Former Japan international Shunsuke Nakamura currently plies his trade for J.League club Yokohama F. Marinos, but despite a fairly successful career for a number of clubs and his country, the renowned free-kick specialist still likes to put in some target practice, with public transportation on live TV being his method of choice…

EQG 2-1 SEN

Bata

Senegal, one of the pre-tournament favourites, have become a surprise first nation to be eliminated from the 2012 African Cup of Nations, after a stunning late defeat to lowest-ranked co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, who have become the first side into the Quarter-Finals.

In a match which was delayed by 75 minutes due to very heavy rain earlier in the day (which was following the delay of the earlier Libya-Zambia match originally affected (which ended 2-2)) in Bata (Equatorial Guinea), a Senegal side with plenty of well-known attacking talent could not find many breakthroughs.

However, it was the Equatorial Guineans who found the first goal, with a header from Randy (62′) breaking the deadlock, and though Senegal found a late equaliser with Moussa Sow’s volleyed tap-in (89′), the drama was not over yet, as a long-range shot from Kily Alvarez (90+4′) was enough to give Equatorial Guinea their second win in as many games, despite a 97th-minute red card for defender Laurence Doe, adding a further dose of drama, if it was ever needed.

Equatorial Guinea now face Zambia in their last Group A match before the knockout stage, hoping to seal top spot in the group. Meanwhile, Libya will be hoping for the co-hosts to do them a favour, as they require both themselves (against Senegal) and Equatorial Guinea to win in order to make it through at Zambia’s expense, while Senegal will just be playing for pride. Who will get the results that they want come Sunday?

GHA 1-0 BOT

Franceville

Botswana’s African Cup of Nations debut got off on a bit of a damp note as they lost 1-0 to Ghana, one of the pre-tournament favourites.

The Group D match in Franceville only saw 1 goal, with Ghana captain John Mensah scoring a tap-in following a corner kick (25′), and while Botswana maintained a solid structure and strong effort, they could not find an equaliser, meaning that they have it all to do in their two remaining fixtures.

Those matches will be up against Guinea and Mali, who faced each other later yesterday evening, with the Malians also taking a 1-0 win thanks to a first-half strike from Bakaye Traore. Today now sees the 16 nations involved play their second matches (starting with Group A today), and with some teams now able to get eliminated from the tournament with a defeat, who will be the first to go?

EQG 1-0 LBY

Bata

The opening match of the 2012 African Cup of Nations had arguably seen its first surprise result, as 151st-ranked co-hosts Equatorial Guinea scored late on to beat a resurgent Libya side in Bata (Equatorial Guinea)on Saturday evening.

After an opening ceremony and an interlude of speeches from dignitaries, tournament debutants Equatorial Guinea kicked off the tournament with a fairly level match, and while both countries had opportunities, it was the Equatoguineans that took a lead near the end when Javier Balboa ran onto a through-ball to convert a shot and send the ‘home’ crowd into a frenzy (87′).

Following that opening match, 5 further fixtures of the scheduled 32 have been fulfilled, with results of SEN 1-2 ZAM (Group A), CIV 1-0 SUD, BFA 1-2 ANG (Group B), GAB 2-0 NIG, MAR 1-2 TUN (Group C).

In other news, Sao Tome and Principe have progressed from the Preliminary Round of Qualification to the 2013 tournament in South Africa, after a 0-0 draw away to Lesotho was enough to see them through on aggregate after a 1-0 home win the week before (they now face Sierra Leone in the First Round). For the record, the identity of Sao Tome and Principe’s first-leg goalscorer was finally discovered by the internet community during the week, noted as Jair Nunes (3′p), who is now listed as the 2013 Qualification Tournament’s leading (and only) goalscorer.

As Ghana, Botswana, Mali, and Guinea prepare to launch their 2012 tournament finals campaigns in Franceville (Gabon) today, will Group D throw in some more head-turning results to add to its first one?

This goal from the Faroe Islands Premier League in the 2008 season was scored by B36 Torshavn’s Jakup a Borg, with a little help from a Faroese wind…

This video documents an amazingly long-standing annual tradition revolving around a single header by Aldo Hoy for Argentinan club Rosario Central in 1971, leading to what has been dubbed the longest active celebration of a goal in history…

RUS BAN 6-1 SWE BAN

The lesser-known winter sport of bandy prepares for its best international sides to contest the annual FIB World Championships next week (in Kazakhstan), in a discipline which could be considered a ‘hybrid’ of football and ice hockey, with many of the rules stemming from the former (e.g. ‘pitch’ size, using a ball, 11 on-pitch players, goalkeeper rules, etc.), which has led the sport to be dubbed ‘football of the winter’.

Like the relationship futsal has to football, bandy’s FIB also commissions an official ‘small-sided’ version (‘rink bandy’) in a display which further seems to cement the similarities.

In the world of bandy, which is considerably smaller than that of football (with 28 registered national FIB federations, with only 15 of those offering an ‘active’ men’s national team), Russia, Sweden, and Finland are generally seen as by far the most successful nations, with the former two regularly contesting the World Championships final, as seen in the 2008 tournament hosted by Russia:

St Lawrence Bay

This latest FRG release sees some new names added to the FRG Approved Nations List , in a bid to display more nations and territories that we feel should be capable of organising a more recognised national team and footballing structure if not already in place (should the opportunity arise).

