Sports
By Clecence Kunambi, 1 February 2012
THE national women soccer team, Twiga Stars coach, Boniface Mkwasa was delighted to learn that his team next opponents in the Africa Women Championship (AWC) qualifiers would be Ethiopia, but said they will not underrate them.
Ethiopia cruised to the next round and booked a corresponding date with Twiga Stars after dispatching Egypt on Sunday. The Horn-of-Africa ladies nicknamed 'Dinkinesh' defeated their Egyptian counterparts 4-0 in the return leg match to advance to the first round on a 6-4 aggregate score.
They lost the first leg away in Cairo 4-2. And, Mkwasa insisted on Tuesday that the objective is to make it to the finals in Equatorial Guinea, saying further that he is confident Twiga Stars can get that far despite the problems that had faced the team in the past.
Mkwasa can see chinks in Ethiopians' armour and he definitely should have an idea of how to beat them because this is not the first time the two teams would be paired together. Twiga Stars sent Ethiopia packing in the same qualifiers on a 4-2 aggregate in 2009.
Twiga won 3-1 in the first leg away in Addis Ababa, before being held to a 1-1 draw in the return leg encounter in Dar es Salaam. "We know their strength and weaknesses. They (Ethiopians) are a very good side...the main feature of Ethiopia is that they play a lot of passing game and they are quick," said Mkwasa as he is looking forward to pitting his wits.
Mkwasa said his team will have to work an extra mile and this, the coach said, would require early preparations to keep players fit and focused ahead of May encounter. He said unlike the majority perception that the Ethiopians are underdogs when it comes to women soccer, but the side has a stronghold in the avenues since they have invested heavily in the area for the past two years.
"We have to work out our strategies properly, since it is not an easy task to defeat them as many people would wish to think," said Mkwasa. Mkwassa said majority of fans had given the Egyptians a chance to qualify for the next round as they are regarded as soccer giants but it was a different situation all together, thus the Ethiopians should not be undermined.
However, he promised to prepare his team to confront any side besides of the strength and weakness; the same applies to when they will meet the Ethiopians on May 25 in Addis Ababa. He pledged for public support so that Twiga Stars move early in camp for timely preparations ahead of their game against Ethiopians.
Meanwhile, a return leg African Women Championship qualifier between Twiga Stars and Namibia played last Sunday at the National Stadiumin Dar es Salaam fetched 38m/- Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), Information Officer, Boniface Wambura said on Tuesday that the amount was raised from a sale of tickets to 16,334 spectators who showed up to watch the game.
TFF praised the fans and stakeholders for their support which made the game between the two teams a success. Wambura also said that Twiga Stars captain, Sophia Mwasikili has landed a professional deal with a Turkish First Division side, Luleburgazgucu Spor Kulubu.
He said Mwasikili left on Tuesday morning aboard Turkish Airlines ready to honour her new contract with the club. The national team defender, Mwasikili who featured for Sayari FC before her new contract has signed a two-year contract. Wambura said Mwasikili was supposed to join the side early this year but had to remain behind until the return leg tie against the Namibians last weekend.
Source: AllAfrica.com
..The seven goals scored by Ivory Coast and Angola in a previous Africa Cup of Nations encounter is not likely to be repeated when they meet Monday at the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo.
Although blessed with some of the best strikers on the continent in captain Didier Drogba, Chelsea team-mate Salomon Kalou and Gervinho of Arsenal, coach Francois Zahoui says success is far more important than putting on a show.
"My mission is to bring the trophy back to Abidjan," he told reporters in the Equatorial Guinea capital. "I do not care if winning means scoring from a corner in the final minute."
Angola were accused of "anti-football" by opponents Burkina Faso after beating them with route-one tactics and persistent time-wasting, angering coach Paulo Duarte.
"The type of football we played against Burkina Faso was for a purpose. My players carried out instructions perfectly," countered Angola coach Jose 'Lito' Vidigal.
Entering the final series of Group B fixtures here and in mainland city Bata, Ivory Coast have six points from two outings, Angola four, Sudan one and Burkina Faso are out of the running following a couple of losses.
Ivory Coast are assured of competing in the knockout stages, but whether they advance as group winners or runners-up depends on the outcome against Angola with a draw sufficient to seal top place.
That would keep them the at the plush accommodation they have here with a private beach and golf club, and give them a quarter-final fixture on the Malabo pitch where they have played all their pool matches.
