African Sports Monthly Magazine: January 2013 issue

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African Sports Monthly Website: - www.africansportsmonthly.com Chairman/CEO Editor in Chief Creative Director

Leslie Koroma

Leslie Koroma Leslie Koroma

Editorial Business Kingsley Kobo

CEO/Publisher- Leslie Koroma

Muctaru Wurie

Editor in Chief – Kingsley Kobo

Arts and Design

Leslie Koroma

Contributing Writers Abdulai Mansaray Annimari Korte – London, UK Anephowose George—Lagos , Nigeria

Executive Staff Leslie Koroma Chairman/CEO Mariatu Thullah - Marketing and Sales Officer

Ayodele Odumade – London UK Thomas Meinders – Chief of Bureau – Europe Prince Duwai– London, UK

Sahr Morris Jnr – Chief of Bureau – Africa

Muctaru Wurie – Georgia, USA Thomas Meinders - Germany Kingsley Kobo – Accra Ghana Leslie Koroma – Texas USA Sahr Morris Jr - Freetown , Sierra Leone Saiid Tejan-Kamara

Marketing Chief Communications Officer – Muctaru Wurie Chairman and/ CEO – Leslie Koroma

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The embattled sport of Cricket is making a comeback in the west African state of Sierra Leone gradually with the help of some good samaritans ‌. See article on P.67

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A look back at Football in 2012

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Sports and Economics Part I

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Sports Talk by Ayodele Odumade

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African Sports Personality of the year Profiles

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News from December 2012

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Prince Duwai looks at Functional Movement

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A Look back at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games

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A Conversation with NFL Star Amobi Okoye

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Yohan Blake on a crusade to rescue Cricket

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Bundesliga Roundup

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African Sports Personality Nominee Profiles Part II

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The Ugly and Beautiful face of Sierra Leone Cricket

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Leonard Bundu and Improbable story

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Profiling AFCON 2013

Yohan Blake is concerned about the decline of Cricket in Jamaica P . 36

Analysis of the Teams at the 2013 AFCON . Page 76

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In our February Issue we talk founder of the FC Kellie Football Club in Sierra Leone and his dream to transform lives through sports and we also caught up with the king of the Half marathon Wilson Kiprop of Kenya who is set to return back to the track in 2013 in prime form ...

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Letter from the Chairman/CEO

Hello fans and readers, We are pleased to once again bring you Africa’s first and only comprehensive sports Magazine that covers all sports disciplines across Africa and in the Diaspora.

Unfortunately due to reasons beyond our control we had to take a hiatus from publication of this magazine since June of last year, a situation that we absolutely hated having to go through. With the Olympics around the corner it was absolutely painful for us to cease since we had been gearing all year long to cover the Games and bring you the great human stories of Africa’s athletes at the games.

However even though we did not get to do any Olympic publication through the magazine we were able to provide you with daily coverage of events at the games through our sister site African Sports TV. We are ready to serve you again and by God’s grace on a continuous and uninterrupted basis for many many years to come.

Africa is thriving and growing economically and we are a part of that narrative and wish to stay that way, but we need your support in order for us to bring you this magazine month in Month out.

In this re-launched edition we bring you very interesting and insightful interviews with an African born European boxing champion living and plying in his trade in Europe and an American Football player who is on a crusade to bring the game to African kids.

We hope you enjoy reading our collection of stories and analysis and continue to support us by spreading the word about our publication and eventually subscribing to it.

Best Regards Leslie Koroma Chairman/CEO African Sports Media Network African Sports Monthly

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Coming Soon to the African Sports Monthly Store

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A Look back at Football in 2012 By: Sahr Morris Jr.

Football has been making a rapid progress on the African continent since the turn of the millennium as is evident in international tournaments organized by the African governing body, CAF and the World football governing, FIFA. African football is no longer predictable as it used to be, the dynamics of African football are also rapidly changing, and a vivid example is the opening ceremony of the 2012 African Cup of Nations in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea last January which was full of pomp and pageantry, compared to other major global sporting event around the world.

The Equatorial Guinea and Gabon tournament was a great harbinger of things that happened in Football during the year on the continent as it was filled with lots of talents, breathtaking actions and suspense and it ended with a shock that had football pundits scratching their heads when the Zambians beat the Ivory Coast to win their first ever AFCON Trophy.

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Aubameyang of Gabon one of the breakout stars at the AFCON 2012 What was significant in 2012 was the fact that Egypt which has always been a fixture at the African Cup of Nations for many years was shockingly missing from the tournament along with West Africa giant, Nigeria.

The Elephants of Ivory Coast and Black Stars of Ghana with the most amount of big names players in European top leagues were the two outright favourites to lift the Africa crown but as I already indicated they were both stunned by the Chipopolo Boys of Zambia, who in a in a fairy tale end conquered these two Football powerhouses in the Semi Final and Finals silencing the pundits and fans around the continent to lift the trophy.

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Zambia’s achievement was sweet redemption for a football team and a nation that had suffered a major loss off the coast of Gabon 19 years back when an entire plane full of players comprising the entire Zambian squad crashed with everyone perishing on that

Zambian Squad paying homage to their lost comrades on the shores of Gabon fateful flight and it also gave football one of its greatest stories of the year in Football on the continent when Stopilla Sunzu stepped up to score the winning penalty against the Elephants of the Ivory Coast.

This Zambians winning the 2012 AFCON was such a Cinderella tale that even the man behind the team’s success, French coach Herve Renard believed their success was ordained by God to a point that even a star filled Ivory Coast squad were powerless to change the course of destiny. A vivid justification for this belief that their success was ordained by God became even more glaring when Ivory Coast star striker and idol, Didier Drogba had a glorious chance to win the game after 70 minutes but blazed his penalty way over the bar.

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Didier Ya Konan of Ivory Coast

“They found the strength, I don’t know where,” Renard said. “There is something written somewhere. It just felt right but it was not because of me. I don’t know where it came from.”

However, other pundits still argued that Zambia’s achievement was not down to fate but rather a determined team that played with a chip on their shoulder especially with the grit they showed in their victories over both Ghana and Ivory Coast- who were both predicted before the tournament to play in the finals.

Zambia’s success though a bright spot at the 2012 AFCON was clouded by poor tournament attendance, and lack of big names like Egypt, Nigeria and Cameroon.

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The AFCON 2013 Qualifiers Mikel Obi celebrates

Just after the Equatorial Guinea/Gabon showpiece other actions commenced as the battle for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations kicked-off and one would wonder why they the Confederation would schedule a back to back cup of nations and this was because the African governing body, CAF decided with some influence from FIFA to host the tournament every odd year to avoid overload on the players during the FIFA World cup years.

The 2013 tournament finals were scheduled to have been staged in Libya but because of the political unrest, South Africa stepped in and struck a deal to swap the hosting rights.

