TIMESTAMPS:

02:09 - Can Niger keep up momentum?

11:44 - Emilio Nsue suspension

22:42 - Is the CAF CL getting boring?

27:53 - How can West African clubs compete in CAF CL?

36:05 - Should CAF introduce Nations League?

This episode of the African football round-up, is a mailbag episode where we answer the questions that you send in! We answer questions about a possible CAF Nations League, West African clubs in the CAF CL, Emilio Nsue and the Niger national team

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

FIFA decision on Emilio Nsue: https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/451be0f530729bab/original/Mr-Emilio-Nsue-Lopez_10052024.pdf

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TIMESTAMPS:

01:30 - TP Mazembe vs MC Algiers recap

07:37 - Young Africans vs Al Hilal recap

17:18 - Mamelodi Sundowns vs Maniema Union recap

19:11 - CR Belouizdad vs Orlando Pirates recap

25:03 - Pyramids vs Sagrada Esperanca recap

27:59 - Esperance vs Djoliba

In this episode of the African football round-up, we recap the first matchday of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League. It was a round of matches in which some of Africa's top young talent showed up as Orlando Pirates stole a match in Algiers, last year's finalists Esperance and Ahly dominated, and Sundowns disappointed.

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

Russian and waiting: https://africasacountry.com/2024/11/rushing-in

Follow us on social media:

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TIMESTAMPS:

01:40 - Senegal vs Malawi analysis

08:44 - Egypt vs Mauritania analysis

15:08 - Algeria vs Togo analysis

19:20 - Morocco vs Central African Republic analysis

24:32 - Tunisia vs Comoros analysis

29:57 - Ghana vs Sudan analysis

In this episode of the African football round-up, we head to the film room to break down some of the matches we watched in matchday 3 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers

We were impressed by Pape Thiaw's Senegal, Vladimir Petkovic's Algeria, Walid Regragui's Morocco and Hossam Hassan's Egypt. Ghana and Tunisia were the two teams that we were not impressed by.

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

This week's must-reads:

What does Africa want?: https://africasacountry.com/2024/10/what-does-africa-want

Fuel's Errand: https://africasacountry.com/2024/10/fuels-errand

Follow us on social media:

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https://www.tiktok.com/@african.fiveaside

https://www.instagram.com/africanfiveside/

TIMESTAMPS:

01:05 - Which countries have never qualified for the Afcon?

04:10 - How teams have qualified for the Afcon over the last ten years

11:54 - Does CAR have what it takes?

16:24 - Raoul Savoy interview

34:32 - Abdul Musa interview

In this episode of the African football round-up, we ask the question: what does it take to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations?

To answer the question we looked at what nations that qualified to their first Afcon did over the last decade or so. We also spoke to Central African Republic coach Raoul Savoy and interviewed him as we believe that they could be next!

We also spoke to Abdul Musa to find out how Sudan have been playing great football despite domestic political problems.

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

All across the continent, we had our eyes on the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup draw. We took the opportunity to give our first thoughts on how the groups are made up.

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

We're back with a mailbag episode of the African football round-up!

We asked you, the listeners, for your questions on African football and you sent them in. In this episode, we talk about reforming the CAF Champions League, how smaller nations in Africa have improved, the Saudi-CAF partnership, as well as how Sudan's big clubs are playing in exile in Mauritania.

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

This week's must-reads:

The appearance of democracy: https://africasacountry.com/2024/09/the-apperance-of-democracy

Sudan's cultural devastation: https://africasacountry.com/2024/09/sudans-cultural-devastation

Follow us on social media:

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We are just about set for the group stages of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League group stages. Before the draw, we figured it would be the perfect time to speak about the teams that qualified and point out who are favourites, surprises and "question mark" teams were.

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

This week's must-reads:

From Naija to Abidjan: https://www.africasacountry.com/2024/09/from-naija-to-abidjan

The freedom to move: https://www.africasacountry.com/2024/09/the-freedom-to-move

Follow us on social media:

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The international break has begun!

Salim Masoud Said joins to speak about Emerse Fae and Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco and Regragui, and Tanzanian fans' no-show to support the Taifa Stars. Cameroonian journalist Giovanni Wanneh also joins to explain what is happening between the ministry of sport and the football federation in his country.

