adminZIMBABWE international forward Edward Sadomba’s season, for this year, has come to an end, just a month after extending his deal to stay at Ahly Benghazi.
Sadomba’s team failed in their bid to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League after finishing third on the table on four points, losing their final match 0-1 to CS Sfaxien.
Now, the Federation of Libyan Football have announced the postponement of the domestic league until January 2015 following ongoing armed violence in the North African country.
The new season was supposed to commence in August but fighting between rebel factions in the capital Tripoli and Benghazi have made arrangements impossible, according to the FA. The general assembly of the body set for August 18 in Bayda, eastern Libya, has also been suspended until further notice.
Plans were underway to build on Libya’s recent success at the African Nations Championship, won by the Mediterranean Knights earlier this year in South Africa.
Libya were knocked out in the first round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers by Rwanda on a 3-0 aggregate.
Sadomba prolonged his stay at that country’s champions Al Ahly Benghazi in July until the end of the year.
But he won’t be in action anymore.
The 30-year-old Zimbabwe international had been a hit with Ahly Benghazi and by the time his initial contract expired at the start of last month, he had grabbed 15 league goals and, crucially, also led the North Africans’ quest for glory by firing them in to the Group stage of Africa’s biggest inter-club knock-out competition.
But because his contract had expired, Sadomba missed Ahly Bengazi’s important Group B clash with Entente Setif of Algeria, which ended in a 1-1 draw in Setif.
There were genuine fears within the Ahly Benghazi ranks, however, that Sadomba could have been snapped up by other teams amid indications that such clubs like Etoile Du Sahel of Tunisia, and teams from Qatar and Saudi Arabia are interested in the player.
Even his former club — Al Hilal — were reportedly still keen on luring Sadomba back to Khartoum while Egyptian giants and regular Champions League campaigners Al Ahly still retain considerable interest in the former Dynamos hitman.
Meanwhile, the South African men’s Under-20 national team will be gunning for victory against Cameroon in their 2015 African Youth Championship first-leg qualifier today, according to coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba. “We are going for nothing but a win,” said Mashaba yesterday.
“If we can score two goals we will be comfortable, but if it doesn’t happen even one goal will help us. Then we can consolidate at home.”
The match is scheduled to be played at 3pm (South African time) at the Stade Omnisports Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
The second leg will be played in Polokwane on August 31.
Mashaba said he would adopt an offensive approach against Cameroon. “The best form of defence is to attack, so we have to both defend and attack.
“If you are going to sit back, you are inviting trouble for yourself as they will try to catch us on the breaks.
“So our boys will have to be spot-on in terms of decision-making, especially in the first 10 or 20 minutes of the match, as that will be very crucial.”
The players would know what to expect from Cameroon, said Mashaba. “Fortunately, we have played them before with our Under-23 team, so we know what to expect.
“They are big boys, very strong. They like to play balls behind the defence, so we need to guard against that.”
Lesotho yesterday pulled out of this weekend’s final 2015 African Youth Championship qualifier against Nigeria because of concerns about an outbreak of Ebola in the country.
“We have contacted the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and copied the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that we will not be coming for this game,” said Lesotho Football Federation official Limtho Mokhethi.
The Senegalese officials appointed for the Under-20 game have already arrived in the northern Nigeria city of Kaduna, where the match was to have been played.
African football’s governing body CAF will now have to decide on the overall winners of the final qualifier, as a second leg in Lesotho is not expected to take place.
The 2015 African Youth Championship will be played in Senegal from March 8. — Sports Reporter/SuperSport.
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