African athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Australia have been in the news for action on and off the track.

The haul of 34 gold medals won by African athletes has been overshadowed by headlines of at least 13 athletes from Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone absconding from team camps. It’s a recurring scenario for hosts of minor to major sporting events held in wealthier nations. For Australia, it happened in 2006 when Melbourne hosted the Commonwealth Games and 2000 when Sydney hosted the Olympics.

The most common reason for this, as with many migrants, is the search for a better life. Even for pro athletes in many African countries, wealthy and more developed countries remain a major draw. Occasionally, athletes make the move to escape political repression back home. The most recent example came at the 2016 Rio Olympics when Feyisa Lilesa, an Ethiopian marathoner, crossed his arms in anti-government protest.

Even though the competition has wrapped up, missing athletes officially have until May 15—when their visas expire—to make plans that allow them to remain in Australia. An obvious option would be to apply for asylum but a successful application will depend on being able to cite valid basis of threat to life in their home countries. Already, a migration agency operating on the Gold Coast says “more than 40 people,” including Commonwealth Games athletes from Africa, have so far come in to discuss potential visa options to allow them remain in Australia.

Another option is to obtain a special skills visa which allows them continue to reside and compete as professional athletes. For example, Ethiopia’s Lilesa was granted special skills visa by the United States after he did not return home given fears of government reprisal after his protest at the Rio Olympics.

The nuclear option would be staying on illegally after the visa expires and, without valid documentation, likely turning to menial jobs to earn money.

For many athletes, applying as part of a team delegation to major sporting events offers a much higher chance of securing visas and traveling safely and for free. Back home, mismanagement, corruption and poor welfare packages as well as sub-par training facilities often means being an athlete is not the most lucrative livelihood. As a result, African athletes, and at times officials, have routinely gone missing at sporting events hosted in more developed nations—21 members of African delegations went missing or claimed asylum after the London Olympics in 2012.

For more talented or high-profile athletes, another option is to switch nationalities and represent countries offering better prospects. It’s a well-exercised option: during the Rio Olympics in 2016, at least 30 Kenyan-born athletes competed for other countries. Indeed, Bahrain’s Olympic track field team was almost entirely made up athletes originally from Africa as half of the men’s team and nearly all of the women’s team hailed from Nigeria, Ethiopia, or Kenya.

Source: Quartz Media

Cameroon’s Chef de Mission is due to fly out of the Gold Coast this morning having heard nothing from his eight missing Commonwealth Games athletes, saying he is exhausted from the scrutiny prompted by their disappearance.

Victor Agbor Nso had to deal with the media fallout after the athletes vanished from the athletes’ village during competition in a series of late night walk-outs. They included weightlifters and boxers. All but one had competed in their individual events before they disappeared.

Ms Nso told the ABC yesterday afternoon he had not heard from his “missing” athletes and wanted to make sure all his other team members had flown home before he headed to the airport.

“As far as I am aware they are still missing,” he said. “I have spoken, I have communicated sufficiently on this and the issue is now in the hands of the Australian Government, especially the Australian police. “I do not want to talk about this any more, I am concentrating on returning home.”

INFOGRAPHIC: The Cameroon athletes missing from the Commonwealth Games Village on Queensland’s Gold Coast. (LtoR, top row to bottom row): Fotsala Simplice, Fokou Arsene, Ndzie Tchoyi Christian, Yombo Ulrich, Ndiang Christelle, Minkoumba Petit David, Fouodji Arcangeline Sonkbou and Matam Matam Olivier Heracles.

Some officials also performed vanishing acts, including Rwanda’s weightlifting coach who said he was off to the toilet ahead of his team’s performance — but never returned.

None are technically in breach of their visas, which do not run out until midnight May 15.

Gold Coast migration consultant Ian Natherson said last week his firm had been inundated with calls from African Games participants looking for ways to legally stay in Australia. “You can’t blame them trying to stay,” he said yesterday.

“Look at the weather here, and the lifestyle. It is a great place to be in. Why would you want to go back? “This has happened with all games. It happened at the Sydney Olympics, and it will happen again if we are lucky enough to get the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.