Unlike the qualifiers to the 2012 tournament, the South Africa 2013 took a different dimension with CAF giving a bye to some nations as the qualifying matches where played on a knockout basis without any group action due to the short time span between the 2012 finals and 2013 competition with the host South Africa automatically qualifying as the host.

The first qualifying round saw 28 Nations battle for 14 spots to make it into the next round and the 14 winners were joined by 16 finalists from the 2012 African Nations Cup finals of which 15 winners qualified for the finals in South Africa.

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No doubt the surprises and shocks from the Equatorial Guinea and Gabon tournament did have a spillover effect in the qualifiers as the Cape Verde Islands added to the surprise list by reaching the tournament with a dramatic show as they eliminated the almighty Cameroon side 3-2 on aggregate leaving the Cameroonians to deal with another no show at the AFCON showpiece for the second time consecutively.

One time AFCON champions, Ethiopia finally made a return to the tournament after a 30-year absence as the Black Lions confirmed their place thanks to the away goals rule after a 6-6 aggregate draw with Sudan despite losing the first leg 5-3, the Ethiopians qualified following their 3-1 last gap winner at home.

Another upset was caused by Niger whose late gap winner causes an upset for Guinea as they squeeze through on aggregate. The 2012 co- host Gabon also missed out after they suffered defeat at the hands of a resurgent Emmanuel Adebayor Togo side.

The qualifiers were very combative and tough and the likes of Nigeria who missed out in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea did make a return by getting rid of Liberia, Algeria, Angola Burkina Faso Cape Verde DR Congo Ethiopia Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Tunisia, defending champions Zambia and South Africa who qualified as hosts will all battle for supremacy in 2013 which is also expected to catch the eyes of the world.

The Olympic Games, The Nations Cup in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea and the South Africa 2013 were not the only eye-catching football tournament which attracted African countries but also the London 2012 Olympic Games was another moment for African youngsters The tournament itself was an historic one for Africa as the 2012 Olympic Games in London for the first time in the games history saw four African nations qualify in; Morocco, Egypt, Senegal and U-23 champions Gabon but all four teams were unable to match the success gained by former winners Nigeria and Cameroon.

Senegal who defeated Oman in a play-off clash to book their place in the tournament was grouped alongside host Team Great Britain, Uruguay and United Arab Emirate.

The West African side was able to book a place into the quarter finals thanks to a Moussa Konate 17

Musa Konate

Musa Konate of Senegal in action at the London Olympics goal against UAE in their final group which ended 1-1 as the Senegalese finished second behind Great Britain with five points from three matches.

The quarter finals proved to be too strong for the Senegalese as they were knockedout of the tournament by eventual winners, Mexico after a cracking showdown which ended in a 4-2 extra time win for the Central American nation following a 2-2 full time draw.

Another African nation which followed Senegals’ footsteps to the quarter finals was Egypt. The Egyptians were able to progress from their group alongside eventual finalist and group winner, Brazil.

Just four points was enough for the Egyptians to finish as runners-up behind Brazil and advance to the quarter-finals but their progress was halted by Japan who secured a 3-0 win to reach the semi-finals at the expense of the African nation.

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Unlike Senegal and Egypt, the two other African nations, Gabon and Morocco were knockout in the first hurdles as they were unable to make progress from their respective groups.

The surprise African champions, Gabon finished third in group B with only two points behind Mexico, Korea whilst the same points saw Morocco finish in the same position in group D behind Japan and Honduras.

The African champion’s poor run in their inaugural show at the Olympic Games must not surprise many as their preparations for the Games was far from ideal even their coach Claude Mbourounot complained about the lack of support his team had before their departure to the games.

Mbourounot said their preparations was not good adding that they faced several difficulties in implementing their program and at the end the team was well-prepared for the Games and could not make progress from the group stage.

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SPORTS TALK BY AYODELE ODUMADE Ayodeleodumade@africansportsmonthly.com

CLUB Vs COUNTRY REARS UP AGAIN We have come to that funny season again when the African Cup of Nations beckons. Clubs in the English Premier league are often reluctant to release their players for this particular tournament. FIFA rules clearly state that all players must be released at least two weeks before a major international tournament. Some clubs try to get their African players to retire from International fooball due to their selfish needs. Some try to keep the players back a bit longer and even outrightly try to stop them from leaving!

As I have mentioned previously this tournament has been going on since 1957, which is even earlier than the European Championships. Why the animosity or contempt toward the African Cup of Nations? When countries like Brazil, Spain and France come calling for their players for games they are released irrespective of where the game is being played.

But when it comes to African players the clubs try to play games and do not want to do it by the book.

I do admit that the clubs pay these players their wages and are entitled to 20

get their money’s worth from them.

However when you sign African players, you know that there is the possibility that you might have to be without them in January of every other year that the AFCON showcase is held if their countries should make it there. You could argue that maybe European clubs should not sign them but then does anyone really think that if a player of the ilk and caliber of a Yaya Toure or Didier Drogba is available out there in Africa that a premiership club would not be interested?

Africa has already made a lot of concessions for their players by playing less Yaya Toure of Manchester city and less friendlies in their homelands.

Most friendly matches these days tend to take place in France, Switzerland or in London. The exceptions appear to be the North African countries.

CAF has also moved the African Cup of Nations to an odd year starting from 2013, so that it does not take place in the same year as the World Cup. I will not say I am happy with these decisions and often wonder why Issa Hayatou the CAF president did not see this as an opportunity to assert himself. It seems to me that Africa has sold its birthright. Even the rights to the Nations Cup qualifiers and the tournament itself are owned by a company in Europe!

What I find interesting is that here in the UK where I am based all I hear about is equality and diversity. I also hear noises about kicking racism out of football. But would you not agree with me that the way the Nations 21

Cup tournament is viewed because of the selfish needs of the Premiership does smack of racism?

Funny enough though most football clubs in the premiership and Europe will send agents or representatives to the Nations cup and the place is often swamped by scouts looking for the next generation of talent on the conveyor belt of African football!

Some people have suggested that they move the Nations cup to June. But I remember having that conversation with Avram Grant at a press conference when he was manager of Chelsea. I quickly pointed out to him that it would not be possible as that was the rainy season in African countries.

But why should African football dance to their tune? How dare they tell us what and when to play football!

One thing is for sure though. No matter what side of the debate you fall on, African players will always be in demand and will continue to be essential commodities in leagues like the English Premiership!

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HAYATOU HAS NO SHAME Issa Hayatou has been in charge of African football for over two decades but is showing no signs of leaving the reins of African football to someone else. How can one man stay in a job for that long? Why does African football not have clear statutes that state you can only be a charge for a specified period? Continuity is good for football but not for this long though. What exactly is this man’s legacy to African Football? Apart from the fact President of CAF Issa Hayatou that during his time Africa now has five representatives at the World Cup I am struggling to find any other achievement on his part. The quality of the local leagues in Africa has continued to deteriorate. The football pitches in Africa also continue to deteriorate. Even his own country Cameroon hardly has any decent football pitch worthy of hosting a major tournament. Tragedy on the terraces still takes place with regularity, yet Hayatou has not looked into this. Health care plans for footballers across Africa is also non-existent. Most of the players who have died of Cardiac arrest or heart failure have been African and most of them have taken place on African pitches. These are some of the issues that could have made a legacy for Hayatou but he does not seem bothered at all.

