African Football Discussion Thread {Male & Female} Current Topic: 👉 WAFCON

[Spaceman1000$]

There's been series of reports from the media that the Black Stars of Ghana will be playing their CAF AFCON 2025 home games in the God's Akpabio stadium in Uyo, Nigeria. Reports have it that CAF have  rejected using any of the stadiums in the country "due to technical infractions, including an unsuitable playing field."

Considering the rivalry between Nigerian fans and their Ghanaian counterparts, do you think Ghana will accept to play their home games in Nigeria?

Why would Ghana get petti to the point they wouldn't want to play their games in Nigeria provided their safety is sure and they know that it's a key event for them to be sure they get to participate in the AFCON next year, Ghana will actually not have issues playing in Nigeria except they choose not to for trivial reason which technically isn't reasonable enough. All these fan rivalry shouldn't be an issue since they aren't playing against Nigeria they can be sure they wouldn't have issues with fans violence or other things.

Since the last incident that happened that made fans  to invade the pitch and started scattering everywhere and destroying properties, I knew CAF will not take it kindly with them especially the Ghanaian FA. Allowing the black stars of Ghana to play the African cup of Nations qualifiers in Nigeria it just another form of punishment to the Ghanaian national team for that incident, if the Ghanaian FA wants to pursue the case, CAF will simply tell them that the security of players is paramount them hence they cannot risk it by allowing players to play in an environment that is hostile.

For now let the Ghanaian national team just allowed themselves go through this process and come to Nigeria and play for their qualifiers maybe with time CAF will have to reverse their decision.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

It was a great weekend for the Super eagles, alot of our players represented their clubs very well this weekend but I want to single out Lookman because he's on the ballon d'or shortlist and also the African best player nomination and he deserves to be awarded the titles but people aren't giving him the PR he deserve and that's very unfortunate.

If it was Victor Osimhen that has his numbers, all media outlets would had been signing his praises but because it's lookman, he's likely going to be denied his award that he rightfully deserved.

Among the African players, who are the ones that stood out for you this weekend and what are you expecting from them as the champions league season begins tomorrow.

[Troytech]

Among the African players, who are the ones that stood out for you this weekend and what are you expecting from them as the champions league season begins tomorrow.

That is a nice intro there. Last weekend i was impressed with Osimehn i his debut game in Galatasaray. Even if he was not able to scored a goal in the game. His effort was shown throughout the game and he made wonderful assist. It was interesting to have watch him in the game and the result was a 5to nothing win for Galatasaray.

Also, i wont forget the new Champion of African Ademola Lookman having an assist and scored one goal against Fiorentina wining them a 3 goal to 2 goal in that game. He should be the best African player of the year. But for the Ballon D Or there are other big competitors for that award. I dont think he would deserve it. Hopefully some day if he persist in his career he would be nominated again and be made winner. Nothing is impossible.

[Roseline492]

Also, i wont forget the new Champion of African Ademola Lookman having an assist and scored one goal against Fiorentina wining them a 3 goal to 2 goal in that game. He should be the best African player of the year. But for the Ballon D Or there are other big competitors for that award. I dont think he would deserve it.

Ballon D  is something that's certainly beyond his reach now because truly he is good but when we compare him with some other international players he is not good enough and besides before we talk about Ademola Lookman being the best player Osimehn should be consider first, though Ademola Lookman is as good as Osimehn but there are qualities that distinguish the both players because Osimehn is a very strong and very forceful player and he always love running balls, though he is not as good as Ademola Lookman in terms of skills because he always have his way around players but Osimehn doesn't joke with scoring, so for now all those Nigerian players are very good but is going to take a very long term before getting any Ballon D.

[SatoPrincess]

Hopefully their clubs do not end up overplaying them, leaving them exhausted whenever they have international duties, because if these our players can replicate the same performance for the Super Eagles, we will win all competitions that we are in.