Angola can finish top with a win, qualify with a draw, or possibly go out on goal difference if they lose and Sudan defeat Burkina Faso in a match scheduled to be staged simultaneously at Estadio de Bata.
While Ivory Coast must carry the burden of tournament favourites with nothing less than victory in the final next month acceptable to Abidjan, getting to the quarter-finals is the bottom line for Angola with any further progress a bonus.
Although lacking the array of attacking talent the Ivorians boast, Angola have one of the leading scorers in the competitiion this year in three-goal former Manchester United striker Manucho.
He was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson on the strength of outstanding displays at the 2008 Cup of Nations in Ghana, but failed to make the grade at Old Trafford and now plays for Turkish club Manisaspor.
Manucho -- full name Mateus Alberto Contreiras Goncavles -- has been back to his opportunist best this month, scoring the winner against Burkina Faso and both goals in a draw with Sudan.
While Ivorian supporters are likely to outnumber Angolans in the 15,000-seat stadium, the Antelopes can count on the backing of some of the most dedicated football followers on the continent.
A 10-man group has travelled through five countries on motorbikes to reach Malabo, but work commitments mean they will have to return home after the final group game while hoping their team can stay at lot longer.
...AFP...
By Associated Press.
HOUSTON — Ethiopian runners turned Houston into their own personal showcases on Sunday, sweeping the full and half marathons in record times.
Tariku Jufar won the men’s marathon in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 51 seconds, eclipsing the previous best time of 2:07.04 set last year by Ethiopia’s Bekana Daba. Jufar is the fourth straight men’s champion from the African nation, and the fourth straight runner to win in a record time.
The 27-year-old Jufar shaved almost two minutes off his previous personal best, less than three years after he was seriously injured in a car accident while training. He earned his first victory in a marathon last November, winning in Beirut, following a second-place finish in Istanbul in October.
“I’m very glad to run this course,” Jufar said through an interpreter. “I’m also comfortable with the weather, as well. I’m glad I could achieve what I achieved.”
Alemitu Abera won the women’s race in 2:23.14. The previous record was 2:23.53, set by Ethiopia’s Teyba Erkesso in 2010.
“I am also feeling joyful for the race and the time that I made,” Abera said through an interpreter.
In the men’s half marathon, Feyisa Lelisa won in a personal-best 59:22. That eclipsed the course and American record set by Ryan Hall in the 2007 U.S. Half Marathon championship (59:43).
Belaynesh Oljira won the women’s half marathon in 1:08.26, breaking Shalane Flanagan’s record time of 1:09.41, set in 2010.
The races were held one day after the city hosted the U.S. Marathon trials, run on a different route. Meb Keflezighi won the men’s trial and Flanagan was the first woman across the finish line, earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
The weather on Sunday morning was ideal, with a clear sky and a temperature of 52 degrees. A total of 8,249 runners started the marathon, and another 9,409 started the half-marathon.
Thousands of spectators lined the downtown streets, and hundreds cheered the runners along the route, which snaked through the west side of the city.
“I was very much encouraged by the people on the side of the street,” Jufar said.
The early lead pack, made up of three Kenyans and four Ethiopians, reached the 5-kilometer mark in just under 15 minutes. The group was down to five runners after eight miles and each of the splits were under five minutes to that point.
Jufar and fellow countrymen Demessew Tsega Debebe Tolossa broke away from the rest of the field and steadily widened their margin with each mile. They covered Mile 20 in 5:05, and Jufar moved in front by himself by Mile 24.
Abera kept pace with the men for a while, opening an early 11-second lead on the rest of the women’s field.
Running stride for stride with a male pacer, Abera was more than a minute ahead of her closest competitor at the 10-kilometer mark. The 26-year-old Abera had three top-three finishes in marathons in 2011, winning in Istanbul last September.
Lelisa set the tone for the Ethiopians, breaking away from the pack early in the half marathon. He rounded the final turn and finished in a full sprint.
Oljira, racing in the U.S. for the first time, fought off a challenge from 2011 Boston Marathon champion Caroline Kilel in the final strides to win by two seconds.
“I knew I would have to sprint very fast the last 100 meters or so,” Oljira said through an interpreter.
Tolossa finished the men’s marathon in 2:07.41 and Tsega was third in 2:11.13. Benita Willis was second in the women’s race, and her time (2:28.24) was good enough to earn her a spot on the Australian OIympic team headed for London this summer.