To make matters worse Hayatou has now come up with a plan to stop anyone else from running for the presidency of CAF. Jacques Anouma who is a FIFA executive member had his application to contest the election rejected. Although Anouma has said he will appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport do not hold your breath! The longer Hayatou stays in charge, the more damage will be done to African Football. Imagine what transformation could be made to African Football if someone like Danny Jordaan were to become the President!

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THE RACISM BATTLE IS FAR FROM WON A lot has been done in recent times to eradicate racism from football but the recent decision of UEFA regarding the Serbia V England under 21 game along with the recent incident in Italy where Kevin Prince Boateng had to walk off the pitch in protest during an A C Milan Game is very disturbing.

The fact that racism was not even mentioned in UEFA’s ruling says it all. UEFA fined Serbia for “improper conduct” and racism was not even mentioned when it was clear that there were monkey chants in the stadium. Michel Platini used to be a good footballer but I feel he has made a serious faux pas as president of UEFA. For Kevin Prince Boateng a recent victim of racist once I am glad that FIFA Presichants in Italy sporting an anti racism campaign dent Sepp Blatter has said he would have a word with him and get the decision reviewed. Racism has no place in our society and should not be condoned in any form or shape!

Until football authorities start to ban clubs, players and deduct points from clubs whose fans are racist, racism campaigns would just be what they are i.e. a façade and eye service! My suggestions are the only way it can be shown that football authorities including UEFA are serious about eradicating racism from football!

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LOOKING AHEAD We all love sports because it is continuous. The ones we have witnessed form part of sporting history but one thing we always do is look forward.

2013 is no exception, with the highlights for me being the forthcoming African Cup of Nations and the World Athletics Championships in Moscow. Of course there is always the English Premier League but that is every year unlike the Nations cup and World Athletics Championships, which take place every two years!

There is also the Confederations Cup in Brazil, which promises to be the forerunner of the World Cup the following year! Let the games begin.

Happy days!

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Sierra Leonean born Italian Boxer Leonard Bundu on Saturday December 1st 2012 successfully defended his European Welterweight title against experienced French Challenger Ismail El Massoudi A baton was symbolically passed from London to Rio de Janeiro, during the Opening Plenary for the IOC London 2012 Debriefing. The President of LOCOG Sebastian Coe, presented the silver colored baton to the President of the Rio de Janeiro 2016™ Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman

The Blues (Chelsea FC) announced the signing of the Senegal striker on a three -and-half-year deal after activating the ÂŁ7m release clause in his Magpies contract

Tottenham's Togo star Emmanuel Adebayor had a change of heart and will take part in the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, according to the head of his country's football federation .

The Committee for Club Football convened its first meeting in 2013 at the FIFA HQ with FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter underlining the importance of clubs to football as the game's foundation.

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The Somalia Volleyball Federation concluded a two-day local referee course in the capital, Mogadishu, on December 21 to improve the knowledge and practical aspects of volleyball referees in the country

Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure made it two titles in a row by winning the 2012 African Player of the Year at a glamorous Glo-CAF Awards Gala

“Former Liberia great George Weah has been handed the task of finding a successor to national Coach Kaetu Smith who had only been in charge for seven months but whose reign had seen Liberia collect just one point from their two FIFA World Cup qualifiers�

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi left star strikers Peter Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins out of his squad for the 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa

A look ahead promises a landmark year for the sport. New tournaments, World Championship qualifiers and new formats and teams for the World League and World Grand Prix are set

President of the FIVB Graca, visited Algeria from December 6 to 9 in his first official visit to an African country The event brought together some 1,500 athletes from different provinces of the country, and each went home with a ball and FIVB-branded jersey

The Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee (NYOGOC) unveiled its official mascot: "NANJINGLELE". NANJINGLELE is inspired by a unique natural feature of the host city known as the "RainFlower Pebble" 27

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A Look back at the athletics during the London 2012 Olympic Games

David Rudisha of Kenya celebrating his victory and record breaking performance in London

By Annimari Korte (London UK) Usain Bolt received multiple athlete of the year awards by becoming a legend with his ‘TripleDouble’ at the London 2012 Olympic games, but David Rudisha’s world record run was the performance of the games.

David Rudisha broke the 800m world record with 1.40.91seconds, and he did it at the Olympic final.

It was the fastest ever 800m race in history from first to last place and the Kenyan ran the last 600m pretty much alone.

Even Sebastian Coe was quoted as saying: “Bolt was good, but Rudisha was magnificent. It was the performance of the Games, not just in track and field, but of the entire Games.”

Africans dominated the 800m race as silver went to Nijel Amos from Botswana and bronze to Timothy Kitum from Kenya.

Usain Bolt did achieve something no one has done before. He won three sprint gold medals in two Olympic games. Still, we did not see another world record from him.

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Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya doing his lap of honor after his victory in the

Iconic moment of the Games as Kirani James of Grenada exchanges bibs with Oscar Pistorious, the first Amputee to be allowed to compete against able bodied athlete

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Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia triumphant over her nemesis Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya as she grabs Gold for her country

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Bolt won the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relays in London and at the 2008 Beijing Olympic games.

He declared himself a legend in London after successfully defending his titles.

The human story of the games saw Oscar Pistorious Oscar Pistorious become the first double-amputee to participate in the Olympics against able bodied athletes when he ran the 400m and 4x400m relay for South Africa. He however would go on to also compete at the Paralympic games where he created some controversy after he lost to Brazilian Alan Oliveira in the 200m Paralympic final, he complained of how Oliveira’s blades were too long and gave him an edge. The controversy brought to the fore the issue of his blades which some said gave him an advantage over able-bodies athletes.

Anyhow controversy aside he did win the Paralympic T44 400m race and T42-T46 4x100m after a disappointing silver in the T44 200m.

Tirunesh Dibaba the Queen of middle distance running was able to repeat in London winning the 10000m Olympic gold, but fell short in the 5000 where she only managed to snag the bronze medal in an event in which she holds the world record failing to defend her Beijing title.

Dibaba was extremely happy with her performances, because she was only returning to active competition after a prolonged absence of over 16 months due to injury. She became the first woman to win back-to-back 10000m Olympic titles.

Vivian Cheruiyot was another double medallist, but after winning two gold medals in the 2011 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea, the London Olympics favourite was a disappointment to herself and many Kenyan fans who had placed their hopes on her. The Kenyan won silver in the 5000m and bronze in 10000m falling way below expectations for herself and for her country after going undefeated the whole of 2011.