Let’s just pray that by the time our plays return for international duty they are all fit and available to play and not exhausted from playing too many intensed games for their clubs abroad. Having our best players with us is not a assurance that the games will be easy, the style of play is very different from what they are used to in cubs abroad so they would have to adapt to that and also to the coach’s style of play.

Our standing in the world ranking and African ranking shows we have improved a bit recently because we used to rank below 40th position before and now 30th position and 3rd in Africa.

[Agbe]

Nigerian International Football Superstar Ademola Lookman said they are fully ready for Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League on Thursday this week. And I think he is making that statement because of the recent victory ovet Fiorentina 3-2. Even that win was a landslide victory because just a goal different. And in my prediction  prediction, Arsenal will win that game because the squad from Arsenal is gallant compared to Atalanta. And in this season I have not seen Arsenal loss a game. But football is a game of luck. We will see what they can do on Thursday.

[Rruchi man]

~

Our standing in the world ranking and African ranking shows we have improved a bit recently because we used to rank below 40th position before and now 30th position and 3rd in Africa.

We did well in the African Cup of Nations, finishing second, and that definitely has influenced our stance on the ranking. The Super Eagles will not be able to improve further or maintain the position we are in now if we fail to qualify for the next African Cup of Nations, even if we have all the best players.

Arsenal will win that game because the squad from Arsenal is gallant compared to Atalanta. And in this season I have not seen Arsenal loss a game.

Arsenal has not played at the level we know yet, and with our captain Odegaard injured, it reduces our creativity in midfield, which affects the attack. Saka also showed some signs of fitness challenges in the NLD. Atalanta play good football; Arsenal will struggle in that game.

[Spaceman1000$]

It was a great weekend for the Super eagles, alot of our players represented their clubs very well this weekend but I want to single out Lookman because he's on the ballon d'or shortlist and also the African best player nomination and he deserves to be awarded the titles but people aren't giving him the PR he deserve and that's very unfortunate.

If it was Victor Osimhen that has his numbers, all media outlets would had been signing his praises but because it's lookman, he's likely going to be denied his award that he rightfully deserved.

Among the African players, who are the ones that stood out for you this weekend and what are you expecting from them as the champions league season begins tomorrow.

For me players that have stood out recently are  ademola lookman and Victor Boniface, they both scored this weekend for their various clubs, and so far they've been doing well with their performance. Talking about the PR for Ademola Lookman, I believe Lookman doesn't understand the African terrain when it comes to promoting your image, PR in Nigeria and in Africa at large is always followed with brand envelope as most Media houses and online personalities are waiting for an extension of the Olive Branch, and for lookman haven been a foreign base player from his youth days, he might not really understand how things work on this side unlike Victor osimhen who understands the intricacies that is involved with Media hype and the rest of it. as it's stands now, I don't see any other player that is deserving of that award except him, I may be bias with my point of view, but that's how i see it.

[Coyster]

Arsenal will win that game because the squad from Arsenal is gallant compared to Atalanta. And in this season I have not seen Arsenal loss a game. But football is a game of luck. We will see what they can do on Thursday.

Football is not entirely a game of luck, more often than not, the team with the better players win. Arsenal is a bigger team than Atalanta and the odds of victory is in their favor, so i expect Arsenal to be comfortable winners in this game. That being said, being the underdogs in this game does Atalanta a whole lot of favor, they are under no pressure of expectation, and sometimes that can bring out the best in a team, so we would see how that one unfolds.

[snipie]

Nigerian International Football Superstar Ademola Lookman said they are fully ready for Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League on Thursday this week. And I think he is making that statement because of the recent victory ovet Fiorentina 3-2. Even that win was a landslide victory because just a goal different. And in my prediction  prediction, Arsenal will win that game because the squad from Arsenal is gallant compared to Atalanta. And in this season I have not seen Arsenal loss a game. But football is a game of luck. We will see what they can do on Thursday.

I think we should keep this topic for African teams and nations. Maybe some interesting topics about a deal or a news about an African player but I think definitely not about a UEFA Champions League game between two European teams even if there is an African player involved there..

