Freetown

Kei Kamara converted a penalty to take Sierra Leone to the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 1996 with a 1-0 win over Benin on Tuesday in a qualifier twice postponed due to a coronavirus tests drama.

The Africa Cup of Nations qualification encounter between Sierra Leone and Benin Republic will be played behind closed doors.

The Finnish court trying Sierra Leonean Gibril Massaquoi for war crimes allegedly committed in Liberia has delayed hearings by nearly two weeks because of acute illness of two of the four judges, including Presiding Judge Juhani Paiho.

President Muhammadu Buhari has parted ways with an influential Catholic cleric, who previously described Buhari as “messiah’’ because the president refused to give him a juicy contract.

President Muhammadu Buhari would be represented by his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, at Sierra Leone’s 60th Independence Day celebration taking place today in the country’s capital, Freetown.

Benin striker Steve Mounie has recalled the harrowing experience his team went through in Sierra Leone after he and four other top stars were reported to have tested positive for Coronavirus and as such were ruled out of a decisive AFCON qualifier in Freetown.

The Africa Cup of Nations tournament will be staged in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6 next year, a Confederation of African Football (CAF) official confirmed on Thursday.

The Sierra Leone Football Association has declared they will appeal against the decision of the Confederation of African Football to fix a new date for their clash against Benin Republic.

The Confederation of African Football has announced the postponed Africa Cup of Nations qualification encounter between Sierra Leone and Benin Republic will now take place during the June international window.

Each Benin player will receive a bonus of $30,000 if they stop hosts Sierra Leone tomorrow and qualify for the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, officials said.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles returned to Lagos yesterday from Benin Republic after their 0-1 win over the Squirrels that shot them to an unassailable 11 points in their 2021 AFCON qualifying group and looking forward to a colourful house party against the Crocodiles of Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos tomorrow.

Super Eagles returned to Lagos from Benin Republic on Sunday afternoon, savouring the victory over the Squirrels that shot them to an unassailable 11 points in their 2021 AFCON qualifying group and looking forward to a colourful house party against the Crocodiles of Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on Tuesday.

The victory stretched Nigeria’s tally in Group L to 11 points as they remain unbeaten after five matches, which leaves Benin and Sierra Leone to battle for the last qualifying ticket in the group in Tuesday’s crunch match in Freetown.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have qualified for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and kept up interest in Group L of the qualifiers after defeating hosts Benin Republic 1-0 at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto-Novo yesterday.

Super Eagles defender Ola Aina has declared that Nigeria won’t underrate Benin Republic when both side clash in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game on Saturday.

Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mohamed Tunis, has pleaded for prompt payment of Community Levy by Member States to finance projects across the sub-region.

Maduka Okoye insists the Super Eagles will go all out for the maximum six points against Benin Republic and Lesotho respectively.

In November, the Leone Stars staged a remarkable comeback by fighting back from four goals down to draw 4-4 with the Super Eagles in Benin City, while the return leg in Freetown a couple days later ended in a scoreless draw.

After casting itself as a fighter against corruption, Sierra Leone's government is under fire over allegations of irregular spending by its first lady and a senior minister.

Mike Nwankwo was on Friday sentenced after the sitting judge Mohamed Gwae found him guilty of attempting to smuggle 5,126 grams of heroin with the help of his girlfriend Mastura Makangoro to Freetown, Sierra Leone in February 2014.

The technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation, Austin Eguavoen, believes the Super Eagles need time to get back to their best.

Former Super Eagles winger Tijani Babangida has blamed Gernot Rohr for the national team’s poor form after ending the 2020 calendar year without a win.