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

Follow us on social media:

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https://www.instagram.com/africanfiveside/

Welcome to a new year in African football!

We kick off year 2 of the African Five-a-side podcast with the first edition of the African Football-Round up and looking ahead to the upcoming international break! This year we'll be rotating guest hosts, and for our first show, we have brought on Salim Masoud Said to talk about Regragui, Morocco, Saintfiet, Mali, McKinstry, The Gambia, Algeria and Tanzania! We also speak to the new coach of the Gambian men's national football team, Johnny McKinstry.

Enjoy!

The 2024 Paris Olympics are over, and it's almost time for the beginning of another footballing season. We quickly recap how African countries did at the Olympics and highlight five Africans that have switched clubs that could impress this season in their respective leagues.

In this episode, we discuss women's welterweight boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and how Imane Khelif has found herself in the middle of a culture war with people calling her 'male' or 'trans'. We try to rectify some of those lies and delve into who Khelif is as a person

My take on the bullying Imane Khelif has faced: https://africasacountry.com/2024/08/rolling-with-the-punches

Check out Africa Is A Country: https://africasacountry.com

In just a matter of week, Rhulani Mokwena left his job at Mamelodi Sundowns and signed with Wydad Casablanca. Is this a great rebound for Africa's best young tactician or is it a case of happy feet?

TIMESTAMPS:

01:41 - TP Mazembe vs MC Algiers

09:59 - Young Africans vs Al Hilal

16:10 - Mamelodi Sundowns vs Maniema Union

19:50 - Raja vs AS FAR

22:17 - Al Ahly vs Stade d'Abidan

25:52 - CR Belouizdad vs Orlando Pirates

31:05 - Pyramids vs Sagrada Esperanca

32:41 - Esperance vs Djoliba

In this episode of the African football round-up, we preview the first matchday of the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League. We take a look at all eight matches and make predictions about their outcomes. We're particularly looking forward to watching newcomers such as Maniema Union and Djoliba make their mark.

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

Why are African artefacts everywhere but Africa: https://www.africasacountry.com/2024/11/why-are-african-artifacts-everywhere-but-africa

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We now know who is in what group of the 2025 Afcon qualifiers, and so we decide to do a group-by-group preview of the qualifiers with some initial thoughts just a few months before they kick-off

In this new episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, we preview the upcoming international break as the African continent gets set to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Some of the dominant narratives take place in Cameroon, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco.

In the second leg of the 2023/2024 CAF Champions League, Al Ahly beat Esperance de Tunis 1-0. Ramy Rabia forced an own goal in the opening five minutes, giving Al Ahly their 12th Champions League title. Host Maher Mezahi analyzed the match to cap off our Champions League coverage.

*WE APOLOGISE ABOUT THE AUDIO QUALITY OF THIS EPISODE, WE MADE A ONE-TIME MISTAKE THAT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN*

Please check out www.africasacountry.com

Esperance de Tunis and Al Ahly are set to battle it out during the second leg of the CAF Champions League final in Cairo. The first leg finished 0-0 in Tunis and with the away goals rule still in effect, all is to play for.

Prior to the CAF Champions League final, we speak to Al Ahly fan Ahmed Assem about the prospects of the Red Devils securing their record-extending 12th title in the competition. We also ponder the existence of football DNA and ask: What makes Al Ahly Al Ahly?

In the second leg of the 2023/2024 CAF Champions League, Esperance de Tunis and Al Ahly put in mature performances and managed to qualify past TP Mazembe and Mamelodi Sundowns

This week we look back on what exactly happened between USM of Algiers and RS Berkane in the semi-final of the CAF Confederation Cup. Their scheduled match was never actually played because of a political controversy that we try to explain

During the first leg of the 2023/2024 CAF Champions League semi-finals, Esperance de Tunis nullified Mamelodi Sundowns' attacking threat and managed to win by a goal at home. Meanwhile Al Ahly left Lubumbashi with a nil-nil draw

We're into the final four of the 2023/2024 CAF Champions League and so this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast delves into a preview of Saturday's matches between Esperance de Tunis and Mamelodi Sundowns and TP Mazembe versus Al Ahly.