“It is only when you get here you realise how great this country is and what it has to offer. “Just walking down the street the freedom you have — you cannot do that in alot of African countries. “I come from South Africa myself, where I would not walk the streets after dark.

“But I am sure a lot of them did do that here and just thoroughly enjoyed the freedom. “I always say to people — if you are born in this country you have no idea how good it is until you have come from somewhere else.”

Mr Natherson said a Kenyan paralympian and her husband contacted his firm yesterday inquiring about how they could stay. He said he had fielded more than 40 calls from a range of different nations, but mostly Africans.

Mr Natherson said he did not know if any of the inquiries were from the missing Cameroonian athletes. “No-one has come in with any formal paperwork,” he said. An Australian Border Force official says the missing athletes and officials would be red flagged from May 16, tracked down and deported if they were still in the country.

Meanwhile, a Mauritian team official who left Australia after being charged with sexual assault is due to appear in Southport Magistrates Court this morning.

The 52-year-old, who strenuously denied the allegations, had been expelled from the athletes village and had his Games accreditation cancelled. He had made an undertaking to appear in court, but flew home to Mauritius on April 13.

Source: ABC.Net

A men’s squash pairing from Sierra Leone and a Rwandan para-powerlifting coach are the latest African absentees to go missing from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Hours after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton warned athletes who breached their visa conditions they’d be tracked down, locked up and deported, Sierra Leone’s Ernest Jombla and Yusif Mansaray did not appear for their men’s doubles match on Thursday morning.

It means Jombla and Mansaray failed to appear for either of their matches on the Gold Coast after skipping Tuesday’s clash with Welsh pair Peter Creed and Joel Makin. Despite the pair not making their matches, Sierra Leone officials insisted both were still at the village and had merely confused the times of their events.

Rwanda’s chef de mission Eugene Nzabanterura said coach Jean Paul Nsengiyuma hadn’t been seen since his athlete’s event finished at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre on Tuesday.

“Up to now we don’t know where he is,” Nzabanterura told AAP.

“We’ve declared it to the police and the administration of GOLDOC and we are still searching for him.”

Two Ugandans were reportedly missing but team officials were adamant all of their athletes and officials were accounted for.

The developments came a day after Cameroon revealed eight of its 42-strong Games team are missing, including two boxers who failed to appear for their bouts.

Most athletes and officials are on visas that remain valid until May 15 but Dutton was concerned by instances in which athletes missed their events at the Games “when that was the reason they were here”.

He said they were “taking the mickey”.

“The compliance officers will be out there, I promise, tracking these people down and they’ll be deported as quickly as possible,” he told Macquarie Radio.

“If they don’t want to be held in detention or locked up at the local watch house, they’d better jump on a plane before the 15th and comply with their visas conditions.”

Dutton said if any of the missing athletes claimed protection status, Border Force would test each case.

“These people and others that might have a similar objective need to hear this message very clearly – they aren’t going to game the system,” he said.

Commonwealth Games boss Peter Beattie said while the athletes’ visas allow them to spend time enjoying Australia, they should return to their home country as scheduled.

“We encourage people to get a visa, come here and compete, stay a little while after, spend some money in this country and then go home, and that’s our position,” Beattie told ABC Radio.

Source: World Wide of Sports

Five Cameroonian athletes competing at the Commonwealth Games in Australia have gone missing, the country’s Team Manager, Victor Agbor Nso, said on Tuesday. Nso told Cameroon state broadcaster CRTV that Weightlifter Olivier Matam and boxers Ndzie Tchoyi and Simplice Fotsala were due to compete on Tuesday but could not be found. He added that two other weightlifters — Aka Angeline Filji and Mikoumba Petit David, had earlier gone missing from the games at the Gold Coast, but did not specify when.

He explained that Australian police were informed about the situation. He said “we have officially informed our hierarchy back home: the Ministry of Sports and the president of the National Olympic Committee of Cameroon. “We have also laid formal complaint to the Australian police.” It is not the first time Cameroonian athletes disappeared at major sporting event. In 2012, five male boxers, a female footballer and a male swimmer absconded from the London Olympic village.

Source: www.vanguardngr.com

Liverpool defender Joel Matip will miss the rest of the season with an injury, the club have announced.

