Search: 'Gabon'

Dermot Corrigan tells of how a player more used to scoring in Drogheda and Derry made his full international debut in Tripoli

On the first weekend in June, most Irish football eyes were fixed on Macedonia, where the Republic of Ireland won 2-0 in a Euro 2012 qualifier. One head though – that of Dublin-born Eamon Zayed – was more interested in Group C of the African Cup of Nations qualifiers, where his Libyan team drew 1-1 away to the Comoros Islands to remain in the hunt for a place at next year’s finals.

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Henrik Manninen reports on how a side in Lapland have benefited from a long-established relationship with Zambia

In January 1994, two Zambian footballers touched down at the Arctic Circle for a trial with Finnish side RoPS. Returning home after two weeks in the snow and freezing conditions of Rovaniemi few expected this to be the start of a partnership that is stronger than ever today.

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Jonathan Wilson reports from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations where he found the football disappointing but the organisation worse

Remember 1990? Remember Cameroon capping a decade of African development by pushing England to the limit in the World Cup quarter-final? Remember the general assumption that African football was emerging into the mainstream and that African nations would soon be challenging for the tournament on a regular basis? Since then, despite the increasing prevalence of African players at top club sides, more teams from the Asian confederation have reached the last eight than from Africa.

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Filippo Ricci tells his story of mistaken identity and the search for an elusive sticker

I have always had a love-hate relationship with picture cards. Despite many attempts, I never managed to finish a single football collection. I’ve always felt a bit ashamed of myself because of that.

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Burkina Faso staged the recent African Nations Cup. Piers Edwards reviews all the action from the thrilling yet controversial tournament

Burkina ’98 was the most successful ever African Nations Cup according to those who had attended previous championships, with the friendly Burkinabe proving far more receptive to the tournament than the South Africans had been two years earlier.

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