The CAF Executive Committee has passed a resolution to increase the number of participating teams in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) from 16 to 24. The change will take effect from 2019 when Cameroon hosts it. The 55 members of the committee met in Rabat, Morocco earlier this week to discuss the growth of … Read more
Protesters prepared to march in the Moroccan city of Al-Hoceima on Thursday in defiance of a government ban, the latest in a series of demonstrations that have shaken the country’s north. The North African country’s Rif region, where residents have long complained of neglect and marginalisation, has seen repeated protests and outbreaks of unrest this … Read more
Co-Host of this year’s African Nations Championship (AfroBasket) Tunisia has been handed a relative easy group for the upcoming competition as the North African side is set to compete against Rwanda, Guinea and Cameroon in Group C. The draw for the continental championship was conducted recently as the tournament which takes place between September 8-16 … Read more
Dramatic changes to Africa’s top competition now await rubber-stamping by the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) after recommendations made at a conference in Morocco on Wednesday. The showpiece Africa Cup of Nations finals is set to be expanded and its contentious timing changed, but its frequency will remain every two years. … Read more
New CAF President Ahmad Ahmad has made his first move and is considering expanding the Africa Cup of Nations to 24 teams which will be open to non-African countries and hosted outside Africa in an aim to make it attractive and raise revenue. This was recommended by CAF’s Marketing and TV team on Wednesday at the … Read more
A Moroccan court on Wednesday sentenced 25 Sahrawis to prison terms ranging from two years to life over the killing of 11 members of the Moroccan security forces in contested Western Sahara. The verdict in the case, which has been closely followed by human rights campaigners, was delivered at dawn by the Court of Appeals … Read more
There are those who believe the Cup of Nations is perfectly placed at the beginning of the year while others reckon a change on the calendar year will serve the tournament well and help increase the profile of the competition – whichever way you look at it, the tournament needs some sort of change and … Read more
New-look Africa Cup of Nations and CAF Champions League competitions could emerge this week from discussions in Morocco that will include FIFA president Gianni Infantino. A two-day CAF symposium begins Tuesday in Rabat and officials, coaches and former stars have been tasked with plotting the future of the popular sport in the continent. On Friday, … Read more
It’s one of the shortest land borders in the world: a few dozen metres of plastic cord across a sandbank separate Morocco from the tiny Spanish enclave of Penon de Velez de la Gomera. Wooden boats lie amid nets worn by seawater at the foot of the imposing mini-peninsula, home to a Spanish military base. … Read more
A team of Afghan girls who were earlier denied visas to attend a Washington robotics competition landed in the United States early Saturday following an intervention by US President Donald Trump. The six-member team were greeted at Dulles International Airport by a throng of supporters, including Afghan ambassador Hamdullah Mohib and acting special representative for … Read more
In the maze of Asante Kotoko running their bus into a horrible ditch, the NDC and NPP haggling over 17.5% or 3% flat VAT rate, ‘Koforidua Legon’ launching Ghana’s Satellite One, Unemployed Private Nurses threatening to picket, Pantang Hospital staff going on strike, Inusah Fuseini’s bugging of the Lands Ministry office and Adwoa Safo’s Senior … Read more
Morocco’s government will make a regional tour to examine development projects, Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani said Thursday after months of protests shook the northern Rif region. Media reports said the tour could begin by next week. It is expected to take in the central Beni Mellal-Khenifra region and “the southern provinces”, a reference … Read more
Morocco’s phosphate industry giant OCP on Thursday accused South Africa of “political piracy” by detaining a Moroccan cargo vessel loaded with phosphate from the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The South African judiciary had “passed an eminently political decision and committed a gross abuse of power”, Morocco’s state-run group said in a statement. The 34,000-tonne … Read more
Al-Ahly coach Hossam El Badry has been suspended for one match by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after boycotting a press conference over the presence of the Qatari-owned BeIn Sports channel. Egypt and several of its allies cut diplomatic relations with Qatar last month, accusing it of supporting extremism. The Eygptian FA and its … Read more
A team of Afghan girls who had been denied visas to attend a Washington robotics competition spoke of Donald Trump’s support Thursday after US authorities changed course and allowed them to come. Clutching Afghan flags and waving to photographers, the schoolgirls boarded a plane in Herat in western Afghanistan Thursday afternoon to begin the long … Read more
A team of Afghan girls who had been denied visas to attend a Washington robotics competition are now allowed to come, organizers said Wednesday. US authorities had originally denied access to schoolchildren from a number of Muslim-majority nations to participate in the science competition, decisions that followed implementation of stricter visa policies under President Donald … Read more
Egypt and Morocco’s airlines have said a ban against carry-on laptops on US-bound flights has been lifted, leaving only two Saudi airports under the restrictions put in place in March. Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc said in a statement Wednesday that the ban, imposed amid fears the Islamic State group was developing a bomb concealed in … Read more
The United States expects to lift the laptop ban soon for the four remaining foreign airports that are still impacted by the electronics restriction. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said if security measures are increased at those specific airports in the next coming days to weeks, the laptop restriction will be removed. Back … Read more
Four airports remain under a ban for carry-on laptops on US-bound flights, imposed amid fears that Islamic State is developing a bomb concealed in personal electronics, officials said Tuesday. The ban remains in place for Saudi Arabia’s two main international airports, in Riyadh and Jeddah, as well as Egypt’s Cairo International and Morocco’s Casablanca Mohammed … Read more
Israel’s main opposition Labour party has taken a risk in electing as its new leader an ex-businessman who only joined months ago, hoping a fresh approach can topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Avi Gabbay, a 50-year-old former head of one of Israel’s largest telecommunications companies, is far from the typical leader of the party that … Read more