The Cameroon international sustained a thigh injury during the win over Crystal Palace last weekend and despite being able to complete 90 minutes a subsequent assessment has uncovered a problem that will sideline him for the remainder of the campaign.

That will mean the 26-year-old misses the Champions League quarter-final with Manchester City as well as Saturday’s Merseyside derby with Everton. A short statement read: “Joel Matip is likely to require an operation on a thigh injury, Liverpool can confirm.

“The centre-back sustained the issue during Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

“Matip was able to complete the full 90 minutes of the fixture, but afterwards medical assessment on the thigh revealed surgery is expected to be required to correct the problem.

“The operation is likely to end the 26-year-old’s involvement in the remainder of the 2017-18 season.”

Jurgen Klopp is set to address the severity of Matip’s injury at his press conference on Tuesday afternoon as well as providing an update on Adam Lallana’s condition after the England midfielder limped out of the game at Selhurst Park just minutes after coming off the bench.

Source:www.indpendent.co.uk

Britain’s Anthony Joshua moved a step closer to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion of the world on Saturday after beating New Zealander Joseph Parker on a unanimous points decision in their title unification bout.

The 2012 Olympic champion, taken to 12 rounds for the first time in his professional career after 20 previous knockouts, added Parker’s WBO belt to his own WBA Super, IBFand IBO titles.

The three judges scored it 118-110, 118-110 and 119-109 to Joshua, leaving only Deontay Wilder’s WBC title still to conquer.

With the current feat, Joshua moves a step closer to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

“It’s difficult when someone comes in and is backing off a lot of the time and so on and so forth, but so be it, history was made, Joseph (Parker) played a massive part in this, his whole camp did, and I’m honored to have shared the ring with him.

“… and what’s interesting is Joseph won’t give up now, do you know what I mean, he’s still young, competitive, and I’ve a feeling we’ll definitely see Joseph Parker again but, as you said, I think just on this evening I was more focused, more disciplined, and I carried out the tactics and I was the better man it seemed,” Joshua said after the contest.

Both fighters had stepped into the ring undefeated, with Joshua weighing in six pounds heavier than his shorter opponent and with a longer reach.

If some had expected an early knockout it did not pan out that way, even if Joshua could be said to have controlled most of the 12 rounds by using his jab and left hooks to telling effect.

REUTERS

Hundreds of Cameroon football fans in the USA will pay tribute to former football star, Ntoko Roland during a testimonial game to be hosted in Dallas. The Cameroonian football hero, a one-time Best Foreign Player of the Year in Slovenia, retired from the beautiful game long ago but will now be honoured on his 50^th birthday at the Anderson Bonner Soccer Park (Field 1) in Dallas.

Cameroon Concord News sources in the US say football fans are expected to defy the cold weather to attend the star-studded game which will include the veterans of Atlanta. Ntoko Roland will play for both sides to mark the end of a glorious career that took him to Germany, Slovenia and Indonesia.

Bundes as he is popularly known was quoted as saying that “There’s a time to start and a time to finish, it was a fulfilling ride from day one.” Ntoko Roland is undoubtedly the most recognised, successful and talented footballer the South West region of Cameroon has ever seen on the field.

Eyong Eyong Ebot (Moh-Kukouri) who also moonlights as President Emeritus of the Veterans of Atlanta told Cameroon Concord Sports that it will not be difficult to honour Ntoko Roland by travelling down to Dallas “because he is an icon of the Cameroonian game and we must honour him.” The Ntoko Roland jubilee will hold from the 30th of March to the 1^st of April in Dallas, USA.

He started his soccer career with ElectSport of Limbe and won the famous BEAUFORT CUP and player of the tournament when he was 18. He later led ELECTSPORT Limbe into the prestigious First Division league.  He played for PWD KUMBA and later UNION DOUALA

In Slovenia, he played for Novo Mesto, PUBLIKUM Celje and OLYMPIJA LUBIANA from where he had a taste of the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. He joined the German side, Darmstadt in 1996 and partnered the controversial Ghanaian football legend, NII LAMPTEY. He was recruited by a second division side Greuther Furth in 1997.  Ntoko Roland Njume also had a spell in INDONESIA.