Muriel Ahoure made it into two sprint finals in London.

She placed sixth in the 200m final and seventh in the very fast 100m final. Ahoure broke her own Ivory Coast 100m record in the heats with a 10.99 scorcher.

Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria placed eighth in the same 100m final with Ahoure. Earlier on in the semi-finals she had ran a personal best of 10.92sec, which would have placed her sixth in the finals. She and the rest of the Nigerian women’s team tried valiantly in the 4x100m relay team to bring home a medal for Nigeria from the Games but they fell short settling for fourth and barely out of the medals and with that last missing opportunity by the girls in the relay, Nigeria walked away from the London games with no medals at all.

Amantle Montsho from Botswana placed fourth in the 400m final. This was a disappointment for her as she had Ahoure of the Ivory Coast 34

won almost half of her races all season long and was the 2011 World Champion in the event and therefore was expected to do well in London.

Lehann Fourie placed seventh in the 110m hurdles final. Fourie set the African and South African records later in the year with a time of 13.24 seconds.

Gerald Phiri of Zambia made it to the semiGerald Phiri of Zambia in action against Tyson Gay of the USA in the finals in the 100m with 100 meters Semi-Finals a time of 10.11seconds. It was close to his Zambian national record of 10.06 which he had set back at the Texas Relays in Austin Texas some months back and the second best time he has ever ran, but failed to advance to the finals as he placed fifth in his semi-final heat.

Ngonidzashe Makusha one of the brightest African medal prospects for the London Games, had to miss the Olympics due to an Achilles injury he sustained and had to undergo surgery months before the games. The 2011 Long Jump World Champion bronze medallist and double NCAA champion would have had a good chance to win the long jump and possibly even reach the 100m finals too after posting the 3rd fastest time of 9.89 second months earlier for African Sprinters. Makusha’s personal best would have placed him first in the long jump and sixth in the 100m final.

Makusha’s recovery has been going well and he should be back in top shape for the World Athletics Championships in Moscow in August of 2013.

Beijing silver medallist Khotso Mokoena from South Africa was eight in a very low quality long jump final. Oke Tosin from Nigeria was seventh in the triple jump final.

As expected, Africans took most of the distance medals. On the men’s side the entire marathon medals went to Africa as Stephen Kiprotich from Uganda took gold, Abel Kirui from Kenya silver and another Kenyan Wilson Kiprotich bronze.

Other African gold medallists in London 2012 were Taoufik Makhloufi from Algeria in 1500m, Ezekiel Kemboi from Kenya in the 3000m steeplechase, Meseret Defar in women’s 5000m, and Tiki Gelana in women’s marathon.

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Dibaba and Defar embrace and celebrate victory in the 5000 meters

Dejen Gebremeskel from Ethiopia took home the silver medal in the 5000m, while Caster Semenya from South Africa battled Pamela Jelimo of Kenya in the women’s 800m to come away with the silver and Jelimo who was thought to do better fell short and out of medal contention in the 800metes finals, Sally Kipyego of Kenya was a major factor in the women’s 10,000m as she took silver behind Dibaba, Priscah Jeptoo from Kenya got silver in women’s marathon, and Habiba Ghribi from Tunisia was historical in women’s 3000m steeplechase bringing home one of Tunisia few medals at the games.

In the Bronze medal category we saw Abdalaati Iguider from Morocco in 1500m, Thomas Longosiwa from Kenya in the 5000m, Abel Mutai from Kenya in 3000m steeplechase, Sofia Assefa from Ethiopia in women’s 3000m steeplechase, and Tariku Bekele in 10000m all settle for third place in their events.

Despite the great performances by Africa’s best mostly in the distance events, the dominant performance in London was by the Jamaicans who took pretty much all the sprint medals in both the male and female categories. The Jamaican men won five medals out of six, along with the 4x100m relay where they set a new world record. On the women’s side Jamaica got three medals out of six, and silver in the 4x100m relay. Most of the Jamaican men’s five sprint medals came from one coach: Glen Mills. Maybe it is time for African sprinters to go see what is happening in Jamaica.

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Semenya hangs on for Silver in the 800 meters

Bolt quiets the critics

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Yohan Blake on a crusade to bring cricket back to Jamaica

By Annimari Korte (In Jamaica) Yohan Blake is known to love cricket, and is now attempting to bring the sport back to Jamaica. The 2011 World 100m Champion and double London Olympic games silver and relay gold medallist is starting the ‘Yohan Blake YBAFRAID T20 Champion League’ next year.

Blake wants to provide better opportunities for young Jamaican cricketers and is willing to put money into it. He is also bringing West Indies, English, and Indian cricketers to Jamaica for the league.

“Most of the guys in Jamaica are very talented. I played cricket with the guys and I said to myself: ‘Look, I’m doing really well in athletics, and if I could transfer some of my money and let the kids have something to play for.’ I use that to start cricket back in Jamaica with YBAFRAID T20 Champions League.”

The YBAFRAID T20 Champions League will start play in September 2013 and will feature some of the world’s most famous players.

“The league is trying to bring back cricket to Jamaica. We are going to get a lot of good players like Virender Sehwag, Kevin Peterson, and all those other guys also from India and England to come and look at the young guys, observe their talent, and put them into different clubs, so I think it’s going to start from there, it’s going to be wonderful,” he said.

Blake’s love for cricket is the reason he wants cricket to become popular in Jamaica again.

His love for the game started when he was young.

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“I love cricket because it is what I started doing with my father when I was young. He tied me up in front of the TV to watch it. Chris Gayle, Brian Lara, and all those guys like Courtney Walsh, I watched them play each and every time. That’s my love you know, I even love it over track and field.”

Blake’s humbleness shows when he says that he is really good in athletics as if he wouldn’t know he is one of the world’s most famous athletes.

“Athletics gave me the start in life, God showed me this way: ‘Look Yohan, athletics is going to take you really far.’ Although I was really good in cricket, athletics has taken over my life since I was like 16 so I started pretty late, but I’m really good,” he said.

Blake does not think the popularity of athletics has caused the downfall of cricket in Jamaica, although cricket started losing its glory at the same time when Jamaica started to become a major power in athletics globally.

Yohan admits when asked about the decline of cricket in Jamaica saying: “No, I think the downfall of cricket started after the West Indies won the tour against England and the ICC Champions Trophy. After that we lost a lot of good players, due to the fact that most of them were getting injured and a lot of people started to lose hope in the West Indies. Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Brian Lara and all the other guys retired, from there we lost the venom, we lost everything.”

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Sports & Economics Part I

By Leslie Koroma It is a known fact that Africa is blessed with not just natural mineral resources but a deeply talented people who thrive in all arena’s of life. Not to downplay the significance and contributions of African’s and people of African descent around the world in other walks of life like technology, engineering and medicine, Africans and people of African descent are known to be most dominant in sports around the world.

