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Abuja (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Monday he hopes Africa gets two more spots at the World Cup if his proposal for the tournament to be expanded to 40 teams goes through.&nbsp;
There are presently 32 finalists for the World Cup with Africa represented by five teams.&nbsp;
Infantino, elected in February this year, arrived in Abuja on Sunday on a two-day visit to Nigeria.
He is accompanied by new secretary-general Fatma Samoura, who until her appointment in May headed the UN Development Programme in the West African country.
“I believe for the 2026 World Cup, we should have 40 teams and out of the additional eight teams we should have at least two more African teams,” Infantino told reporters in Abuja.
“We are discussing this and I hope I will be able to convince everyone as well.”&nbsp;
Infantino who earlier met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, described him as “a friend of football”.&nbsp;
The FIFA chief said he regards Nigeria as the bedrock for the development of football on the continent.&nbsp;
“I foresee Nigeria as a bedrock for the development of the game in Africa, however infrastructure, stability and security are needed to make this happen,” he said.&nbsp;
During his visit, Infantino met with 18 federation presidents across Africa and also attended the final of a national youth tournament.&nbsp;
Nigeria is seen as one of the giants of African football even though its national side, the Super Eagles, failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the second time in succession.

FIFA president hopes Africa gets two more World Cup slots - World Soccer Talk

FIFA president hopes Africa gets two more World Cup slots

<div id="attachment_159868" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/wilfried-bony.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-159868" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-159868" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20151214_WST_159865_wilfried-bony-600x405.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=405" alt="Photo credit: AFP." width="600" height="405" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/wilfried-bony-600x405.jpg 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/wilfried-bony-150x101.jpg 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/wilfried-bony-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/12/wilfried-bony.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure></div></a>Photo credit: AFP.</div>
Nigerian Odion Ighalo of Watford and Wilfried Bony at Manchester City both scored to help their teams win in the Premier League at the weekend.
In Germany, Salomon Kalou hit the back of the net for Hertha Berlin, while Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made it 18 goals in 16 league matches for Borussia Dortmund.
Casimir Nina scored the winner for Montpellier in France, but Marseille’s Casimir Ninga was red-carded at home.
<h3>ENGLAND</h3>
ODION IGHALO (Watford)
Ighalo became the first Watford player to score 10 goals in a Premier League season as Quique Sanchez Flores’s team won 1-0 at Sunderland. The Nigerian settled the game in the fourth minute, sliding in at the near post to toe Allan Nyom’s right-wing cross past Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon.
<div class="ckeditor-em"><iframe loading="lazy" src="http:\/\/vplayer.nbcsports.com/p/BxmELC/nbcsports_share/select/media/m6GmKWVcurY8?parentUrl=" width="624" height="351" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe></div>
YAYA TOURE (Manchester City)
Toure provided the injury-time spark that earned City a last-gasp 2-1 victory at home to Swansea. Bafetimbi Gomis had just equalized for Swansea when the Ivorian midfielder picked up the ball on the right flank, ambled into the box and dispatched a left-foot shot that struck Nigerian team-mate Kelechi Iheanacho on the back before looping over Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
WILFRIED BONY (Manchester City)
Bony set City on their way to victory with a 26th-minute opener against his former club, the Ivory Coast striker charging in at the near post to convert Jesus Navas’s in-swinging corner with a downward header. It was Bony’s fifth goal in the last four Premier League meetings between the teams — three for Swansea, two for City — but he made a point of not celebrating out of respect for his former employers.
YANNICK BOLASIE (Crystal Palace)
The Democratic Republic of Congo winger was at his devastating best as Palace defeated Southampton 1-0. Bolasie set up Yohan Cabaye’s 38th-minute goal by surging past Jose Fonte and crossing from the right, and came close to scoring himself in the closing stages with a zinging right-foot volley that drew a smart save from Paulo Gazzaniga.
MORE PREMIER LEAGUE: <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/12/12/bournemouth-shocks-manchester-united-as-manchester-city-go-top-video/">Bournemouth shocks Manchester United.</a>
<h3>GERMANY</h3>
SALOMON KALOU (Hertha Berlin)
The Ivory Coast veteran scored his fifth league goal of the season as Hertha Berlin enjoyed their biggest win of the season with a 4-0 victory at Darmstadt to go third in the table. With Hertha 3-0 up, Kalou converted Vedad Ibisevic’s final pass with his left foot to score his side’s fourth with the hosts’ defense in tatters.
ANTHONY UJAH (Werder Bremen)
The Nigeria striker missed a penalty against his old side Cologne in his team’s 1-1 draw.
Replays showed Ujah was guilty of diving for a penalty, but his former teammate and Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn pulled off a superb diving save to deny the Nigerian what would have been his eighth league goal of the season.
<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Aubameyang goal lifts Dortmund in front of Eintracht Frankfurt | 2015–16 Bundesliga Highlights" width="500" height="281" src="https:\/\/www.youtube.com/embed/Gyi-GFFeFKk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG (Borussia Dortmund)
The Gabon striker is on course to break Gerd Mueller’s record of 40 Bundesliga in a season after netting in Dortmund’s 4-1 win over 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt to leave him with 18 goals in 16 league matches.
Having fired an early penalty attempt wide, Aubameyang made amends to make it 2-1 early in the second half by converting Shinji Kagawa’s final pass.
At the same stage of the 1971/72 season, Bayern Munich’s Mueller had scored 17 goals.
MORE BUNDESLIGA: <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2015/12/13/chicharito-claims-hat-trick-for-bayer-leverkusen-in-golden-goal-run/">Chicharito claims hat trick in Leverkusen rout.</a>
<h3>SPAIN</h3>
CEDRIC BAKAMBU (Villarreal)
Congolese international striker Bakambu failed to build on his 10 goals this season, but did set up the winning goal for Roberto Soldado as Villarreal stunned Real Madrid 1-0 on Sunday.
<h3>ITALY</h3>
MOHAMED SALAHA (Roma)
Salah returned to Roma’s starting league line-up for the first time since an ankle injury in a 2-0 win against Lazio last month, and made a real difference for the title hopefuls as they battled Napoli to 0-0 stalemate. The Egyptian fired just wide of Pepe Reina’s post early on and kept Napoli’s defenders on their toes before being replaced by Juan Iturbe with 14 minutes remaining.
<h3>FRANCE</h3>
CASIMIR NINGA (Montpellier)
The Chad striker continued his impressive start to life in Europe by scoring the winner as Montpellier came from behind to beat Guingamp 2-1. That came a week after he netted twice in a 2-2 draw at Marseille, and the 22-year-old now has six goals from his first nine Ligue 1 appearances.
ABDELAZIZ BARRADA (Marseille)
It has been a mixed few days for Marseille’s French-born Moroccan international midfielder. He scored in a 4-2 win at Slovan Liberec in the Czech Republic on Thursday to help OM into the knockout phase of the Europa League but was then shown a straight red card in the second half of Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to Gazelec Ajaccio in Ligue 1.