This addition process to the list was completed through scrutiny of names on the FRG Pending Nations List, comparing political and footballing scenarios (where possible) to that of similar ‘cases’. While some names that have not been listed might feature similarities to those put into the update, it is generally a matter of being a case-by-case review, with those (similar entries) that did not get listed this time around still ‘on the cusp’ of investigation for the next time new names are considered for the ANL.

Spanning 3 different continents, the 7 new additions, bringing the FRG ANL to a current total of 268 names, can be seen below:

FRG Approved Nations List (additions for 20 January 2012):

Europe
HELIGOLAND (HLI)
ORKNEY ISLANDS (ORK)
SHETLAND ISLANDS (SHE)
SVALBARD (SVA)
YVETOT (YVE)

Asia
TIBET (TIB)

Africa
HALA’IB TRIANGLE (HAL)

WREXHAM 1-1p BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION

Brighton will play host to Newcastle United in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, after scraping past 5th-tier side Wrexham on penalties.

After a 1-1 draw in the original fixture, it was the expatriate Welsh club (who are currently leading the Blue Square Conference Premier) who took the initiative in this replay, finding a majority of the chances, and taking one when player-manager Andy Morell curled in a well-placed shot from just outside the box (23′). However, the second half would see Brighton level fairly late on, when Ashley Barnes’ header found the back of the net (77′).

In extra-time, it was arguably Wrexham again who had the measure of the game, but could not take advantage of some good opportunities, and with the sides still unseparated, it went to a penalty shoot-out. Brighton keeper Peter Brezovan was the hero, saving Wrexham’s first kick (from Dean Keates), and with every other effort of the shoot-out converted, it was left to Craig Makail-Smith to blast in the winner for a 5-4 penalties win, although it could be considered quite lucky for Brighton considering they drew both the original game and the replay 1-1 to the underdogs.

Morrell said of Wrexham’s efforts: “The lads were absolutely fantastic today and they deserve all the credit that they get and on another day we might have nicked it as well. It wasn’t to be, but I am so proud. We had the better chances I think, but I am not going to sit here and complain.”

While Wrexham contemplate what might have been, Newcastle fans can now schedule a trip to Brighton for 9 day’s time. How many Geordies will make a near-complete North-South journey of England?

The All-Indian Football Federation (AIFF) have this week unveiled plans for a separate football league competition that will last for six weeks between February and April (probably at the same dates each year), drawing inspiration from the MLS (in USA) and cricket’s ‘Indian Premier League’.

The project, currently known as Premier League Soccer (PLS) under a 30-year arrangement between AIFF and organisers ‘Celebrity Management Group’ (CMG), is set to begin its first season with six clubs based in and around the city of Kolkata [/Calcutta], while there are plans to expand the league to other areas of the country in the coming years.

The life of the league will begin with the new teams meeting in Kolkata to ‘auction’ for a host of free agent players and coaches that have agreed to participate for one of the Indian clubs for the duration of the competition, with players from both India and abroad.

While there are rules in place against having too many foreigners in a squad, the auction will permit each club at least one of the 7 identified ‘icon’ players (similar to an MLS or A-League marquee signing). The icon group of players has already been confirmed, though, and features Fabio Cannavaro, Robert Pires, Robbie Fowler, Jay-Jay Okocha, Fernando Morientes, Maniche, and Hernan Crespo.

Coaches that have declared their interest for inclusion include Peter Reid, John Barnes, Colin Todd, Marco Etcheverry, Teitur Thodarson, Samson Siasia, Milos Rus, and Fernando Couto.

CMG executive director Bhaswar Goswami explained the auction process: “We have signed seven ‘icon’ players for the auction and each of the six teams will have one such player with a $600,000 salary cap. Every team will have $2.5 million to spend in the first year. They will have a maximum of four foreigners and a compulsory six under-21 Indian players in their squad. The format will ensure that our players get to interact with top players and coaches, which will help rejuvenate our own football.”

A further requirement for the teams is that they will enter appropriate youth teams to play in PSL age-group leagues (at under-19, under-16, and under-13 level). It is thought that the league could be the key to inciting greater interest in football in the densely-populated country, as well as promoting local football talent. The format of the competition itself is currently uncertain.

Pires said of the opportunity to play in India: “Since I had nothing in Europe, why not try something completely unknown? I’ve never been over there. I am proud to be the first Frenchman to go and play there. And eight weeks is nothing. If my (club) president likes me, it could be €790,000. It is a lot of money. I’m not going to complain about that am I? But I’m not going there as a tourist. It’s a new adventure.”

One thing that seems to be certain is that the competition will be stand-alone from India’s current league structure (led by the top-tier I-League, which will be in-season at the same time as the PLS), and is in place as a platform for an alternative contest for new clubs.

While the PLS may not be too similar to anything the football world has seen before, it will be an interesting (if slightly alternative) experiment, but will the format fare well?