While it is a stated and true fact that Africans dominate the sports landscape around the world and make a very handsome living doing it, African nations and national sports apparatuses in pretty much all 54 African states are afflicted with poverty and very low caliber, dirt poor sports league and institutions. This begs the question as to what is wrong with this scenario, when other nations around the world are enjoying the fruits of bubbling sports leagues and resource rich sports institutions. The answers are varied and myriad, but one can immediately point to the number one culprit and cancer that has been eating away at African nations since most acquired independence from European colonial powers and that is CORRUPTION. Following immediately in the heels of Corruption is the issue of mismanagement.

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We will be taking a look at the issue of Sports and Economics to try and bring to light the problems that we already know plus other issues not well known that have been plaguing the advancement and development of sports in African nations.

We will be bringing you these issues in all of our 12 Magazine Issues of African Sports Monthly for 2013 starting with that of Sports Infrastructure which we are going to deal with in this issue.

Cape town Stadium, South Africa

Sports Infrastructure:

Sports Infrastructure can be defined as venues and facilities where sporting events and programs are held for public viewing and participation and these can vary from outdoor to indoor stadiums and arenas.

Most African nations have a national outdoor stadium built many many years ago and very few if any have an indoor sports stadium or arena.

Stadiums and other sports facilities are there to provide a venue for the national and local teams to perform in front of their home crowds and they are supposed to be engines for economic growth.

On a typical day a stadium with a 80,000 capacity and a charge of $5 a person for a single event can bring in close to half a million dollars just on gate takings alone to the stadium management.

Stadiums with built in concession stands and parking with a robust yearly calendar (meaning that the facility is used over 200 times out of the 365 yearly calendar days) can average close to a billion dollars a year on gate takings alone.

Stadiums are supposed to provide employment opportunities and be a source of tourism for the community or nation depending on the type of events that are held in it yearly.

The reality for most African nations who had a national stadium constructed 30 or more years ago is that most are now in disrepair and not even fit for local standards of competition let alone international competitions.

Most of these African nations who are now in worse state economically today than 30 years ago do not have any other recourse currently to pursue the construction of new facilities because they cannot afford it and so they are stuck with a relic that is a disaster waiting to happen.

What happened during the past decades with the monies made from these stadiums and what were those funds used for and where did it all go? I know you are chuckling reading this knowing the exact answer to the question and even wondering why am I even asking the question. As obvious as it is that corruption and officials sharing and pocketing the monies collected from these stadiums over the years is the answer to my question ‌. it is necessary that I ask, to bring it to light and have us talk about it.

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Cont’d on Page 48

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PART I

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Coaches Corner (Advice, tips and tricks from the experts)

Functional Movement, Screening and Long Term Athletics Development

By Prince Duwai (Accredited Expert Track & Field Coach, United Kingdom)

Introduction of Functional Movement Screening and Human efficiency The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is an innovative system used to evaluate the quality of movement pattern for athletes and clients (Cooke, 2001). Coaches and personal trainers will use this system to develop a qualitative method of evaluating basic movement abilities that are familiar to coaches or the athlete, thereby using a grading system to identify deficiency (Whatman et al, 2011). This grading system when assessed, analysed and evaluated will determine which specific type of corrective exercises should be implemented. However, the FMS is not a tool designed to diagnose orthopaedic problems but rather to demonstrate limitation or asymmetries in healthy individuals with respect to basic movement patterns and eventually correlate them with outcomes. The FMS comprises of seven fundamental movement test that require balance, mobility and stability.

These fundamental movement patterns are designed to provide observable performance of basic locomotors, manipulating and stabilizing movements. The test will place the athlete in extreme position whereby weakness and muscle imbalance becomes noticeable, if appropriate stability and mobility is not utilised. It has been observed that many athletes performing at the highest level could find the FMS exercises difficult to perform (Cook, 2001). Those who score poorly in the tests should be considered utilising compensatory movement patterns for inefficient ones in order to perform at a higher level. However, if this compensation movement continues, poor movement will be reinforced, thereby leading to poor biomechanics (Cook, 1999).

To administer the FMS correctly, coaches/athletes will need to be familiar with the following bone structure and equipment available.

Tibial turberosity Anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) Lateral and medial malleolus The most distal wrist crease Joint line of the knee Equipments Required Hurdle A four foot dowel rod A small capped piece Two by six box inches (used for deep squat, rotary stability & inline lunge)

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Performing the FMS & Grading Systems Grade three: The movement pattern should be completed and consistent with the FMS test definition. This score changes to zero if the athlete or client experiences pain.

Grade two: The completed movement pattern should demonstrate compensation, faulty form or loss of alignment as consistent with the FMS test definition. This score changes to zero if the athlete or client experiences pain.

Grade one: The movement pattern is incomplete if not performed consistently with the FMS test definition. This score changes to zero if the athlete or client experiences pain.

Functional Movement Screen (Cook, 2001) 1. Deep Squat

Grade one Grade two Grade three Purpose: The purpose is to assess bilateral, symmetry, mobility of the ankle, knee, hips, shoulder and the thoracic spine.

Description: Starting position is shoulder width apart at 90 degrees with the dowel over their shoulder. The athlete should descend in a squat position with at least performing the squatting movement three times. Feet must be flat on floor, head and chest forward and dowel pressed over head.

Clinical implications: The ability to perform a deep squat requires closed kinetic chain of the ankle, knee and hips, extension of the thoracic spine, flexion and abduction of the shoulders. Poor performance with this test could result to various factors such as limited mobility of the glenohumeral, thoracic spine, or dorsi-flexion of the ankle and hip. Limiting factor must be identified when the athlete scores less than 3 points.

Hurdle Step

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Purpose: To assess bilateral mobility and stability of the ankles, knees and hips 45

Description: Starting position, shoulder width apart, hurdle is adjusted to height of the athlete’s Tibial turberosity. Dowel is positioned across the shoulder below the athlete’s neck with the toes aligned directly beneath the hurdle. The athlete is then asked to step over the hurdle and touch the heel while maintaining a stance in an extended position and then instructed to return to the starting position. If the athlete performs one repetition below three, then the limiting factor must be identified.

Clinical implications: This test requires the athlete/subject to show leg stability of the ankle, knee and hip as well as extension of the hip, demonstrating single leg stance, dorsi-flexion of the ankle and flexion of the knee and hip. Poor performance with this test could result in poor stance of the leg or mobility of the step leg. However, maximal hip flexion of one leg while maintaining apparent hip extension of the opposite leg requires the athlete to demonstrate asymmetric hip mobility. Limiting factor must be identified when the athlete scores less than 3 points.

IN-LINE LUNGE

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Purpose: To assess bilateral mobility and stability as well as ankle and knee stability.

