive enough to depend on them, hopefully they get something by the end of the tournament.

I have actually not seen be following the games judiciously but I have kept my eyes on the medal board and haven't seen Nigeria leading in most categories as expected of them and I can say for fact it's really sadden.

They won Canada 79-70. Ezinne Kalu was one of the best player in the match. They really played well. At first I thought Canada would win because of the early lead of the opponent. But in the second half Nigerian women start their best and finally won the game.

[Marvelockg]

A win for an African team is a win for all of Africa. The battle is now over for the rest of the world and it's now a battle between the European and Africa. Let's note that No African nation has won the Men's Olympic Football Tournament since Nigeria in 1996 and Cameroon in 2000 and this could be a perfect opportunity to see either an African team in the final or possibly two African teams playing themselves in the finals.

good luck, team Africa.
🚩Olympic Semifinals:

🇫🇷 France - Egypt 🇪🇬
🇲🇦 Morocco - Spain 🇪🇸

It's really interesting to see two African countries make it to the semi final stages, I believe there is no way the two countries will lose out in this Semi final stage, definitely one among Egypt or Morocco will make it to the finals and possibly win so am very happy to see that African teams are trying their best at the Olympics games even though Nigeria didn't make it through but just like you said, a win for one is surely a win for all so we should support our own African countries and be hopeful that the African teams will come out victorious. Though I haven't been following up the Olympic games due to my busy schedules but I will be making out time now that African countries are still very much active. Goodluck to Egypt and Morocco.

these two teams are just exceptional and any of them that gets to the finals actually merited it. I knew right from the onset that Morocco was cooking something special for this tournament and will certainly go far but getting two teams at the semi finals is just amazing. It's a responsibility they have to stand up for because it's not going to be an easy ride for them, France and Spain are not opposition to underate for any reason even though it's not the regular France and Spain team that played at the Euros but it's still a battle they have to be very prepared for and go into the games knowing that any form of laxity brings an exit for them till the next four years that's even if they will be qualified for it. Apart from the fact that I'm totally supporting Morocco to win in this tournament, I want to see Achraf Hakimi at the finals and I hope they are able to dismantle France in tomorrow's encounter.

[Rruchi man]

This year's Olympics is different and not favorable for Nigeria because in previous ones, you will see Nigerians winning gold in various sports.

I was about to say these because unlike other years in the Olympics where you'd see Nigerians representing the country in various sports, in this year's Olympics Nigeria is very poorly represented, and if not for D'Tigress, who is doing well in basketball, we would not have had any other name representing our country in this competition and keeping us hopeful for a medal.

Chukwuebuka Enekwechi also did well to represent us in the finals of the men's shot put, making him the first Nigerian to get to that level (a final) in this Olympics. He did not win, but finished 6th.

[Die_empty]

these two teams are just exceptional and any of them that gets to the finals actually merited it. I knew right from the onset that Morocco was cooking something special for this tournament and will certainly go far but getting two teams at the semi finals is just amazing. It's a responsibility they have to stand up for because it's not going to be an easy ride for them, France and Spain are not opposition to underate for any reason even though it's not the regular France and Spain team that played at the Euros but it's still a battle they have to be very prepared for and go into the games knowing that any form of laxity brings an exit for them till the next four years that's even if they will be qualified for it. Apart from the fact that I'm totally supporting Morocco to win in this tournament, I want to see Achraf Hakimi at the finals and I hope they are able to dismantle France in tomorrow's encounter.

The qualification of both Egypt and Morocco for the semifinals shows that both teams were the best to represent Africa. Egypt had struggled to qualify for this level after they went through penalties with Paraguay. It will be the first Semifinals for the young Pharaohs after waiting for sixty years. Morocco has a stronger and better team that has convincingly ridden to the semifinals with flying colors. They look unstoppable, and it seems they are destined for glory in this Olympics. The senior team made it to the semifinals in the last World Cup, just hoping that they would go beyond this stage.

I was about to say these because unlike other years in the Olympics where you'd see Nigerians representing the country in various sports, in this year's Olympics Nigeria is very poorly represented, and if not for D'Tigress, who is doing well in basketball, we would not have had any other name representing our country in this competition and keeping us hopeful for a medal.

Chukwuebuka Enekwechi also did well to represent us in the finals of the men's shot put, making him the first Nigerian to get to that level (a final) in this Olympics. He did not win, but finished 6th.

Nigeria came to this competition with 84 athletes. As usual, the team had some administrative problems, like the case of Favour Ofili, who was not registered for the 100 meters. Cynthia Ogunsemilore has also been expelled from the boxing competition due to a dope test failure. Lack of funds, poor administration, and corruption are still affecting the team's performance. This situation is not far from what happened in the last competition in Tokyo where 14 Nigerian athletes were sent home because the Nigeria Olympic Committee failed to pay for their doping test.  It is getting clear that Nigeria will not be able to replicate her best performance at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, where they won six medals, which includes two golds.