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Okay so what's with the social pages of the ballon d'or posting Ademola Lookman all over their handles, are they trying to get some engagement from Nigerians knowing we come out to support our own when needed.

Anyways, him getting free PR is good for his AFCON Men footballer of the year nomination because we know the Ballon d'or is a no go area, not because he wasn't brilliant last season but we know the Real Madrid PR madness and the trophies they won last season.

For me players that have stood out recently are  ademola lookman and Victor Boniface, they both scored this weekend for their various clubs, and so far they've been doing well with their performance.

Boniface is another player that would had been fans favourite if not being under the shadows of Victor Osimhen and now Lookman. He has that charisma that Osimhen has. Look at his goal celebration after scoring last weekend. It all got the media talking and putting him in the limelight, good for him.

[SatoPrincess]

Boniface is another player that would had been fans favourite if not being under the shadows of Victor Osimhen and now Lookman. He has that charisma that Osimhen has. Look at his goal celebration after scoring last weekend. It all got the media talking and putting him in the limelight, good for him.

For a footballer, Victor Boniface is very active on social media posting funny tweets. I don’t think we have had his type of player before in Nigeria; jumping on the TikTok trends and all comedy skits with content creators. Boniface knows how to put his face on our screens, he doesn’t have to be the best to be loved. He seems like a very relatable person and doesn’t seem to be into the celebrity lifestyle.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

I think we should keep this topic for African teams and nations. Maybe some interesting topics about a deal or a news about an African player but I think definitely not about a UEFA Champions League game between two European teams even if there is an African player involved there..

Yeah that's correct, no European league discussion here before the games although we can discuss how our African players perform during the football weekend but discussion here outside the main topic which is the AFCON qualifiers or other tournaments qualifiers can be news relating to African players.

For a footballer, Victor Boniface is very active on social media posting funny tweets. I don’t think we have had his type of player before in Nigeria; jumping on the TikTok trends and all comedy skits with content creators. Boniface knows how to put his face on our screens, he doesn’t have to be the best to be loved. He seems like a very relatable person and doesn’t seem to be into the celebrity lifestyle.

I love this about him, so free spirited and just want to play the game. I haven't heard about any controversy about him. He does what he's paid to do and go on X to interact with fans giving us something to laugh about knowing the condition of the country and not like most players that rob their wealth on our faces.

He just needs to deliver more for the national team to get his name more vocal in the streets and in sport related conversations.

[Marykeller]

It was a great weekend for the Super eagles, alot of our players represented their clubs very well this weekend but I want to single out Lookman because he's on the ballon d'or shortlist and also the African best player nomination and he deserves to be awarded the titles but people aren't giving him the PR he deserve and that's very unfortunate.

If it was Victor Osimhen that has his numbers, all media outlets would had been signing his praises but because it's lookman, he's likely going to be denied his award that he rightfully deserved.

If Victor Osimhen was in the position of Lookman for this year's Ballon d'Or Award, he would have still been denied the award finally. Forget about all the social media singing his praises; that wouldn't have given him the prestigious award of Ballon d'Or'.

History has it that it's only George Weah who has been the only African player who won the Ballon d'Or. He won the award far back in 1995 because of his performance across PSG and Milan. Since then, other African players who were selected for the Ballon d'Or award based on astonishing performance ended up losing.

List of Africa nominated for Ballon d'Or award but loss

Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast – 2006).
Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon – 2009).
Mohammed Salah (Egypt – 2018 & 2019).
Sadio Mane (Senegal – 2022).
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria – 2023).

[Coyster]

If Victor Osimhen was in the position of Lookman for this year's Ballon d'Or Award, he would have still been denied the award finally. Forget about all the social media singing his praises; that wouldn't have given him the prestigious award of Ballon d'Or'.

What do you mean by "denied", are you insinuating that Lookman deserves to win the Ballon d'or, c'mon bro, are you guys kidding me here, Lookman is a decent player, no doubt about that, but we are talking about the best player in the world here, on what basis can he win the ballon d'or. It is not about PR or anything, it is obvious when a player deserves the ballon d'or and for this year's award, it is between Vini.Jr and Rodri.