Description: A measuring tape is used to measure the athlete’s tibia. The athlete then places one foot on the end of the 2” x 6” board while the dowel is placed behind the back of the thoracic spine and sacrum. The hand ipsi-lateral to the back foot should be hand grasping the top of the dowel and the contra-lateral hand grasps the bottom. The tester then measures the athletes toe and a mark is made on the board. The athlete is then asked to take a step and placed their heel on the mark.

From here the athlete will lower their back enough to touch behind the front foot. The foot should be ain a straight line at all times when performing the lunging movement. A successful completion of three repetitions will be graded as three points.

Clinical implications: The athlete should be able to demonstrate stability on a single leg stance on the ankle, knee and hip with a closed-kinetic chain of hip abduction, step leg mobility of hip adduction, dorsi-flexion of the ankle and balance during the test. Limiting factors could be inadequate hip mobility of stance or step leg, poor ankle mobility, weakness or tightness around the hip or rectus femoris on stance leg may cause poor performance. When the athlete achieves less than three points, limiting factor must be identified.

Shoulder Mobility

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3 46

Purpose: To assess bilateral shoulder range of motion combining rotation with adduction and external rotation with abduction.

Description: Measure the distance from the distal wrist crease to the tip of the third digit. The athlete should make a fist with each hand and placed behind the back. The tester measures the gap between the two fists and record the distance. The athlete should perform the shoulder mobility test 3 times bilaterally.

Clinical implications: This test requires a combination of motions including abduction/external rotation and adduction/internal rotation. Poor performance could relate to the following: external rotation with limited internal rotation for over head throwing athletes. Secondly, forward or rounded shoulder caused by excessive development and shortening of the pectoralis minor and/or latissimus dorsi muscles and thirdly, dysfunction in the scapulothoracic area may result in decreasing glenohumeral mobility. When athlete fails to achieve a score less than 3, limiting factor must be identified.

Active straight Leg Raise Grade 3 (Any angle less than the above will be graded as 2 or 3) Purpose: To assess hamstring and gastroc/soleus flexibility while maintaining a stable pelvis Description: The athlete/client lays flat in a supine position with a 2” x 6” board placed under the knee of the athlete. The tester identifies the athlete’s anterior iliac spine (ASIS) and the mid-point of the patella. During the test the opposite knee should remain in contact with the dowel with the shoulder remaining flat on the floor. Once the athlete has achieved their end range position, a dowel is aligned along the medial malleolus of the test leg, perpendicular to the floor. This test should be performed at least 3 times bilaterally.

Clinical implications: The ability to examine functional hamstring flexibility. The athlete should be able to demonstrate adequate passive illopsoas flexibility of the opposite leg as well as lower abdominal stability. Poor performance with this test could result to the following factors: Poor hamstring functional stability, secondly, inadequate passive mobility of the opposite hip may result as tightness of the illiopsoas thereby tilting the anterior pelvis. A combination of these two factors will demonstrate an athlete’s bilateral, asymmetric hip mobility. When athletes fail to achieve a full range of this test, the limiting factors must be identified.

Trunk Stability Push-Up

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Purpose: Assessing truck stability in a sagittal plan while a asymmetrical upper extremity motion is performed Description: The athlete takes a prone position; hands placed shoulder width apart at the appropriate position with knee fully extended. The athlete is asked to perform a push up with the whole body lifted as a unit with no lag in the lumbar spine. The trunk stability test should be performed as many as three times.

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Clinical implications: The test requires stability in the sagittal plan during a symmetric upper extremity movement. Many functional activities in sport require trunk stabilizers to transfer forces symmetrically from the upper extremities to the lower extremities. Movement such as sprinting, rebounding in basketball, blocking in volleyball are typical examples of energy transfer. If the trunk does not have adequate stability during active kinetic motion, energy will be dispersed, leading to poor performance or increase of potential micro traumatic injury. When the athlete scores less than 3, the limiting factor must be identified. If the athlete experiences pain in the lumbar region during the motion, a 0 is given and a thorough evaluation should be performed.

Rotational Stability

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Purpose: The Rotational Stability test is used to assess multi-planar stability while a combined upper and lower extremity motion is performed.

Description: The individual assumes the starting position in the quadruped with their shoulder and hips at 90 degrees relative to the upper torso. The knee is position at 90 degrees with the ankle being dorsi-flexed. The 2” x 6” is placed between the knees and hands so that they are in contact with the board. The athlete flexes the shoulder and extends the same side hip and knee with approximately 6inches clearance from the floor. The elbow, hand, and knee that are lifted should all remain in line with the 2” x 6”. The torso should remain in the same plane as the 2” x 6” while the shoulder and knee are flexed enough for the elbow and knee to touch. This is performed bilaterally for up 3 attempts.

Clinical implications: The ability to perform the Rotational Stability test requires asymmetric trunk stability in the transverse and sagittal planes during asymmetric upper and lower extremity movement. Many functional sports require the trunk to transfer force asymmetrically from the lower extremities and vice versa. Running and acceleration on the track or football pitch for example are typical for this type of energy transfer. Inadequate trunk stability during kinetic energy will be dispersed leading to poor performance as well as an increase of potential traumatic injury. Poor performance in this test will attribute to poor asymmetric stabilizers. When an athlete achieves a score less than 3, the limiting factor must be identified.

FMS and Long Term Athletics Development The Long Term Athlete Development programme ((LTAD) is based on designing a structured and progressive periodised planning focused on long term participation (Bayli, 1991). The LTAD model is one of a number of approaches that focuses on key common principles of individual development, which has helped sports organisations to consider good practice for long term participation of young athletes (Stafford, 2005). . The LTAD is about building physical competency within the athletes often given the rationale and structure, but do not give a framework for coaches to use in order to develop their own session content and plans depending on the makeup of the group. Athletes often utilise compensatory movement strategies to achieve high performance, these compensatory movements can lead to poor biomechanics and in most cases results in injuries (Cook, 2001).

The concept of coaches emulating and applying advanced training programmes or exercises and incorrectly applying them to young athletes’ population without building a solid foundation for Long 48

Term Athletics Development is ethically wrong. Many young athletes have issues with bio motors, mobility, balance, co ordination; muscle imbalance and poor muscle activation that can have a negative impact upon posture and movement. When exercises are applied without addressing Functional Movement Screen, there is always a possibility of dysfunctional movement that can negatively impact athletes in sports performance or a potential of getting injured. The importance placed on LTAD and fundamental movement screening (FMS) has been central to our discussion in this article. FMS was design to develop the functional movement of young athletes in order to be effective and efficient in their movement. However, it has been identified that even elite athletes are finding some of these movement challenging but beneficial to their sport performance (Cook, 2001). The single leg squat for example is one of the most tested components used to assess function of the ankle, knee and hip alignment taking into consideration running and jumping activities (Kibler et al, 2006). Excessive hip adduction and internal rotation when performing a single leg squat can cause the knee joint to move medially to the supporting leg. This type of dysfunctional deficiencies in the hip and surrounding muscles has been linked to injuries with the lower extremities (Powers, 2010). Reiman et al, 2009 states that dysfunctional mechanics in the hip also has a direct influence on the lumbar spine given the multiple share muscle and the involvement of the pelvis as the common segment in both the hip and Lumbo-pelvic joint. Therefore, it is crucial that coaches or trainers understand the key principles behind functional movement screening, how they fit within an athlete’s programme and their benefits for long term participation and sport performance.