African scorers took center stage this weekend in Europe - World Soccer Talk

African scorers took center stage this weekend in Europe

<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/algeria-e1416275863277.jpg"></a><figure class="image"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/algeria-e1416275863277.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-121851" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20141118_CMS_121850_algeria-600x397_0ca14c53.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=397" alt="Algérie - Arménie - 20140531 - Equipe d&apos;Algérie" width="600" height="397"></a></figure>
Wednesday marks the final round of qualifying for the African Nations Cup. It will now take place in Equatorial Guinea between 17 January to 8 February next year as Morocco were officially removed as hosts due to their reluctance of hosting the tournament due to fear of the ebola epidemic. Six places are still up for grabs prior to Wednesday’s fixtures.
Here is a breakdown of the groups and matches (all times U.S Eastern):
– Group winners, runners-up and the best 3rd&nbsp;place team qualify for the final tournament.
– Tiebreakers are determined on a head-to-head basis (points between the teams; goal difference; away goals; followed by goal difference in all games; and goals scored).
GROUP A:
1. South Africa…..11pts
2. Nigeria…..7pts.
3. Congo…..7pts.
4. Sudan…..3pts.
Matches:
12:00pm Nigeria v South Africa
12:00pm Sudan v Congo
– Nigeria hold the tiebreaker over Congo as they both shared road victories but Nigeria have a superior goal difference in those two matches (4-3). So Nigeria need a victory or to at least match Congo’s result in Sudan. South Africa have already qualified.
———————————
GROUP B:
1. Algeria…..15pts.
2. Mali…..6pts.
3. Malawi…..6pts.
4. Ethiopia…..3pts.
Matches:
11:00am Ethiopia v Malawi
11:00am Mali v Algeria&nbsp;&nbsp; (LIVE on beinsportsconnect.tv)
– Algeria have qualified. An Ethiopia win and Mali loss would actually place 3 teams on 6 points and goal difference would come into play. In case of two draws on Wednesday, Mali &amp; Malawi shared 2-0 home wins so the tiebreaker would go to overall goal-difference which is clearly in Mali’s favor. Malawi also have a chance to qualify as the best 3rd&nbsp;place team.
———————————
GROUP C:
1. Burkina Faso…..10pts.
2. Gabon…..9pts.
3. Angola…..5pts.
4. Lesotho…..2pts.
Matches:
1:00pm Burkina Faso v Angola
1:00pm Gabon v Lesotho
– Burkina Faso and Gabon have already assured their places in the final tournament. Angola need a win and many other scenarios to go their way to finish as the best 3rd&nbsp;place team.
———————————
GROUP D:
1. Cameroon…..13pts.
2. Ivory Coast…..9pts.
3. DR Congo…..6pts.
4. Sierra Leone…..1pts.
Matches:
9:00am Ivory Coast v Cameroon (LIVE beINSport, beIÑ &amp; DishWorld)
9:00am DR Congo v Sierra Leone
– The important thing to keep in mind here is that DR Congo hold the tiebreaker over Ivory Coast (away goals head-to-head) so Cameroon cannot afford to slip up at home to a Cameroon side that has already qualified. Also worth noting, the 3rd&nbsp;place team here would very much be in consideration for a final’s berth.
———————————
GROUP E:
1. Ghana…..8pts.
2. Uganda…..7pts.
3. Guinea…..7pts.
4. Togo……6pts.
Matches:
11:00am Ghana v Togo&nbsp;&nbsp; (LIVE beINSport, beIÑ &amp; DishWorld)
11:00am Guinea v Uganda
– A group where none have officially qualified and all four teams are still in the running. The combinations are plenty. One fact worth keeping in mind, Uganda have beaten Guinea 2-0 in their first meeting so if a tiebreaker is looked at for only those two teams, Uganda have the advantage depending on Wednesday’s result.
———————————
GROUP F:
1. Cape Verde…..12pts.
2. Zambia…..8pts.
3. Mozambique…..5pts.
4. Niger…..2pts.
Matches:
11:00am Niger v Mozambique
11:00am Zambia v Cape Verde (LIVE on beinsportsconnect.tv)
– Zambia hold the tiebreaker over Mozambique so this group is over. Cape Verde and Zambia advance. However, Mozambique have an outside chance to claim the best 3rd&nbsp;place overall.
———————————
GROUP G:
1. Tunisia…..11pts.
2. Senegal…..10pts.
3. Egypt…..6pts.
4. Botswana…..1pts.
Matches:
2:00pm Senegal v Botswana
2:00pm Tunisia v Egypt
– Tunisia and Senegal are heading to the final tournament. But Egypt are still in the hunt for the best 3rd&nbsp;place team.
———————————
CURRENT 3RD&nbsp;PLACE RANKINGS:
1. Guinea…..7pts (0 Goal Difference)
2. Congo…..7pts. (-1)
3. Egypt…..6pts. (0)
4. DR Congo…..6pts. (-1)
5. Malawi…..6pts. (-4)
6. Angola…..5pts. (0)
7. Mozambique…..5pts. (0)
Edward Perovic is the publisher of soccertvblog.com – a source for schedules and US TV information for major European Leagues and International competitions.