The second leg of the quarterfinals of the 2023/2024 CAF Champions League took place on Saturday evening as TP Mazembe travelled to Luanda to take on Petro and Esperance travelled to Abidjan to take on ASEC Mimosas.

The Congolese and Tunisian champions came away victorious on the evening and now set up juicy quarterfinals against Al Ahly and Sundowns in two weeks' time.

2025 Afcon qualifying is officially a wrap, so we took the time to power rank all 24 teams that have qualified for Morocco 2025 and we reflect on our thoughts on the teams from what we’ve seen over the last three months

Africa Is A Country YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC29aKwRSbAQKhcNc8DqyETg

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

This week's must-reads:

Liberation is not propaganda: https://africasacountry.com/2024/11/liberation-is-not-propaganda

Not exactly at arm’s length: https://africasacountry.com/2024/11/not-exactly-at-arms-length

Follow us on social media:

https://twitter.com/AfricanFiveSide

https://www.tiktok.com/@african.fiveaside

Friday night's two matches had very different tones. While Tanzania's Yanga pushed AFL champions, Mamelodi Sundowns to the brink, their compatriots, Simba, couldn't muster up the same fight vs Al Ahly of Egypt.

In this episode we discuss the general ideas of idealism versus pragmatism and if Sundowns are fit to overcome mental hurdles

The first quarterfinal of the 2024 CAF Champions League took place on Friday evening between Simba and reigning champions, Al Ahly. It was a frustrating match for the hosts who peppered the Egyptian goal with countless chances, but could not convert a single one of them. We look back on the match and ponder themes such as collective psychology and what ask what the return leg has in store for us.

Two months on from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations we have our first international window since the big tournament. We take a look at the state of 9 national teams and how they've attacked the post-Afcon period

As the holy month of Ramadan begins, we ask a few questions about its place in professional football. Does fasting impede optimal athletic performance? How can clubs or leagues accommodate fasting players and make them feel welcome?

The draw for the 2024 CAF Champions League took place a couple days ago, and so we finally have our quarterfinal matchups. We take a preliminary look at each of the matches and give our thoughts.

As we prepare for the draw of the 2023/2024 CAF Champions League knockout stages, we decided to take a look at five up-and-coming youngsters that will be looking to impress and help their clubs to Africa's most prestigious trophy this year.

With no quarterfinalists at the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire and only 2 club sides in the quarterfinals of the 2024 CAF Champions League, the internet is telling us that North African football is on the decline.

We take a forensic look at the performances of the national teams and the club sides and determine if this is a general geographic trend or if this is a case-by-case basis of misfortune.

Check out Africa Is A Country: https://africasacountry.com

In this episode of the African Five-a-side podcast, we look back on what has been an enthralling six matchdays of the 2024 CAF Champions League. In this year's competition, teams that have defended well have been rewarded, and after this weekend the competition will finally begin!

We're back after an Afcon hangover and for our first episode back, we talk about the 2024 Summer Olympic Games qualifiers in African women's football. Before we pick our winners, we talk about the fact that 29/54 of the sides in Africa failed to even enter their teams for qualifying.

You can read more on Cote d'Ivoire's failure to field a team here: https://africasacountry.com/2024/02/a-forgotten-relic

On the weekend after the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, we delve into where all 24 teams go from here. For some, like Senegal, little change is necessary. For others, such as Cameroon or Algeria, much change is needed, but can the changes be carried out successfully?

TIMESTAMPS:

06:42 - Niger vs Sudan analysis

17:12 - Benin vs Nigeria analysis

26:40 - Angola vs Ghana analysis

32:58 - Uganda vs South Africa analysis

37:06 - Botswana vs Mauritania analysis

40:20 - Algeria vs Equatorial Guinea analysis

In this episode of the African football round-up, we head to the film room to break down some of the matches we during matchday 5 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers

We were not impressed by Nigeria's defending versus Benin as the likes of Troost-Ekong and Bassey made simple errors. Sudan's undoing was more of a stylistic issue versus Niger. We also briefly speak on Angola vs Ghana, Uganda vs South Africa, Botswana vs Mauritania and Algeria vs Equatorial Guinea

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

This week's must-reads:

