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FIFA clears 2 recruits for Congo to play in African qualifying playoffs

ZURICH: FIFA approved two soccer players to change national eligibility to Congo from Belgium ahead of 2026 World Cup qualifying playoffs for Africa starting Thursday. Celtic forward Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Standard Liege goalkeeper Matthieu Epolo are now available to play for Congo against Cameroon in a playoffs semifinal. Both players have Congolese family ties and were born in Belgium. They represented Belgium at youth and Under-21 level though not the senior national team, which let FIFA approve the changes. FIFA said Epolo’s move was approved Wednesday and Balikwisha was cleared Tuesday. The winner of Congo vs.

Turkiye imposes bans on 102 players in gambling probe

ANKARA: Turkiye’s football federation (TFF) on Thursday imposed bans of various lengths against 102 players from its league’s top two tiers as part of a probe into alleged betting on matches, with Galatasaray’s Eren Elmali and Metehan Baltaci among those sanctioned. Earlier this month, the TFF suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after an investigation found that officials working in the country’s professional leagues were betting on football matches. The probe widened on Monday with the arrest of eight people, including the chairman of a top-tier club, and the suspension of 1,024 players from all leagues as the investigation continues. Matches in the second and third-tier leagues were also suspended for two weeks. In a statement, the TFF’s Professional Football Disciplinary Council (PFDK) announced the bans that local media said involved 25 players from the top-tier Super Lig and 77 players from the second tier. Under the measure, the PFDK imposed bans of 45 days and nine months on Elmali and Baltaci, respectively.

Nigeria players end bonus dispute ahead of key World Cup qualifier

Nigeria’s players are fully focused on their 2026 FIFA World Cup African Qualifier playoff against Gabon on Thursday after resolution of a dispute over bonuses that led to a boycott of training, according to captain William Troost-Ekong.

Cameroon World Cup hopes hit by injury blows

RABAT :Cameroon have been hit by two major injury blows, and face a possible third ahead of Thursday’s World Cup playoff against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gabon’s Aubameyang carries hopes of World Cup playoff underdogs

RABAT: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could crown a chequered international career with success in the African World Cup playoff in Morocco this week but Gabon are very much the outsiders as four countries look to keep alive hopes of making next year’s finals. Gabon meet Nigeria in Rabat on Thursday, followed by a clash between Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in a playoff tournament for the four best runners-up across the nine already-concluded African qualifying groups. The nine winners are automatically through to next year’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the US but this week’s mini-tournament offers the possibility of a 10th representative for the continent. Thursday’s two winners will meet in a final on Sunday to determine the African side that advances to the inter-continental playoff in March, where the last places for the 48-team World Cup will be determined. French-born Aubameyang won the African Footballer of the Year award 10 years ago on the back of his scoring exploits with Borussia Dortmund and has been Gabon’s talisman since his first cap in 2009 but never able to steer his country to international success despite them twice hosting the Africa Cup of Nations. The 36-year-old’s 80-cap tally might have been substantially higher had he not clashed with administrators and coaches and more than once temporarily retired from international football

Gabon's Aubameyang carries hopes of World Cup playoff underdogs

RABAT :Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could crown a chequered international career with success in the African World Cup playoff in Morocco this week but Gabon are very much the outsiders as four countries look to keep alive hopes of making next year’s finals.

Canadian teen sensation Mboko makes top-20 debut in rookie season

The tennis world took notice when Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko won the Montreal title in August with victories over four Grand Slam champions along the way, and the Serena Williams comparisons were not far behind.

African World Cup playoffs to be held in Rabat

CAIRO: Morocco’s capital Rabat will host next month’s African World Cup playoffs, using three different stadiums for the three matches, the Confederation of African Football said on Wednesday. Nigeria take on Gabon on November 13 at 1600GMT, followed by Cameroon against the Democratic Republic of Congo at 1900 GMT. A draw, to be held on Thursday, will decide which game is played at the Stade El Barid and which will go ahead at Prince Heritier Moulay El Hassan Sports Complex. The semifinal winners then meet in a deciding game on November 16 at the Stade Prince Heritier Moulay Abdellah with the winners advancing to the inter-continental playoffs in March. Nine African teams have already qualified for the World Cup, each finishing top of their groups, and the March playoff will decide the continent’s 10th representatives at next year’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the US The four teams in the November playoffs were the best runners-up across the nine African qualifying groups. Four different stadiums in Rabat will be used at the Africa Cup of Nations finals, which start on December 21.

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Congo Sport News

FIFA clears 2 recruits for Congo to play in African qualifying playoffs

Turkiye imposes bans on 102 players in gambling probe

Nigeria players end bonus dispute ahead of key World Cup qualifier

Cameroon World Cup hopes hit by injury blows

Gabon’s Aubameyang carries hopes of World Cup playoff underdogs

Gabon's Aubameyang carries hopes of World Cup playoff underdogs

Canadian teen sensation Mboko makes top-20 debut in rookie season

African World Cup playoffs to be held in Rabat