[Wakate]

~

Our standing in the world ranking and African ranking shows we have improved a bit recently because we used to rank below 40th position before and now 30th position and 3rd in Africa.

We did well in the African Cup of Nations, finishing second, and that definitely has influenced our stance on the ranking. The Super Eagles will not be able to improve further or maintain the position we are in now if we fail to qualify for the next African Cup of Nations, even if we have all the best players.

Arsenal will win that game because the squad from Arsenal is gallant compared to Atalanta. And in this season I have not seen Arsenal loss a game.

Arsenal has not played at the level we know yet, and with our captain Odegaard injured, it reduces our creativity in midfield, which affects the attack. Saka also showed some signs of fitness challenges in the NLD. Atalanta play good football; Arsenal will struggle in that game.

The super eagles is a kind of team I will never make the mistake to have high hope of them. You may be expecting the team to win a match and the next thing you see is disappointment just like Chelsea that has cut my ticket many things because I added them to my games. Unexpectedly the supper eagles was supposed to win the previous African cup of nation but I was disappointed at the final when they could not score a single goal and the matched end up in disappointed. I hope the team would keep striving to make it this time around because I expect the Nigeria team as the Giant of Africa to show workings.

[Miles2006]

If Victor Osimhen was in the position of Lookman for this year's Ballon d'Or Award, he would have still been denied the award finally. Forget about all the social media singing his praises; that wouldn't have given him the prestigious award of Ballon d'Or'.

What do you mean by "denied", are you insinuating that Lookman deserves to win the Ballon d'or, c'mon bro, are you guys kidding me here, Lookman is a decent player, no doubt about that, but we are talking about the best player in the world here, on what basis can he win the ballon d'or. It is not about PR or anything, it is obvious when a player deserves the ballon d'or and for this year's award, it is between Vini.Jr and Rodri.

I feel the nominees still stand a chance aside Vini.Jr and Rodri but, the battle line drawn between both players is competitive. Let’s be realistic Osimhen is a good player let alone comparing lookman and Osimhen is not even right, let’s exclude social media praises Osimhen deserves all what he’s getting today because the guy is a good player. Lookman is also good but getting a Ballon d'Or award presently is difficult since he still need more workings and improvement but definitely this is not the end, we still have a lot ahead so I can’t completely disqualify lookman but presently it can’t work.

[Rockstarguy]

Also, i wont forget the new Champion of African Ademola Lookman having an assist and scored one goal against Fiorentina wining them a 3 goal to 2 goal in that game. He should be the best African player of the year. But for the Ballon D Or there are other big competitors for that award. I dont think he would deserve it.

Ballon D  is something that's certainly beyond his reach now because truly he is good but when we compare him with some other international players he is not good enough and besides before we talk about Ademola Lookman being the best player Osimehn should be consider first, though Ademola Lookman is as good as Osimehn but there are qualities that distinguish the both players because Osimehn is a very strong and very forceful player and he always love running balls, though he is not as good as Ademola Lookman in terms of skills because he always have his way around players but Osimehn doesn't joke with scoring, so for now all those Nigerian players are very good but is going to take a very long term before getting any Ballon D.

They are both talented players but to me I prefer Victor Osimhen to be the best because he has a better record of performance in European competition than Ademola Lookman. When Osimhen was in Napoli when Napoli won the serieA title,  in that season Napoli relied on Victor Osimhen.

When Victor Osimhen was in Napoli he scores goals almost every game which made the team to win the title of the team. I doubt if Ademola Lookman have ever been the player other teammates depends on. I know Ademola Lookman contributed for Atalanta to win Europa league title in last season but by then he wasn't a big name in the compare to Osimehn when he was in Napoli. But Ademola Lookman is still a good player,  his performance in Africa cup of the nations qualifier was impressive.

