Sports
FIFA Club World Cup trophy complete three-nation African tour
As part of the build-up for the novelty FIFA Club World Cup, the glittering trophy has made a stopover in three African countries namely South Africa, Egypt and Tunisia towards whipping up enthusiasm and interest for the new competition.
The trophy was hosted by the representative clubs of each of the three countries – Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Al Ahly (Egypt) and Esperance Sportive de Tunis (Egypt) – giving their fans and followers of the game in their cities and the country at large, to have a feel of the trophy.
Accompanied by a distinguished FIFA Legend, the beautifully designed 10-Kg gold plated shield, was received to a rapturous welcome in the cities of Pretoria, Cairo and Tunis as fans anxiously awaited the competition that puts together the best 32-clubs in the world.
The first stop was in Pretoria from 7-9 February making stops at the Mamelodi High School, birthplace of Sundowns, where the entire student population erupted into ecstasy upon the sight of the glittering trophy.
The trophy was later felt by staff of the Tshwane Mayor Offices before terminating at the Sammy Marks Square where fans had the opportunity to take photos with the trophy and FIFA legend, Italy FIFA World Cup winner, Alessandro Nesta and Sundowns legends such as former captain Hlompho Kekana, Tiyani Mabunda and legendary goalscorer Daniel Mudau.
“This trophy is a celebration of hope, pride and excellence. Today, we are not celebrating Sundowns going to the FIFA Club World Cup; we are celebrating the FIFA Club World Cup coming to Africa. We are excited to be part of this tournament and we can’t wait for the journey to begin,”Sundowns Chairman Tlhopane Motsepe said at a press conference.
The Brazilians as Sundowns are nicknamed are housed in Group F alongside Fluminense (Brazil), Borussia Dortmund (Germany) and Ulsan (South Korea).
From Pretoria, accompanied by FIFA legend Christian Vieri, the trophy headed for the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and the first stop was the iconic El Tetsh Stadium, the training grounds of current African champions Ahly. Later, the next stop was the Pyramids of Giza and the Egyptian Museum and finally the ancient city of Luxor between 13 and 14 February.
Housed in Group A alongside host Inter Miami who have the legendary Lionel Messi on their books, Porto (Portugal) and Palmeiras (Brazil), Ahly coach Marcel Koller is already looking forward to the opening game against Messi and his teammates.
“We are looking forward to the game against Inter Miami with Messi (14 June 2025 in Miami). I’m looking forward to the match and I believe my players are too and will go all out to do their best.”
From 15-17 February, the trophy made its final stop in Tunis accompanied by France World Cup-winning midfielder Christian Karembeu.
Welcomed by hundreds of Esperance fans clad in their famous yellow and red colours, the trophy was unveiled at the popular Al Zaytuna Mosque, Bab Souika, one of the gates of the Medina in Tunis and finally El Jem Amphitheatre, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Four-time African champions, Esperance will open their Group D campaign against Flamengo of Brazil on 16 June before wrapping up against Leon (Mexico) and Chelsea on 20 June and four days later.
Meanwhile, the final lap of the FIFA Club World Cup trophy in Africa will be in Casablanca, Morocco next April, home to Wydad Athletic Club. The Moroccans are housed in Group G alongside Manchester City (England), Al Ain (United Arab Emirates) and Juventus (Italy).
The tour will see the trophy make stops in the city of each of the 32 participating clubs in the biggest global club competition, scheduled for June 14 to July 13, 2025, in the United States.
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