“I didn’t want to risk going for a really fast time today,” said Willis, who will compete in her fourth Olympics. “I just wanted to go for a really good, solid qualifier that would get me on the team, and then recover quickly from it.”
American Michael Wardian was the only runner to compete in both Saturday’s trial and Sunday’s marathon. The 37-year-old Wardian ran in 16 marathons last year, winning eight, and said he was going back-to-back for the “fourth or fifth” time.
“I just like to show people that you can do more than you think you can do,” said Wardian, who lives in Washington, D.C. “I think that’s a pretty neat thing.”
Two runners went to the hospital, one of whom collapsed in the half marathon. Paramedics revived the unidentified runner on the way to the hospital.
The marathon is sponsored by Chevron, and the half marathon is sponsored by Aramco.
By Teo Kermeliotis, for CNN
December 22, 2011
It's just a few minutes after the final whistle has blown and the shiny basketball court of the Al Gharafa Sports Hall in Doha is filled with shouts and cheers.
The sky blue-clad national women's basketball team from war-ravaged Somalia has just beaten Qatar, the host nation, at the 2011 Arab Games, in a hotly-contested match that ended 67-57 to the East African country.
"Words can't describe how I felt," says Canadian-born Somali team member Khatra Mahdi about last week's triumph. "We were all jumping up and down, there were tears in the girls' eyes -- history was made right there," she adds.
The victory marked a remarkable feat for the Somali players as it came against a backdrop fraught with difficulties and danger.
Notwithstanding Somalia's prolonged civil war and shattered sports infrastructure, the team says it had to prepare for the Games in the bullet-ridden police headquarters in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. There, the women would train for two to three hours a day under the watchful eye of security officers, tasked to safeguard them against religious militants targeting women playing the sport.
The threat is always there -- there are people who will see girls playing sport as a devil's thing and they will not allow it.
Duran Ahmed Farah, Somali National Olympic Committee
"We try to protect them outside and inside," says Said Duale, the secretary general of the Somali Basketball Federation, adding that the safety of the women is "taken very seriously."
In recent years, many Somali athletes have been threatened by members of the militant Islamist group Al Shabaab who see sport as an "un-Islamic" activity, according to Duran Ahmed Farah, the Somali National Olympic Committee (NOC) senior vice president for international relations.
In summer 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which then controlled Mogadishu, labelled sport as a "satanic act" and issued an order prohibiting women from playing sport, including basketball.
A few months later, the ICU was deposed but Al Shabaab, which has connections to al Qaeda, is still fighting to impose its own interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, on the country.
"The threat is always there -- there are people who will see girls playing sport as a devil's thing and they will not allow it," Farah says.
Women have been stoned to death for adultery; amputations and beheadings are common while in some areas Al Shabaab has banned listening to the radio.
"These girls are brave: in that kind of environment they're still playing their sport, the sport they like," says Farah.
Basketball is one of the most popular sports amongst women in Somalia. Duale says that the country's first national female basketball team was created in the early 1970s but hadn't performed at an international tournament since 1987.
The Islamist ban, coupled with the challenges presented by the lack of sponsorship and destroyed facilities, have all hindered the development of the sport in recent years.
Yet, despite the threats and all the setbacks, Somalia's national women's basketball team concluded its participation at the Games on Monday with the very respectable tally of three losses and two victories -- Kuwait also lost to Somalia.
We want to use sport as a peace-building tool to bring the Somali people together.
Aden Hagi Yeberow, NOC president.
Like some other teams representing Muslim countries, the national team plays in relatively modest uniforms: track pants and shirts with elbow-length sleeves; players also wear scarves that cover their hair.
Coach Mohamed Sheekh put together an ambitious team comprised of women based in Somalia and the diaspora -- the United States, Canada, UK and Germany. Many of the players hadn't even seen their teammates before, let alone played a basketball game with them.
"I'm very happy and proud of them," says Sheekh of his players. "They were excellent and everyone was talking about them."
NOC president Aden Hagi Yeberow says the team's success in Doha can act as a unifying factor in a country that's been plagued by insecurity, political instability, lack of unity and scarcity of resources.
"We want to use sport as a peace-building tool to bring the Somali people together," he says. "What these young girls are doing in this tournament has laid the foundations, hopefully, of a good future of our people.
"We would like to capitalize on this and also to move forward and, hopefully, this will be the beginning and the start of the unity of our people."
