October 25 – Defending champions Nigeria were paired with South Africa, Zambia and Kenya in Group B as the eight participants in the 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations learned their fate at the draw in Accra.
October 24 – Newly elected Liberia Football Association (LFA) president Mustapha Raji (pictured), who took over from the controversial Musa Bility, says the country badly needs to step up youth development – starting with schools.
October 24 – The return of Somalia’s national stadium to football usage took a symbolic step forward this week with members of the government and the football federation leading a clean-up operation at the venue.
October 19 – An eagerly awaited meeting between high-ranking FIFA officials and Sierra Leone’s warring football factions has failed to produce the necessary breakthrough and provide a clear way forward.
October 17 – Madagascar have qualified for their maiden African Cup of Nations finals after defeating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Vontovorona. They will be joined in Group A by Senegal and north African powerhouses Egypt and Tunisia for the 2019 finals.
October 16 – Sierra Leone’s Sports Minister, Ibrahim Nyelenkeh, has accused the country’s FA president Isha Johansen (pictured left with FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura) of being personally responsible for FIFA shutting down the federation despite on-going criminal investigations into its leadership.
October 10 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has cancelled the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Group ‘F’ double-header between Sierra Leone and Ghana.
By Paul Nicholson
October 8 – FIFA has carried out its threat and suspended the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) with immediate effect. FIFA, which has long been battling for the preservation of the incumbent administration in Sierra Leone led by president Isha Johansen, took its action despite on-going criminal investigations into the leadership.
October 5 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has moved to integrate the Video Assistant Referees, VAR, into its major club competitions. On Thursday, CAF announced that the VAR will feature in the finals of this season’s African Champions League and Confederation Cup.
October 3 – Africa’s football chief Ahmad Ahmad is reported to have promised Cameroon’s president Paul Biya that CAF has “never thought about” stripping the country of hosting rights for next year’s African Cup of Nations.
October 2 – FIFA has once again stepped into the internal power struggle in Sierra Leone by calling on the government to allow national FA president, Isha Johansen (pictured left), back into the organisation’s headquarters.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 1 – Danny Jordaan’s bid to take up one of Africa’s top positions at the heart FIFA suffered a crushing blow at the weekend when he was heavily beaten in the ballot for a place on the FIFA Council.
October 1 – No rival candidate has yet come forward to challenge Gianni Infantino when he bids for re-election next year but if anyone does, African football will stand firmly behind the present incumbent.
October 1 – The decision on whether to give the green light to Cameroon to stage the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has been deferred yet again – this time until November.
September 21 – Nigeria’s Amaju Pinnick, recently elected vice-president of the African Football Confederation, achieved a widely expected landslide victory in the race for the presidency of his national federation, securing a second term after crushing his opponents.