In what has been described as a major blow to the Togolese national football team on their way to qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nation, Gabon 2017, a French court has sentenced Claude Le Roy to two years in prison including an 18 months ban from all football activities this Friday June 17, 2016. Cameroon Intelligence Report learned that Le Roy was jailed following his involvement in some fraudulent transfer deals when he managed Racing Club of Strasbourg between 1998 and 2003.

The former Cameroon and Congo Kinshasa football trainer has been quoted as saying he was not aware of any illegality on the said transfers. Our senior football correspondent who contributed to this report observed that if the sentence by the court is confirmed, it could upset the contract Claude Le Roy has with the Togolese national team. CIR sports desk is keeping a watchful eye on this developing story and we will keep our readers posted.

Ebong Kingsley (CIR)

Issa Hayatou, the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has sent a message of condolence to the President of the Nigeria Football Federation following the sudden death of the Great Stephen Keshi. Issa Hayatou expressed his “dismay” and his “immense sadness” to the Nigerian football family.

In the correspondence, the CAF President revisited the rich career of the deceased saying Keshi remains the first African coach to have qualified two African teams in a World Cup final: Togo in 2006 and Nigeria in 2014. He won the Africa Nations Cup with Nigeria both as a player and a coach in 1994 and 2013 respectively. Stephen Keshi is also the only African technician to have taken a selection from the continent to the second round of a World Cup tournament. He did that in 2014 in Brazil with Nigeria.

Rest in peace the BOSS

25 hotels have been selected by Cameroon for hosting of the various delegations and official CAF accredited journalists during the female Africa Cup of Nations 2016 to be held in Yaoundé and Limbe from the 19^th of November to the 03^rd of December. The 25 hotels are listed in Yaounde, Douala and Limbe. The 8 countries that qualified for the competition are:

Cameroon

Equatorial Guinea

Egypt

Kenya

South Africa

Ghana

Zimbabwe

Nigeria

The CPDM government says it has provided financial support to some private hotel developers to enable them run a 24 hours service.

CIR

One of African football’s best-known figures, Stephen Keshi, has died at the age of 54, the Nigeria Football Federation has said. A former captain of the Nigeria national team, Keshi was one of only two men to win the Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and a coach. He also managed Togo and Mali, and his playing career included a spell for Belgian club side Anderlecht.

He is thought to have suffered a heart attack, local media reported. As a player, Keshi was part of the Super Eagles team that won the Nations Cup in 1994 and narrowly missed out on a World Cup quarter-final place the same year. He coached the national side over three spells, leading Nigeria to the 2013 Nations Cup title in South Africa and the last 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

His contract was not renewed after the World Cup but he later returned on a match-by-match deal following the team’s failure to reach the 2015 Nations Cup finals. He was then sacked as caretaker coach but reinstated after intervention from then Nigeria president Goodluck Jonathan. He was sacked for a final time last July.

BBC

Egypt, Senegal, Algeria, Morocco and Cameroon have so far clinched their qualification spots for the final phase of the tournament in Gabon. Six of the sixteen teams to take part in the final phase of the African Cup of Nations to take place early next year in Gabon are already known. They are namely, Egypt, Senegal, Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon and host country Gabon. While Gabon got her qualification from the office by winning the bid to host the 2017 edition of the tournament, the others had to slot it out from the green turf of the pitch after taking an unassailable lead in their respective groups.

Egypt and Morocco were the first countries to qualify and will be making a return to the continental scene after having missed out on the 2015 edition of the tournament in Equatorial Guinea. Egypt simply didn’t qualify after having been stunned by little known Republic of Congo in the last and crucial qualification match. Meanwhile Morocco was banned from taking part in the competition after refusing to host the competition because of Ebola scare.

The sentence was higher but Morocco appealed the decision and the ban was lifted. After winning the legal battle Morocco also won on the pitch of play dominating Group F earning 12 points in four outings. Egypt equally sailed through Group G virtually unperturbed with 10 points in four outing with Nigeria coming distant second in the group with barely two points.

Algeria and Senegal also picked up their qualification tickets before the last day of play of the qualifiers top come up during the weekend running from September second to third. Algeria sailed through Group G with flying colours obtaining 13 points in five outings and can no longer be caught up by the runners up of the group, Ethiopia with barely five points.

Meanwhile Senegal witnessed an unbeaten run in Group K winning all fifteen points up for grab in the group so far and will also be making a return to the continental scene in Gabon. Cameroon as already known picked up the lone qualification ticket in Group M after butting out the last surviving contender, Mauritania in the fifth qualification match on Friday June 3^rd.

The rest of the qualified nations will be known after the last day of play of the qualifiers on September second and third. Besides the respective group leaders, the overall best runners-up of all the 13 groups join the host for the final phase of the competition in Gabon.

Cameroon Tribune