Source:CNN
Addis Abgaba, November 29, 2011 (Addis Ababa) - On November 29, 2011 • In Sports Ethiopian male runners on Monday made a clean sweep of medals and top cash prizes at the 7th edition of the Obudu International Mountain Race in Nigeria.
For the third year running, Ethiopia has won the gold, but this time it was through 22 year old Mesfin Hunegnaewai who brushed aside the challenge of 50 other male runners and crossed the finishing line in a record time of 41.50.
ALL HAIL THE KING ••• Ethiopian Mesfin Hunegnaewa finishes tops as he breasts the tape in a time of 41m.50secs. to win 7th Obudu Mountain Race yesterday in Obudu, Cross River State.
His compatriots Atsedy Tsegay and Azmeraw Beke came second and third to win silver and bronze with the time of 42.12 minutes and 42.30 minutes respectively.
In the female category the Ethiopians also dominated winning the gold and silver while Kenya won the bronze.
For this category, it was 18 years old Yalew Genet of Ethiopia who came first after outrunning 34 others to win the gold with the time of 48.45 minutes while Ayelewu Wuda Yimer also of Ethiopia placed second to win the silver by returning a time of 49.10 minutes to beat Margaret Wangari of Kenya who placed third to win the bronze.
The cash prize for the runners in the male and female category was the same as each of the gold medallists got $50,000; silver medallists $20,000, and bronze medallists $9,000.
After winning his race Mesfin said “I like Mountain Race and have been running; I thank God that last I have won this year’s Obudu Race.â€
Projecting on what he will do with the cash prize of $50,000 Mesfin said, “I will use the money to buy house for my family because I am married with a child.â€
The female champion for this year, Genet said she has never participated before in the Obudu.
Genet said the standard athletes that participated were very high, just as the organisation of the competition was of international standard.
Genet promised that she will defend her title next year when the 8th edition of the event would be staged.
Apart from the host country Nigeria, other countries that had their athletes participate in this year’s edition are Egypt, Kenya, Eritrea, Malaysia Ethiopia, Uganda, Turkey and the host, Nigeria .
Eighty –six international athletes participated in the race which attracted large number of spectators.
Source:ENA
Florence, Italy - Ethiopia claimed a winning sweep at the 28th Florence Marathon in both men’s and women’s races thanks to Berga Birhanu Bekele who crossed the finish line first in 2:09:52 ahead of Gela Hailu Seifu (2:10:17) and favourite Asha Gigi, who won the women’s race in 2:31:36.
About 9000 runners toed the starting line at this IAAF Bronze Label Road Race from the Lungarnp Pecori Giraldi on a sunny day which with a temperature of 6°C. Conditions were ideal this year after rain and cold affected the 2010 edition. The 2011 edition of the Firenze Marathon was run for the first time on a new course from Lungarno Pecori Giraldi to Santa Croce Square.
Men’s race -
The leading group went through 5Km in 15:28 and 10km in 31:04. The eight-men pack featured Zembaba Yemanu from Ethiopia, Berga Bekele, Medhane Tekie from Eritrea, Hailu Gela Seifu from Ethiopia, Ronald Rutto from Kenya, Joseph Ngeny from Kenya, Abram Kidane from Ethiopia and Abdelkabir Saji from Morocco.
Seven men remained in the lead at 15 km which was reached in 46:04. They were Tekie, Seifu, Bekele, Rutto, Kidane, Yemanu and Saji. They kept a fast pace at 21 km (1:04:38) which indicated a final 2:09 time. After going through 25 km in 1:16:49, the pace slowed down a bit (the 29 and 30 km splits were clocked in 3:18 and 3:17). Bekele and Seifu surged the pace and broke away from the rest of the field at 32 km. They managed to carve out a gap of 21 seconds on Yemanu Zembaba who led the chasing group at 35 km.
At 39 km Bekele produced a decisive surge pulling away from Seifu and managed to run the final two kilometres under three minutes (2:54 and 2:56). Bekele romped home in 2:09:52 missing his PB by 11 seconds. It was his third time under 2:10 after Beijing 2011 (2:09:41) and Dubai 2011 (2:09:54).
Women’s race -
The Ethiopian leading duo formed by Asha Gigi and Tigist Memuye Gebeyahu set off at a very fast pace (17:28 at 5 km, 34:41 at 10 km and 51:08 at 15 km) well inside Jelena Javornik’s event record (2:28:15 set in 2002). The pace in the first half run which indicated a possible attack to the 2:25 barrier on the faster section of the new course was probably too fast and it took its toll in the second more challenging half.