Conclusion Sport Coaches and trainers should adopt and implement the seven FMS as a means to have clarity when designing a training programme. This will refine the training programme and develop a more complete approach by incorporating effective movement patterns. Functional Movement Screening is a reliable tool that can be used to identify potential risk of injury to athletes or clients. The test will identify deficiencies in an athlete or a clients movement and precautionary measure can be implemented to avoid injuries or promote a faster recovery when athletes get injured. However, it is important that coaches and practitioners are fully qualified to administer these findings in order to eliminate the threat of inappropriate grading system.

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Sports & Economics Cont’d from Page 39

Peter Mokaba Stadium, South Africa Africans today have a voice like never before through social media and instead of sitting down and accepting the status quo and think it is the God given right of corrupt officials to continue to pilfer from us without saying a word like it has been for the better part of five decades, we should first of all; speak up, then create social network watchdog groups to identify and expose the ones that are responsible for the decline of our societies and most especially so our sports facilities and institutions.

People nowadays and for the better part of the1990’s and this first decade of the 21st century across Africa have had to turn and tune in to foreign leagues and sports programs to get their daily dose of sports entertainment and that is not to say that it is wrong for them to do that especially with a total lack and absence of a half way decent national league which has all but led to local sports fans neglecting their local leagues for the premier leagues of Europe, South America and North America.

However everyone should keep in mind that sports is economics and if your dollars are going away to a foreign league when you buy memorabilia or a fan jersey or purchase a broadcast league ticket on TV from that league then you are in essence supporting that foreign league and that country’s economy which in many instances may have no bearing on the growth of your national economy.

So instead of running away from the problem and complain all day long about the poor condition of the local league in your country and the lack of development of your nation you need to take a broader look at what afflicts your nations economy and find out what way you can contribute and step up and do something about it.

Sports infrastructure is the ground zero for the advancement of any and all national sports apparatus. African nations who currently have a relic for a national stadium should strongly think about erecting a new national stadium to replace the old one as a starting point of reclaiming and rebuilding their national sports apparatus.

That construction should be followed by the appointment of a new breed of administrators who are 50

well versed and conscious of the new and modern strategies of sports management. With these recommendations I believe most nations can start the process of building a robust and profitable national sporting program.

We shall continue this discussion of Sports & Economics in our February Issue of African Sports Monthly Magazine as we take a look at different issues afflicting the economics of sports across Africa, stay tuned and come back next time when we publish our next issue.

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51

A Candid Conversation with NFL star Amobi Okoye

By Leslie Koroma The African sports landscape has some unique issues and serious problems that are sometimes baffling to understand. Many sports disciplines are in a state of limbo or have outrightly just stagnated. In many instances leadership is what is needed to steer the ship in the right direction.

Football (known as Soccer in North America) is king in Africa and pretty much every kid growing up in Africa has dreams of becoming a global star. But there are many other sports disciplines with great potentials of giving one a life far removed from the poverty that most Africans experience growing up. However without exposure to such sport disciplines kids across Africa may never know the joy of playing such sports and for certain will never realize the potential of what playing such a sport will do to transform their lives from one of abject poverty to that full of opportunities and possibilities.

In the United States of America the game called Football which Africans know as American Football otherwise known alternatively by true football insiders as Gridiron, is a game that is drastically different from Soccer (the World’s most popular sport). It is far more physical and considered by many to be outright grueling but most American kids grow up dreaming of Football Stardom and transforming their lives and the lives of their families through opportunities and rich salaries. African immigrant families in the USA exposed to this sport when their kids choose to play it at school have gravitated well towards it. Most of the African immigrant families barely understand the rules of the game but with visions of their kids becoming stars one day they give their kids their unflinching support just as most American families would and some even go to the extent of attending practice and school games religiously, a concept that is alien in Africa. The NFL today is full of players with African names a testament of the adoption of the game by immigrant families.

One of such athletes is Amobi Okoye an immigrant kid who came to the USA with his family at a very young age and quickly adapted to life in the USA, where he picked up the game of Football at school.

The game came naturally to him as if by second nature and he has thrived in it just as if he had always played it. He adapted and picked up on the nuances of the game quickly. He adapted so well that he earned a football scholarship to the University of Louisville where he not only played football but got his college education graduating at the very young age of 19 with a Bachelors Degree.

His graduation will then coincide with being drafted into the NFL where he got picked by Houston 52

Texans in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft making him an instant millionaire. In the process of being drafted Amobi earned the honor of being the youngest player ever drafted to play in the NFL at the age of 19.

Amobi currently plays for the Chicago Bears after four years of service with the Houston Texans.

One of the things that most high profile professional sports stars do these days is give back to society, so while playing in the NFL Amobi dreamed up the idea of one day bringing the game of Football that has given him so much to the kids of Africa and one day seeing the same game that gave him opportunities doing the same for kids across Africa. So a few years back he launched his Foundation CATE which stands for “Changing Africa Through Education” and in that foundation he focuses on emphasizing the benefits of education, but most especially so the game of Football. Infact the first two major objectives in the Foundations mission statement are • •

Introduce American style football and promote fitness and nutrition among Nigeria youths.

Promote education and aid in creating more conducive learning environments.

I recently caught up with Amobi during his bye week of the 2012 regular season with the Chicago Bears and I had a great conversation with him to find out about his project and how it has been faring on.

Here is our conversation; ASM: Amobi Okoye is a defensive tackle with the Chicago bears. He is of Nigerian descent and a football player, who immigrated to the United States at a young age. Amobi is very passionate about bringing football to Africa as well as be an advocate for education; he was a standout student himself. Amobi, how are you sir?

Amobi: I’m doing great, thanks for having me.

Okoye as a Houston Texans

ASM: Let me start off by asking you, how is life in football?

Amobi: Actually football is great. I’m blessed to see that I’m doing something that I love and at the same time with a purpose, so I just count my blessings everyday and enjoy it.

ASM: You are considered one of the most accomplished draft players to come out of college in the United States with a degree at a very young age at that in recent years. We currently have another player in the NFL who is making a lot of waves, in the name of Robert Griffin III. He plays for the Washington Redskins and is also a very accomplished player along the likes of you, what do you think of Robert Griffin III? Amobi: I’ll tell you he is a phenomenal player he carries himself great, he is a great character and a great player; I wish the best for him and a very long career, what I really see on film is that he is a really really real smart player.

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Okoye at a Chicago Bears workout

ASM: You were not born in the United Stated, but you quickly adapted to life in the U.S.A. once you got here you basically picked up the game of football very quickly; once you chose to play it, how did you adapt so quickly to football?

