MAX SPORTS: Dakar

Showing posts with label Dakar. Show all posts

Wednesday, 19 August 2026

PATRICK VIEIRA TAKES OVER AS HEAD COACH OF SENEGAL'S TERANGA LIONS

Former Arsenal and France Captain, Patrick Vieira, has been appointed as the new head coach of the Senegal men’s national team.

The 50‑year‑old replaces Pape Thiaw, who was sacked in the wake of the country’s last‑32 exit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Born in Senegal’s capital Dakar, Vieira will now manage the country of his birth, having moved to France aged eight before later winning over 100 caps for Les Bleus and lifting the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.

Senegal’s football federation (FSF) said the appointment of Vieira reflects its “desire to strengthen its high-level technical staff” and is “perfectly aligned” with the nation’s sporting ambitions.

Details of Vieria’s contract and his starting date in the role are still being discussed.

His first matches in charge of the Teranga Lions are expected to come next month in qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Vieira joins the West Africans after he left his role as Genoa head coach by mutual consent last November, with the team bottom of Serie A.

He won eight and drew nine of his 26 games during the 2024-25 season to guide the Italian club to safety and a 13th-place finish.

However, he left the club after managing just two wins in 25-26, with both of those victories coming in the Coppa Italia.

During his playing career, midfielder Vieira won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups at Arsenal, as well as silverware with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Manchester City.

He retired in 2011 and became the manager of New York City in 2016 before returning to Europe with Nice and leading them to seventh in Ligue 1 in his first season.

Vieira was sacked in December 2020 and became Crystal Palace manager the following year, guiding the Eagles to 12th in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals in 2021-22.

He was dismissed in March 2023 after a 12-game winless run, before joining RC Strasbourg as their first appointment following a takeover by BlueCo, the company which owns Chelsea. He left Strasbourg by mutual consent in July 2024.

His predecessor Thiaw was at the centre of controversy in January when he ushered his Senegal team off the field when Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty in the 2025 AFCON final.

- ThisDayLive

Friday, 21 November 2025

KENYA RESETS YOUTH AGE BRACKET AS NDATHA PLOTS DIRECT PATH TO DAKAR AHEAD OF DEVELOPMENT CUP

In Summary

He said the move ensures Kenya’s juniors enter the global cycle properly classified, as the country heads into the decisive World Triathlon Development Regional Cup.

The event in Kilifi is set for November 22–23, 2025, creating a direct pathway for athletes eyeing Dakar qualification.

Kenya has formally recalibrated its youth age bracket to 15–17 years to align with the eligibility standards for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, a strategic shift confirmed by national coach David Ndatha.

The move ensures Kenyan juniors enter the global cycle properly classified, as the country heads into the decisive World Triathlon Development Regional Cup.

The event in Kilifi is set for November 22–23, creating a direct pathway for athletes eyeing Dakar qualification.

Ndatha said the adjustment was overdue and came after benchmarking with World Triathlon’s roadmap.

He noted that Kenya’s juniors must now compete and be developed within the Dakar-specific age band.

The Kilifi race provides the first real test of how the revamped structure competes against continental peers.

The Development Regional Cup, sanctioned by World Triathlon and reserved strictly for athletes from “developing federations,” will bring together competitors from 10 African federations.

Kenya is expected to showcase a strengthened youth squad now streamlined to fit Olympic requirements, as the event’s course at Silver Palm Spa & Resort underwent final inspections.

This was in readiness for two days of sprint-format racing under global technical protocols.

Triathlon Kenya’s secretary general, Salonika Ole Koyiet, reinforced the long-term vision by noting that youth development sits at the centre of the federation’s strategic build-up toward both Dakar 2026.

He said it is a push for Kenya’s first-ever Olympic Games triathlon appearance in 2028, adding that hosting Kilifi’s regional edition offers the country invaluable exposure to advanced officiating systems, data-driven analysis, and higher field density.

“This shift gives our juniors a real pathway because the Youth Olympics are the first door, and from there we are targeting Kenya’s first-ever Olympic Games triathlon appearance in 2028,” Ole said.

He added: “hosting the Kilifi Regional Cup gives us exposure to advanced officiating systems, data-driven analysis and deeper race fields, which are exactly the conditions our athletes must learn to navigate.”

Kenya readies its juniors to race opponents from Tunisia, Egypt, South Africa, Ghana and other African programmes that have historically dominated early development categories.

The federations confirmed arrival schedules, with athletes expected to benefit from a competition environment that mirrors World Triathlon standards.

This will enable Kenya to stress-test its youth development pipeline under Olympic-aligned conditions, as the Development Regional Cup launches the country’s next generation directly into the qualification pathway toward Dakar 2026.

- CHARLENE MALWA

Tuesday, 10 December 2024

IVORY COAST VS. GHANA | 1992 AFCON

Ghana's black stars stand in skipper Tonny Baffoe, and his ivorian counterpart St-Joseph Gadji Celi observes pleasantries exchange tradition before kick of the Afcon 1992 final match in a sold out De l' Amitie Stadium, Dakar, Senegal.

Ivory Coast edged out Ayew less Ghana 11-10, in a marathon post match spot kicks after a goalless stalemate to bag home their first continental championship title.

The famed shootout notably stood loud as it was the first time every player in the field participated in a major international final.

The longest penalty shootout in the history of the Afcon championship would coincidentally, much later on involve the same Ivory Coast against Cameroon in Egypt 2006 quarter final duel where it took a total of 23 shots before Didier Drogba inspired Cote d' ivoire saw off the stubborn indomitable lions.

- Philip Muhama

Friday, 19 January 2024

AUDI'S SAINZ WINS DAKAR RALLY FOR A FOURTH TIME AT 61

Reuters

Spaniard Carlos Sainz, 61-year-old father of the namesake Ferrari Formula One driver, won the Dakar Rally for the fourth time in Saudi Arabia on Friday with Audi taking a first title in the car category.

American Honda rider Ricky Brabec won the motorcycling category for the second time in the 46th edition of the gruelling two-week race.

Sainz finished the 12th and final stage in Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast, with a lead of one hour 20 minutes and 25 seconds over Belgian Guillaume de Mevius for Overdrive Toyota with France's Sebastien Loeb third.