Da Ole Sports Emperor Barry Maughan, who had a royal reign on our Voice of America airwaves before retiring in 1999, recently returned to our VOA studios here in Washington, D.C. Da Emperor describes himself as “a mountain man now.” He and his wife, Suzanne, are living in the mountains of western North Carolina, after more than a decade on the road with “the Emperor’s entourage.”
Da Emperor loves Vegemite on toast
While Vegemite remains a staple of Barry’s diet, he credits regular gym workouts with helping him lose 20 pounds and he says at 70, he feels great and he still has a great love of African sports.
Da Ole Sports Emperor says he’s closely following the action at the 28th Africa Cup of Nations football tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Barry says the absence of such traditional African football powers as Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa and three-time defending champion Egypt is “great for African soccer.”
He says the performance of co-hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, which both have reached the Nations Cup quarterfinals, is proof that some of “the minnows in African football” have improved and the overall quality of African soccer is on the rise.
VOA listener Joshua Zenith called on Barry to predict the winner of this year’s Nations Cup competition, which ends February 12 in Libreville, Gabon. Da Ole Sports Emperor says he’s tipping Ghana to lift the Cup for the first time in 30 years.
Black Stars Beat The Drums At Nations Cup
Akwei Thompson
In my last blog post, I highlighted a couple of music videos celebrating the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
My VOA colleague Akwei Thompson, a big fan of The Black Stars of Ghana, reminded me the players are also generating some of the music. Akwei shared this Black Stars video with me.
The Black Stars sang and beat the drums before beating Nations Cup debutante Botswana, 1-0, in their opening match in Franceville, Gabon.
I don’t think Akwei and other Black Stars fans were singing much, though, when Ghana
Red card for John Mensah
captain John Mensah was red-carded and sent off the pitch, after scoring the goal against
Botswana.
Mensah also injured his left leg in the match and will miss Ghana’s next two Nations Cup games against Mali and Guinea. Ghanaian star Asamoah Gyan says Mensah is an important player, but the Black Stars have the depth to overcome his absence in their bid to win their first Nations Cup trophy in 30 years.
African Songs Celebrate Nations Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup football tournament in South Africa was not only a sporting event, but also a musical event, and music will once again have soccer fans singing and dancing during the Nations Cup tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Let’s look and listen to a couple of music videos linked to the 16-team African football fiesta, which kicks off January 21. First up is “Africa Shootez Ballon,” by Jon Loo K, of Libreville, Gabon, where the Nations Cup final will be held February 12. It’s described as the official song of the Nations Cup mascot, a large gorilla named “Gaguie.”
Meanwhile, a song by the Togolese duo Toofan celebrating the Nations Cup is fast becoming the unofficial anthem of the tournament. It’s called “Africa Hoyee.”
One of Toofan’s members, Barabas, says the idea was to make a song that united fans all across Africa.
“In order to get everyone in the football mood, we had to start from the ground,” says Barabas, “because not everyone is a football player and not everyone can relate to this piece of music. That’s why we didn’t just do a song with football stars,” he said. “That’s why in the song we featured children, in a ghetto setting, to show people that in Africa, football comes from the streets first.”
Burkinabe Teenager Traore Goes To Nations Cup
Bertrand Traore
The youngest player at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations football tournament will be Bertrand Traore, a 16-year-old midfielder for Chelsea and Burkina Faso. If he sees action during the competition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, Traore will become the third youngest player ever at African football’s premier event.
The record is held by Gabon’s Shiva Star Nzigou, who was 16 years and almost three months old when he played against South Africa at the 2000 Nations Cup in Ghana. The second youngest is Mohammed Kallon, who came on as a substitute and scored one of his country’s two goals in Sierra Leone’s 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso at the 1996 Nations Cup in South Africa.
Bertrand Traore joined Chelsea’s youth academy in England after an impressive performance
Traore in action for Chelsea's youth team
at the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria, where Burkina Faso reached the knockout Round of 16, before losing to Spain, 4-1.
Traore has yet to play a match with Chelsea’s senior club, The Blues, but there’s a good chance at the Nations Cup he’ll play against Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, because Burkina Faso’s second match is against Ivory Coast January 26 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
The Stallions of Burkina Faso made their best Nations Cup showing at the 1998 tournament, which they hosted and where they reached the semifinals. Bertrand Traore’s older brother, 23-year-old Alain, a striker for the French club Auxerre, has also been included on Burkina Faso’s Nations Cup team.
Africa Cup of Nations Kicks Off January 21
African football fans are looking forward to the 28th edition of the continent’s premier event, the Nations Cup tournament. The 16-team competition will see a new African champion crowned on February 12, when the final is held in Libreville, Gabon.
The Pharaohs of Egypt, the three-time defending African champions, did not qualify for the African soccer tournament, which officially kicks off January 21 with two matches in Bata, Equatorial Guinea. Equatorial Guinea will host Libya in the opening game, and that will be followed by a match between Senegal and Zambia.
In addition to the Egyptians, three other traditional powers in African football – Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa – also failed to qualify for the Nations Cup, perhaps an indication that African soccer is on the rise and new players and teams are
ready for the spotlight.
The 2012 tournament will feature three teams that are making their Nations Cup debuts – Botswana, Niger and co-host Equatorial Guinea. All three are expected to have a hard time advancing out of the first round group stage.
Ivory Coast has several star players based in England, including Didier Drogba of Chelsea and Yaya Toure of Manchester City. Drogba is a two-time African Footballer of the Year (2006, 2009), while Toure recently won the 2011 award in Accra, Ghana.
Deng Delivers In Big Olympic Year
It’s a big year for Sudan-born star Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls, one of the favorites for the National Basketball Association title. On Tuesday night, Deng scored on a layup with about four seconds left in the game to lift the Bulls to a 76-74 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Luol Deng finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in the game against the Hawks, another excellent all-around performance for the 26-year-old forward, who is focusing not just on the NBA season, but also on this year’s Olympic men’s basketball tournament in London.
Luol Deng
Deng moved to England with his family when he was a boy and has both British and South Sudanese citizenship. He has represented Britain at both the youth level and the senior level in international competition, and he will play for host Britain once again at the 2012 Olympics, which officially open July 27 in London.
The Olympic men’s basketball tournament will feature 12 teams. The United States, the
Mike Krzyzewski
defending world and Olympic champion, is led by Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, who guided Luol Deng for one season at Duke University in North Carolina.
After that one year of college basketball, Deng decided to turn professional in 2004. He’s developed into one of Chicago’s most consistent players, averaging more than 16 points and six rebounds a game in his first seven NBA seasons.
With the Bulls expected to challenge for the NBA title and his home country of Britain hosting the Olympics, 2012 could be Luol Deng’s most memorable basketball year yet.
says the absence of such traditional African football powers as Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa and three-time defending champion Egypt is “great for African soccer.”
Traore has yet to play a match with Chelsea’s senior club, The Blues, but there’s a good chance at the Nations Cup he’ll play against Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, because Burkina Faso’s second match is against Ivory Coast January 26 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
African football fans are looking forward to the 28th edition of the continent’s premier event, the Nations Cup tournament. The 16-team competition will see a new African champion crowned on February 12, when the final is held in Libreville, Gabon.