Gigi and Memuye ran a neck-to-neck race until 21 km which they reached in 1:12:06. Gigi pulled away at 25 km and carved out a six-second gap over Memunye (1:25:59 to 1:26:05). She continued and increased the opened gap to more than 50 seconds at 30 km (1:44:01 to 1:44:56) but the pace faded dramatically. Gigi’s win was never threat. Moroccan Janat Hanane caught up with a fading Memunye for second place.
Gigi struggled in the final three kilometres which were run at splits over 4 minutes but she managed to defend her first place in 2:31:36 over Hanane who improved her PB from 2:38:34 (set in 2011 in Rome) to 2:34: 22.
To the delight of the Florence crowd in Santa Croce Square local favourite Gloria Marconi crossed the finish line in 2:34:57 at the age of 43 in her first marathon since 2006.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
Leading Results -
Men’s race:
1. Berga Bekele (Ethiopia) 2:09:52
2. Hailu Gela Seifu (Ethiopia) 2:10:17
3. Abdelkabir Saji (Morocco) 2:12:11
4. Zembaba Yemanu (Ethiopia) 2:14:03
5. Ronald Rutto (Kenya) 2:14:28
6. Philip Kiptoo Rutto (Kenya) 2:16:38
Women’s race:
1. Asha Gigi (Ethiopia) 2:31:36
2. Janat Hanane (Morocco) 2:34:22
3. Gloria Marconi (Italy) 2:34:57
4. Tigist Memuye Gebeyahu (Ethiopia) 2:36:49
16, November 2011
Addis Ababa (Kilil5)--- Xulka Qaranka ee Itoobiya ayaa galabta siwayn uga badiyay xulka Soomaaliya. Ciyaartan oo lagu qabtay magaaladan Addis Ababa ayaa siwayn afka ciida loogu daray xulka Soomaaliya. Waxaana daqiiqadihii uhoreeyayba gool laga dhaliyay xulka Soomaaliya. Xulka Qaraanka Itoobiya markii ay ciyaartu bilaabatayba weerar culus ku qaaday dhiggiisa Soomaaliya, ayaa hal gool ku hubsaday shabaqa, qaybtii hore ee ciyaarta ayaa lagu kala tagay 1-0. Qaybtii dambe ee ciyaarta ayaa cashar lama iloobaan ah loodhigay xulka Soomaaliya, oo iyaguna muujiyay ciyaar wanaag iyo iskacaabin, hasayeeshee tahliwaayay inay iskadifaacaan weerarka adag ee kaga imanayay xulka Itoobiya oo gurigoodii joogay, waxaana xulkii Soomaaliya ladiray 5-0. Wuxuuna xulka Itoobiya la galbaday guul ah inay 5 gool kaga badiyaan xulka Soomaaliya.
Garoonka oo ay joogeny kumaan dadka ah, ayaad maqlaysay sawaxanka dadka oo hadba cirka isku shareerayay golkii uu xulka Itoobiya gool dhaliyba iyo waliba markasta oo ay sigaan goolka xulka Soomaaliya. Ciyaartan galabta ka dhacaday Garoonka Addis Ababa (Addis Ababa Stadium) ayaa ah ciyaartii isreebreebka ee dalalka aduunku ugu soobaxayeen Koobka Aduunka ee dhacaya 2014. Soomaaliya ayaa halkaas lagu reebay, halka ay Itoobiya sii socondoonto.
Xulka Itoobiya waxaa goolasha ukala dhaliyay; ciyaarhan Okwury, oo daqiiqadii 5-aad gool ugu horeeyay udhaliyay xulka Itoobiya, Bekele oo daqiiqaddii 62-aad iyo daqiiqaddii 65-aad laba gool oo isadaba socday oo gilgilay difaacii xulka Soomaaliya dhaliyay, Kebede, oo gool udhaliyay xulka Itoobiya daqiiqadii 87-aad iyo Cumar Bakri oo isaguna gool xarago leh dhaliyay.
Labada xul ayaa dalka Jabuuti ku ciyaaray, dhawr maalmood ka hor, halkaas oo labada xul ay ismari waayeen oo ay ciyartii kudhamaatay barbardhac, iyadoon labada xul midkoodna uunan dhalinin wax gool ah.
Xuseen Caraale
Addis Ababa, Kilil5 Online