January 31 – Mauritius has followed the lead of South Africa by becoming the second country to pull out of the ongoing Futsal Africa Cup of Nations being staged in Laayoune in the disputed region of Western Sahara.
January 29 – FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura is refusing to say whether her remit for getting African football’s house in order will continue after her six-month contract runs out on February 1.
By Osasu Obayiuwana
January 28 – The fight of Musa Bility, the former Liberia FA President, to overturn his 10-year FIFA ban, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), has taken a new turn, with both parties yet to agree on a hearing date for the appeal.
January 23 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has invited war-torn Libya to replace Tunisia in the upcoming African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals in Cameroon.
January 22 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has carried out the draw for African 2022 World Cup qualifiers but at the same time announced that matches will now not start for another nine months. The big news from the draw itself is that either Cameroon or Ivory Coast will not qualify for the Qatar World Cup after the teams were paired together.
Fouzi Lekjaa, the 49-year-old Director of National Budget in Morocco’s Ministry of Finance, wears a few important football hats. He’s President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) and second Vice-President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as well as being the Chairman of CAF’s Finance Committee. In an exclusive interview Lekjaa spoke to Osasu Obayiuwana
January 20 – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has come out fuming over the decision to move the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations to January, calling it a “catastrophe” for his club.
By Osasu Obayiuwana
January 17 – A leading figure at Lagardere Sport, the French sports marketing company, has told Insideworldfootball that his company is seeking up to $90 million in compensation from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), for breaking their 12-year marketing contract.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 16 – A host of European-based African stars look set to miss a crucial part of next season after it was announced that the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is reverting back to the competition’s traditional January slot.
January 16 – The disharmony within African football’s top brass has suffered another telling blow with South Africa boycotting this year’s Africa Futsal Cup of Nations to be hosted by Morocco.
By Osasu Obayiuwana
January 14 – Fouzi Lekjaa, second Vice-President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has told Insideworldfootball that the organisation has a minimum bank balance of $100 million and is far from broke, as has been alleged in recently months.
January 10 – The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has expressed interest in hosting this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after Congo-Brazaville withdrew from staging the tournament.
January 9 – Senegal’s Sadio Mane has apologised for not visiting his homeland before returning to Liverpool after being named African Player of the Year.
January 9 – Liverpool and Senegal’s Sadio Mane – in what is a rare reversal of awards fortune – came out on top of Egyptian and club team mate Mo Salah to win the African men’s player of the year award for 2019. Nigerian and Barcelona forward Asisat Oshoala took the African women’s player of the year.
January 8 – George Weah, Liberia’s most decorated player who now runs the country, is facing the biggest crisis of either his footballing or political career.