[SatoPrincess]

It was a great weekend for the Super eagles, alot of our players represented their clubs very well this weekend but I want to single out Lookman because he's on the ballon d'or shortlist and also the African best player nomination and he deserves to be awarded the titles but people aren't giving him the PR he deserve and that's very unfortunate.

If it was Victor Osimhen that has his numbers, all media outlets would had been signing his praises but because it's lookman, he's likely going to be denied his award that he rightfully deserved.

If Victor Osimhen was in the position of Lookman for this year's Ballon d'Or Award, he would have still been denied the award finally. Forget about all the social media singing his praises; that wouldn't have given him the prestigious award of Ballon d'Or'.

History has it that it's only George Weah who has been the only African player who won the Ballon d'Or. He won the award far back in 1995 because of his performance across PSG and Milan. Since then, other African players who were selected for the Ballon d'Or award based on astonishing performance ended up losing.

List of Africa nominated for Ballon d'Or award but loss

Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast – 2006).
Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon – 2009).
Mohammed Salah (Egypt – 2018 & 2019).
Sadio Mane (Senegal – 2022).
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria – 2023).

Believe me we all would love to see a Nigerian win the Ballon d’Or, however Lookman does not stand a chance of being in the top 4 nominee list. His chances of winning the Ballon d’Or is very low. He hasn’t achieved enough to earn the title of world best player. When you look at the profile of the players who have won the Ballon d’Or in the last decade you can see that Lookman still has a long way to go before he can get there.

The other African players you listed are good players no doubt but the competition in their era was very high.
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast – 2006). Winner: Fabio Cannavaro
Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon – 2009). Winner: Lionel Messi
Mohammed Salah (Egypt – 2018 & 2019). Winner: Lionel Messi
Sadio Mane (Senegal – 2022). Winner: Karim Benzema
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria – 2023) Winner: Lionel Messi

[Marykeller]

Docnaster, can you quote me right by editing your reply post

If Victor Osimhen was in the position of Lookman for this year's Ballon d'Or Award, he would have still been denied the award finally. Forget about all the social media singing his praises; that wouldn't have given him the prestigious award of Ballon d'Or'.

Victor Osimhen won the Italian Serie A title with Napoli last year and finished as the top scorer in the Italian Serie A that very season and was voted as the African footballer of the year. This year, he's not been as impressive and effective as he was last year which is why he's not among the favorites to win the African best player of the year
It's high time we learn how to more factual with our opinions instead of allowing sentiments to becloud our judgements nobody is fighting Victor Osimhen and I'm very sure he would've still be considered as the favorite to win the African best player of the year award if he had a good season like Ademola Lookman.

I think it was injuries plus the beef Osimhen had with his former club ''Napoli'', which was the main cause why Osimhen was not impressive and effective enough to be among the nominated players for this year's Ballon d'Or Award and Africa's Best Player of the Year.

I stand to correct you that nobody is being sentiments with their words, I was just given instances that if Osimhen was in the position of Lookman, he would still lose the Ballon d'Or award to other players. Reread what I said.


I don't know how true this news I am hearing is, that Bruno Labbadia is hinting at an imminent appointment with Super Eagles.

Bruno Labbadia has hinted that has sorted the logistics problems that earlier prevented him from the Super Eagles coaching job.
The NFF earlier announced the appointment of the German tactician, but the deal collapsed due to technical issues
Labbadia has taken to social media to announce that he is beginning a 'new chapter' as he accompanied the post with the Nigerian flag

https://www.legit.ng/sports/football/1614556-augustine-eguaveon-set-leave-super-eagles-job-german-tactician-hints-imminent-appointment

As a Nigerian do you think that, this is an accepted and welcome idea for the German coach who leaves the Super Eagles and NFF at the time minute of AFCON qualification to sort out another coach for themselves, which Augustine Eguavoen came for Super Early rescue.

In case you don't know who is Bruno Labbadia, Bruno Labbadia was the head coach of the Super Eagles who rejected the offer to become the next Super Eagles head coach before Eguavoen stepped in as interim head coach