He held the captaincy of PWD Kumba and won the football gold medal during the All African games in Egypt 1991 with the junior Lions of Cameroon.  Ntoko gained a place with the senior Indomitable Lions and played alongside Cameroon football greats like the Late Massing Benjamin, Nfede Louis Paul, kunde Emmanuel, Tataw Eta Stephen, Ebwelle Beltin, Onana Jules, Ndip Akem Victor, Bell Joseph Antoine and Omam Biyik.

He was voted best foreign player in Slovenia in 1995 and was a member of the Indomitable Lions squad during the Africa Cup of Nations, South Africa 1996. His school mates remember him as the guy who rushed the afternoon session of the GCE exams to meet his pals in a football pitch.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

On a holiday last year, whilst I lay back on a sun lounger with a cold pint of Greek lager on the beautiful island of Kefalonia, from behind my sunglasses I spied an elderly (ish) man taking up residence on the opposite side of the swimming pool.

Nothing odd about that as the hotel I was staying in was clearly a popular place in the resort of Skala, particularly with British tourists.

However, it was what the chap, who I estimated to be around mid-60s, was wearing that made him stand out from the crowd.

He was sitting in none other than the infamous Cameroon sleeveless shirt that FIFA banned!

I had completely forgotten about it and while it may well still be popular attire on the streets of Yaoundé or Douala, it isn’t quite what I expected from yer da on his jollies in Greece.

I resisted the temptation to quiz the man on his allegiance to the Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions) as he could well have been a knowledgeable man with a keen interest in African football, but something told me he was not.

It then got me thinking as to how old that shirt was (it was fading from the dark green I remembered and looked somewhat faded from the very probable explanation that it had accompanied the man in sunny climbs for years on end) and just why Cameroon were not able to wear it.

A quick scan of press cuttings revealed it is now 16 years old and at the time of the banning almost every single English media outlet rolled out the time old cliché – you can always expect something different from Cameroon – a stereotype thrust upon them since their incredible arrival on the world stage of football at the 1990 World Cup.

Some 12 years later it appears that was still following them around. In fact, more than a decade after Nery Pumpido’s feckless performance in the Argentina goal allowed François Omam-Biyik to score a memorable goal against the defending world champions, not to mention the wonderful sight of Claudio Caniggia’s boot flying up into the air following a magnificent lunge by Benjamin Massing (RIP), Cameroon were still subjected to this type of quote from FIFA’s Keith Cooper:

“You can always expect something different from Cameroon, not only in terms of their shirts.”

Well quite Keith.

Puma’s sleeveless shirts were in fact not a new design when FIFA took the decision to outlaw them a few months before the 2002 World Cup, and had in fact been worn successfully by Cameroon throughout that year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The new basketball style shirt proved to be a lucky omen as Cameroon beat Senegal on penalties to claim their fourth crown in front of 50,000 fans in the Malian capital Bamako.

Puma were forced to hastily redesign a kit with sleeves for the World Cup as Cameroon failed to progress from Group E, where despite getting four points, were beaten to the knockout stage by Germany and Mick McCarthy’s Ireland side.

The shirt then became the sleeveless one with two random black thin bits of fabric attached to replicate sleeves.

But FIFA know best and Keith Cooper – the man charged with banning the Cameroon shirt was promptly fired by that great man of football Sepp Blatter, some three months later.

Here is to an unforgettable shirt and may many a pensioner adorn it for years to come!

Source: The Sportsman

Tennis star Serena Williams has spoken about plans to set up a WTA Tour event in Africa, in what is believed would be a first for the continent.

She told BBC Sport that it is something that that she has “thought about”:

It is something I have thought about and I would like to keep thinking about it. I’m glad you brought it up because I think it would be amazing. It would be so fun – the help that we could do, and the awareness and the athletes and the amazing players that would come out of Africa would just be unbelievable.”

The WTA Tour is an elite professional tennis circuit organised by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

She said Kenya is where she would want the event to take place, adding “it’s one of my favourite places to go, so why not?”  Ms Williams said she is preparing to return to the WTA Tour six months after giving birth. She is a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion.

Source: BBC

Source: BBC Sports