[SatoPrincess]

Nigeria came to this competition with 84 athletes. As usual, the team had some administrative problems, like the case of Favour Ofili, who was not registered for the 100 meters. Cynthia Ogunsemilore has also been expelled from the boxing competition due to a dope test failure. Lack of funds, poor administration, and corruption are still affecting the team's performance. This situation is not far from what happened in the last competition in Tokyo where 14 Nigerian athletes were sent home because the Nigeria Olympic Committee failed to pay for their doping test.  It is getting clear that Nigeria will not be able to replicate her best performance at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, where they won six medals, which includes two golds.

I couldn’t agree more. The Nigerian sports federation have a lot to answer for. It is not encouraging to the athletes who have prepared and trained for the Olympics  only to be told at the last minute that you will not be participating in a tournament you qualified for. 

Favour Ofili’s story is just one of many. Good thing that she has qualified for the 200m semi final. I remember the case of Annette Echikunwoke, she was informed that she couldn’t compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics due to the “negligence” of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria. Today, she is represent the USA and has advance to the finals. It’s sad to see we are losing talents because of people we chose to put in charge of our sports.

[Davidvictorson]

and if not for D'Tigress, who is doing well in basketball,

This is a significant victory for the Nigerian Female Basketball team. They have been able to make me interested in the game of basketball. These women has since their first game proven that they are very resilient regardless of the challenges that they face in the beginning with a loss against France, yet their determination pulled them through to even beating a top team like Canada. I wrote the last time that they should not be underestimated and that is where most of these so call top teams miss it. They underestimate team Nigeria and overestimate their confidence, and that is what leads to loss. Next up is team USA one of the best in the world. Lets see what happens. I'll still best on D'Tigress to win both because I am being patriotic and because I believe in their abilities which they have showcased.

[Hewlet]

What a sad way to put to an end to the journey of our African football team at the Olympics, our two teams, Morocco and Egypt have both exited the  tournament after getting to the quarter finals of the competition.

Spain had a 2:1 lead against Morocco while after Egypt conceeded a careless red card, France won with 3:1 victory. Worthy of note is the unprofessional attitude of the Egyptian players on the pitch and thier inability to control their emotions at the point they where losing. As it stands, they will have to play themselves to look out for the third place but thus far that's how far the representative of our African continent have gone in the football aspect and we will have to prepare better for next time.

Back to the Nigerian teams that are still making waves at the Olympics; Favour Ofili qualified for the final of the women’s 200 metres while Blessing Oborududu has secured her place in the semi-finals of the women’s 68kg wrestling competition.

[SatoPrincess]

Favour Ofili finished sixth place in the women’s 200m race. We are proud of our sister, she did her best and represented the country in the best way she could. I was hoping we would get a medal from this sport but it seems Nigeria is not going to win gold in the 2024 Summer Olympics. It is also noteworthy to state that Nigerian-American, Annette Echikunwoke won the silver medal for USA in an Olympic silver medal after switching allegiance from Nigeria. She would have represented Nigeria this year if not for the repeated failures of the AFN. It is as if the AFN is out to sabotage athletes representing the country.

https://fij.ng/article/annette-echikunwoke-africas-hammer-record-holder-gives-us-olympic-glory-after-nigeria-failed-her/

[Marykeller]

It is also noteworthy to state that Nigerian-American, Annette Echikunwoke won the silver medal for USA in an Olympic silver medal after switching allegiance from Nigeria. She would have represented Nigeria this year if not for the repeated failures of the AFN. It is as if the AFN is out to sabotage athletes representing the country.

https://fij.ng/article/annette-echikunwoke-africas-hammer-record-holder-gives-us-olympic-glory-after-nigeria-failed-her/

It's sad to see how a country like Nigeria has killed people's dreams. Annette Echikunwoke once represented Nigeria at the Olympics in Tokyo, but due to an administrative error on the doping screening, she was disqualified. Now she has made history by becoming the first Athlete representing America to give Americans a win medal(silver) on Hammer throw.



Truly, our government is not helping matters regarding sports. Check out that a country like ours(Nigeria) is still having senseless errors, which is not good to hear of. That's why you see Nigeria leaving their country of origin to other countries to change allegiance to the country they are staying in. Sadly, our best are leaving the country to a country that will support and nurture their talents to be all good. Something drastic has to be done to all these, to put a stop to these clueless beings heading the helms of affairs of all the ministry positions of the nations

[Davidvictorson]

Congratulations to the D'Tigress! They are representing us and have given us something to be excited about in the Olympics. I don’t watch basketball but since the Super Falcons are out, my focus has shifted to the basketball games.

Despite crashing out from the championship today, we can all agree that the female basketball team made the country proud. I am indeed very proud of them. I knew it was going to be a difficult game for them against the number one team in the world , team USA but they did the best they could and I hope the government and president would build on this momentum to fix our sports sector and encourage more women to participate. Until next time , well done girls.

[Marykeller]

Congratulations to the D'Tigress! They are representing us and have given us something to be excited about in the Olympics. I don’t watch basketball but since the Super Falcons are out, my focus has shifted to the basketball games.

Despite crashing out from the championship today, we can all agree that the female basketball team made the country proud. I am indeed very proud of them. I knew it was going to be a difficult game for them against the number one team in the world , team USA but they did the best they could and I hope the government and president would build on this momentum to fix our sports sector and encourage more women to participate. Until next time , well done girls.