Mozambique and the politics of popular uprising: https://www.africasacountry.com/2024/11/mozambique-and-the-politics-of-popular-uprising

Ruto’s Kenya: https://www.africasacountry.com/2024/11/rutos-kenya

Follow us on social media:

https://twitter.com/AfricanFiveSide

https://www.tiktok.com/@african.fiveaside

https://www.instagram.com/africanfiveside/

After several peaks and valleys, Cote d'Ivoire sealed their tournament by beating Nigeria in the Afcon final, 2-1. Nigeria took a first-half lead into the break after William Troost-Ekong scored off of a corner. But in the second half Simon Adingra and Sebastien haller dominated for the hosts, scoring and assisting the goals that would give them their third star.

Palestine at Afcon article: https://africasacountry.com/2024/02/palestine-at-afcon

Let's have a relaxing chat about third-place matches and how and why we think tonight's match will unfold as it will

The semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations were just as entertaining as the rest of the tournament. Nigeria eeked past South Africa in the first match of the day after tension-filled penalty kicks. Cote d'Ivoire's victory over DR Congo was a much more calm affair, as Sebastien Haller fired The Elephants into the final

My 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is over, but the tournament rolls on. Today we're back with a semi-final preview of Wednesday's matches. We delve into the Nigeria vs South Africa match in particular detail with a tactical breakdown of the match-up.

In the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals Victor Osimhen and Nigeria got a goal past Angola and qualified to the semi-finals. And DR Congo comfortably advanced past Guinea into the final four as well.

The 2023 Afcon quarterfinals are set to kick off tomorrow and so we break down the four matches including Cote d'Ivoire vs Mali, Nigeria vs Angola, DR Congo vs Guinea and Cape Verde vs South Africa

It was a fascinating tactical battle between the Moroccan Atlas Lions and the South African Bafana boys. Both sides played cautiously, but it would be the South Africans that made less technical errors and came away with a victory. In the early match, Burkina Faso were no match for Mali who found their identity with a diamond 4-4-2.M

Last night, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations served us an instant classic when hosts Cote d'Ivoire took on Senegal in the round of 16. Despite a terrible group stage performance, Cote d'Ivoire bounced back by eliminating defending champions Senegal in Yamoussoukro.

The third day of the round of 16 will feature the biggest match of this Africa Cup of Nations so far when Cote d'Ivoire host Senegal in Yamoussoukro. In the other match of the day the two 'giant killers' Cape Verde and Mauritania will do battle in Abidjan.

On the second day of Round of 16 play, Equatorial Guinea made a couple critical errors and lost to Guinea-Conakry. Egypt and DR Congo duked it out, but Sebastien Desabre's men came away victorious after penalty kicks.

TIMESTAMPS:

03:15 - Group A preview

11:18 - Group B preview

13:49 - Group C preview

16:41 - Group D preview

19:22 - Group E and F preview

20:43 - Group G preview

22:29 - Group H preview

24:22 - Group I preview

25:41 - Group J preview

26:58 - Group K preview

27:56 - Group L preview

In this episode of the African football round-up, we preview the final two matchdays of 2025 Afcon qualifying. Some teams have qualified, some are eliminated, and some have all to play for! Everything is on the line for world football's greatest tournament.

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This podcast is brought to you by: www.africasacountry.com

Follow us on social media:

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Today's matches in the round of 16 feature a Salah-less Egypt taking on a red-hot DR Congo national team. The early match will feature the tournament's cinderella story, Equatorial Guinea versus Guinea-Conakry

In the first matchday of the round of 16, Nigeria put Cameroon to the sword as Ademola Lookman scored a brace and the hapless Indomitable Lions couldn't respond. The other match of the day saw Angola take care of Namibia despite facing some early adversity when their goalkeeper was sent off in the 17th minute

We start the round of 16 today as the Nigerian Super Eagles take on the Cameroonian Indomitable Lions in Abidjan, but before that heavyweight bout Angola will host Namibia in Bouaké.

On Day 13, we had our first day off of the Afcon. We spent the day at a FIFA workshop learning about the FIFA Forward program and the Talent Development Scheme. Finally, we finish today's diary with a team of the round for the tournament so far.