Zimbabwe woman killed in stampede as crowd rush to get into game
March 25 – A female fan died Sunday during a stampede outside Zimbabwe’s National Sports Stadium in Harare, the latest tragedy at an African international fixture.
Africa
Somalis commit to speeding up regional development support funding
March 25 – The Somali Football Federation (SFF) has embarked on series of assessments of facilities in its regional states with surveys in Jubbaland (Waamo Stadium pictured) and South West sate highlighting funding priorities.
Life ban for Togolese ref Fagla for fixing international matches
March 21 – FIFA has banned Togolese referee Kokou Hougnimon Fagla for life after finding him guilty of corruption.
Curious selection: Gabon drop national team player after finding he is without club
March 19 – Gabon have withdrawn its central defender Gilchrist Nguema from its final Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi after it was discovered he is not registered with any club.
Visa granted, Ahmad arrives in time to throw his vote behind 48-team Qatar 2022
March 15 – Africa’s most powerful football official finally received his visa at the 11th hour to attend FIFA’s all-important Council meeting in Miami amid reports his region would back calls for an expanded World Cup in Qatar.
Miami heat: CAF’s Ahmed refused visa for US entry to attend FIFA Council meeting
By Paul Nicholson
March 13 – Africa’s leading football official, Ahmad Ahmad from Madagascar, has been refused a visa to travel to the US to attend the crucial FIFA Council meetings in Miami at the end of this week, according to African sources.
Somali FA insists Abdiqani Said is in Zurich for FIFA meetings, not women’s investigation
March 13 – Conflicting stories have emerged over the reasons behind the head of the Somalia Football Federation (SFF) travelling to FIFA headquarters in Zurich amid allegations that monies due to the country’s women’s team have gone missing.
FIFA’s broom still sweeping in Africa with Mozambique’s Mugadza banned
March 1 – FIFA’s flurry of sanctions against African footballing figures has continued, this time with a Mozambique federation official thrown out for 15 years for accepting bribes.
FIFA hands Zambia’s Mwamelo life ban for taking bribes to fix matches
February 28 – Just 24 hours after a Tanzanian referee was banned for life, the drip-drip of African football corruption has snared an even more high-profile figure with former Zambian FA vice president Boniface Mwamelo thrown out of the game for life for taking bribes to help fix matches.
Mauritania looks to break socio-cultural barriers with women’s football push
February 28 – The Mauritania Football Federation (Ffrim) has said it plans to grow the women’s game by accelerating the development of its women’s national team. The move comes as the women’s game gears up to this year’s Women’s World Cup in France.
Banned Bwalya is back: CAF reinstate Zambian at Africa’s top table
February 22- The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has re-instated former Zambian president Kalusha Bwalya (pictured) to its executive committee after his two-year ban from all football was reduced on appeal by FIFA and thus covered the period already served.
CAF pick Port Said as one of venues for AFCON 2019 in Egypt
February 21 – The stadium where 74 people lost their lives in one the worst tragedies to hit world football in recent years has been selected as one of the six venues for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Ref row forces Tunisian FA to reschedule Super Cup in Qatar
By Paul Nicholson
February 21 – The Tunisian Football Federation has postponed its Super Cup, played between the winners of the Tunisian league and the Tunisian Cup, and which was being hosted after a gap of 18 years in Qatar after a row broke out between clubs over the selection of match officials.
Ahmad dismisses Bility accusations saying only he is ‘mandated’ to make the big decisions
By Andrew Warshaw
February 18 – Under-fire Confederation of African Football president Ahmad has broken his silence over the fierce criticism levelled at him by former Liberian FA boss Musa Bility.
Mali and Senegal set for CAF U-20 final this weekend
February 15 – Mali and Senegal will dispute Africa’s U-20 crown on Sunday in a showdown that is a repeat of their Group B curtain raiser. Both finalists, alongside Senegal and South Africa, have qualified for the U-20 World Cup in Poland this summer.