D'Tigress did well in this Paris Olympics; Nigeria's pretty proud of them for reaching this far in the Olympics with a fantastic performance that had them beat the 3rd and 5th(Australia and Canada) teams in the world. For D'Tigress to lose to the USA is not a bad output that will have Nigeria cajoled them to that. At least we saw a team that gave their best shot to face the USA team squarely to an 88-74 result.



I believe next time, they will do far better than this, to make us more proud with a gold or silver medal, and we will all celebrate it. The key fact remains that Nigeria will keep giving our female basketball the maximum support they need to excel in African and Olympic basketball. I also believe it's not yet over for them. There'll always be next time to give a better output to female basketball, that's for sure

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

D'Tigress did well in this Paris Olympics; Nigeria's pretty proud of them for reaching this far in the Olympics with a fantastic performance that had them beat the 3rd and 5th(Australia and Canada) teams in the world. For D'Tigress to lose to the USA is not a bad output that will have Nigeria cajoled them to that. At least we saw a team that gave their best shot to face the USA team squarely to an 88-74 result.

We have to appreciate D'Tigress for their performance, Basketball isn't something we're too into in the country but they gave it everything they have and losing to USA isn't that bad because atleast it's a worthy nation that defeated them. The kind of facilities and training the USA team gets isn't the same with D'Tigress so their defeat is quite justifiable. Atleast we know they lost with their head high and I won't mind to support them when next they have any competitions to participate in.



I don't get it, why do our government and those incharge of handling our sport administration, why are they not taking our Athletes serious. They are not getting professional treatment and it's becoming a frequent problem. They keep chasing away this athletes and soon they'll have nobody left to represent the country if they continue like this. Last week it was the news of one of our own representing another country after she got treated badly and now this again. We need to do better and encourage this Athletes more.

[Alpha Marine]

It is a bitter pill to swallow but the truth of the matter is that Nigeria is not a nation that is great at sports. We pride ourselves as a football loving nation and yet we cannot compete with other nations at international level. We are regressing in sports; in followership and in performance. If we can’t get it right in football (which is the most dominant sport in the country) how can we develop public interests in other sports?

I don't mean to talk about politics, but you really can't keep the topic of bad government away when talking about how embarrassing Nigeria has been in sports. Other nations are at the top of their game not because they have talented people, but because they worked harder when it comes to management. No matter how talented a team might be, if they're not properly managed, they'll fail. African teams as a whole are not properly managed but Nigeria's case is so bad because they used to be better than this.
The current state of the country is affecting everything and has made the sports sector a joke.
I saw a news update that a cyclist representing Nigeria at the ongoing Olympic game didn't have a bicycle to train/warm up with, a German athlete had to give him a bicycle. That's too embarrassing. The athlete s don't have facilities to train with so how are they going to compete against the best in the world?

[Obari]

This year's Olympics is different and not favorable for Nigeria because in previous ones, you will see Nigerians winning gold in various sports.

I was about to say these because unlike other years in the Olympics where you'd see Nigerians representing the country in various sports, in this year's Olympics Nigeria is very poorly represented, and if not for D'Tigress, who is doing well in basketball, we would not have had any other name representing our country in this competition and keeping us hopeful for a medal.

Chukwuebuka Enekwechi also did well to represent us in the finals of the men's shot put, making him the first Nigerian to get to that level (a final) in this Olympics. He did not win, but finished 6th.

lol and I don’t even know why I’m reading you guys post in a sad tone😂 maybe probably because you guys wrote them in a sad tone feeling worried for the country which isn’t supposed to be so.

I’ve already said this some time ago that, whatever negativity we are facing now should be blamed on Tinubu because him deserves it and actually the state of the economy has a lot of role to play on an athlete because you don’t expect an athlete with zero worries but only to win the competition ahead of him perform same way with someone that has all his family responsibilities either directly or indirectly on him.

My conclusion is that, the performance of the countries athletes were affected by the state of the economy and that should be blamed on the current government.

[SatoPrincess]

This year's Olympics is different and not favorable for Nigeria because in previous ones, you will see Nigerians winning gold in various sports.

snip

lol and I don’t even know why I’m reading you guys post in a sad tone😂 maybe probably because you guys wrote them in a sad tone feeling worried for the country which isn’t supposed to be so.

I’ve already said this some time ago that, whatever negativity we are facing now should be blamed on Tinubu because him deserves it and actually the state of the economy has a lot of role to play on an athlete because you don’t expect an athlete with zero worries but only to win the competition ahead of him perform same way with someone that has all his family responsibilities either directly or indirectly on him.

My conclusion is that, the performance of the countries athletes were affected by the state of the economy and that should be blamed on the current government.

That’s an interesting way to look at it. But do you think the outcome of the games would have been different if the Olympics was held in the previous administration? Let’s call a spade a spade, we cannot blame the President for everything. Certain roles are delegated to bodies (in this case the AFN) to handle the task of improving the quality of sports in the country.

I disagree with the notion that the athletes failed to perform because of the current state of economy.