U.S TV Schedule For Final Round Of African Nations Cup Qualifying 

U.S TV Schedule For Final Round Of African Nations Cup Qualifying  - World Soccer Talk

<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/10/28/fifa-club-world-cup-to-continue-as-planned-despite-ebola-concerns/fifa/" rel="attachment wp-att-120132"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/10/28/fifa-club-world-cup-to-continue-as-planned-despite-ebola-concerns/fifa/" rel="attachment wp-att-120132"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-120132" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20141028_WST_120130_FIFA-600x337.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=337" alt="" width="600" height="337" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/10/FIFA-600x337.jpg 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/10/FIFA-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/10/FIFA-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/10/FIFA.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></figure></div>
FIFA has confirmed today that preparations for the Club World Cup in Morocco are continuing “as planned” despite concerns over the Ebola epidemic.
The governing body has stated that it remains in contact with Moroccan authorities and are taking advice from the World Health Organization to “constantly update its position”.
Morocco is due to host the 10-day tournament, which features Champions League winners Real Madrid, starting on December 10th with the final scheduled for December 20th. The Club World Cup brings together the champions of each of FIFA’s six confederations and the national league champion from the host country. Matches will be played in Rabat and Marrakesh.
The remaining participants are: San Lorenzo (South America), Auckland City (Oceania), Cruz Azul (Central America), Moghreb Tetouan (Africa – hosts), Sydney Wanderers or Al Hilal (Asia) and either Vita Club or Entente Setif (Africa).
“The health of the players, officials and football fans remains the highest priority, just as it would for any FIFA competition,” the world governing body said in an official statement.
“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are currently no cases of Ebola reported from Morocco and therefore all preparations continue as planned.”
“FIFA is monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the Moroccan authorities and constantly updating its position in accordance with WHO technical guidance. Should the situation change we will be in touch with the participating FAs accordingly.”
The world’s governing body also outlined another set of recommendations in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus.
In addition to requesting that clubs perform “medical checks” on players returning from matches involving high-risk nations, FIFA supported Confederation of African Football’s decisions to move fixtures featuring Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to a neutral venue.
FIFA also urged the “immediate isolation” of any player displaying Ebola symptoms ahead of an international fixture, while instructing those from the worst-hit countries to perform self check-ups.
Fans will also be provided with information regarding Ebola prevention ahead of fixtures where they face a potential risk of contracting the virus.
FIFA says it will continue to work with the WHO to assess the evolution of the illness and “take the appropriate measures for the communities and athletes.”
The current Ebola outbreak has infected more than 10,000 people and killed almost 5,000.

FIFA Club World Cup To Continue As Planned Despite Ebola Concerns - World Soccer Talk

FIFA Club World Cup To Continue As Planned Despite Ebola Concerns

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FIFA Club World Cup To Continue As Planned Despite Ebola Concerns