Amobi: I chose football through a challenge from one of best friends (till today) and one of my coaches back in high school, so that’s how I came to play it, by the way what was your second question again?

ASM: How did you adapt so quickly to the game?

Amobi: When you love something, you know ‌ there is an instant gratification and love for it, as far as playing it, the camaraderie I got along with the life lessons outside from what I got from my home, was very intriguing to me, and I just wanted to be part of it as a challenge to me. You know I think I 54

Amobi: It means a great deal to me …. for them to you know take a chance on me and pick me as the 10th overall pick in the 2007 DRAFT; my time there was great, 4 years playing there I enjoyed my years there, and I’m very grateful with ownership and the administration especially for the things they did for me and like you said picking me up.

ASM: You’ve spent some years in Houston, and now you’re playing for the Chicago Bears. What does it mean to be a Bear, first of all, because that’s just a legendary team and now you’re playing alongside the likes of a Nigerian American player, Israel Idonijie who I would consider a mentor to you, What does it mean or feel like for you to be playing alongside a great guy like Israel Idonijie and also playing for the Chicago Bears at this stage of your career?

Amobi: I think you took the word out of my mouth because first of all this is a legendary team and the way football started here its just great and the fans are great and phenomenal. You know even when we play away games they feel like home games, because they got fans everywhere and when we go places the fans travel. Also having a chance to play with Izzy since last year and I have known Izzy since 2008, he has definitely been a mentor to me and now I continue play alongside with him. It’s phenomenal; it’s great and we have a great time and we go out there and play for each other and win it out.

ASM: Alright, now you’ve been a stand out player in the league, but you basically transform your passion for the sport into a different arena, which means you come out of the field to take a challenge into bringing the NFL to Africa and I understand from visiting your website and from several other press clippings I’ve been able to come across that this is a drive you’ve been on ever since you’ve been in the NFL, why the passion to bring the NFL to Africa?

Amobi: I felt like this that in relation to my life, this was the purpose of my life and my life being where it is and the path of going to the NFL, because I came to the U.S. not to become an NFL Player but I ended up being an NFL Player. So I feel that this was one of the purposes of why I am put on this earth for and the great passion that I will like for the children of Africa to be able to see especially the value that comes from American football and the importance of education through American Football. I think that’s just something that the continent of Africa is lacking, that we can use academics to promote, or rather we can use athletics to promote academics and get kids back in school, so that they can understand the value of teamwork and the value of role playing and everybody understanding their role, in that way I think the continent as a whole can get better with everybody understanding that they have to do their part. Those are just some of the things and values that people learn from playing such a competitive team sport like football.

ASM: You’ve made several trips to Africa since you’ve been in the NFL. In an official capacity you went there with some other NFL players before and you have made several other trips subsequently to that and I know you are basically laying a foundation of what we will consider an NFL Africa in a sense, how feasible is that dream?

Amobi: It’s very feasible you know ….it’s kind of like similar to seeing a black president; (laughs)… it’s something that I feel can be done and can be in a shorter amount of time something shorter than its taken football to develop in the U.S despite the fact that it is a third world continent and it is a thing that can be used to uplift the middle class economy, the middle class people in Africa you know.

ASM: You have a section of your foundation’s projects operating under the titled “Changing Africa Through Education” tell us…

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Amobi Okoye and team in Nigeria Amobi: yes that’s the nonprofit, that’s the foundation … that’s the nonprofit arena of what we are trying to do internationally in Africa.

ASM: Tell us a little bit about that particular project and the inner workings of that and how you hope to achieve the goals of that particular nonprofit in Africa ….

Amobi: Well the bulk of it is pretty much what we just discussed in popularizing American football.

We have identified the interest level and we have exposed the interest level in the last five years that we have been speaking out. Now we have to keep growing and expanding and popularizing of the sport itself and actually having the kids practice and compete in American football in Africa. So that’s the bulk of Changing Africa Through Education. We also understand that there are other current needs now for the people of Africa, so we have different other additional programs with our Books Abroad Program where we shipped out books from the U.S. to communities in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, for the kids to further educate themselves about just life and education. Then we understand that there is medical needs, so during the period of time we’re down there; we try to take doctors with us take medical supplies and equipment and any little that we can do to help with the needs the current needs of today, it’s part of Changing Africa Through Education and our long term goal is that with football we will promote academics, through athletics and in time just help …in a long term help increase the middle class, with kids going back to school to participate in sports and eventually getting degrees wanting to enhance the sports more and if not using their degrees to do other things to better the country as a whole so the key word is getting them back in school.

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ASM: Now I asked you a question earlier, if the dream was feasible, the main thing here I want to know is at what level are you looking at, in bringing football into Africa, is it at the school level or – Amobi: yeah we want to start at high school level, because everything starts at the grassroots. We want to start at the high school level and spread evenly out, and spread out further down to elementary school level and at the little league level and then eventually going up to the collegiate level then professional level, but the middle stage the high school level is the perfect spot for educating contact football, then practicing and competing and then flag football and then eventually move into contact, We want to practice and compete with flag but still educate contact with the hopes of progressing to practicing and competing in contact football.

ASM: Now we’ve been doing a little bit of coverage on African players who are playing in the NFL or players of African descent who are playing in the NFL since we started our operations as a media company and we know we got quite a bit of players in the NFL who hail from Africa directly as direct descendants of recent generation of – Amobi: yeah I think we are actually like tied as the second leading nationality with the American Samoans playing at all levels in the NFL, to collegiate, to hmmm … hmmm….. high school.

ASM: We see quite a spread in backgrounds and nationalities from Africa in the NFL with guys like Ndamuhkong Suh with a background from Cameroon, Madieu Williams from Sierra Leone, guys from Liberia, and from Ghana, etc., and of course the bulk is from Nigeria, but the program that you are working on, have you reached out to these other guys in terms of trying to sell this idea to them to bring football to Africa and try to like coordinate your efforts with them to see if you guys can kind of get the grassroots part of this thing going so they can be supportive to the program?

Amobi: without a doubt, I have.

ASM: And what’s the response so far?

Amobi: Hmm …. they seem to be making a gradual response …. Hmm.. you know people – I do my job I do my part in reaching out to them in getting the information out to them and its left up to them if they want to participate or not.

ASM: Okay …. so do you think what’s lacking is exposure …I mean do we need more exposure to this program that you are engaged in? …. do you need to engage in more media exposure in terms of print and visual media, is that what is needed?

Amobi: Hmmm … I think you can never get too much exposure, you know, I think the more exposure the greater it is, and that can always definitely help. We have the exposure it’s been there, but I don’t think you can never have too much exposure; that’s just like you can never have a monopoly on health, so I just feel like the exposure has been there but there can always be more done to get better response from others.

ASM: Now.. uh ..I know this is like maybe putting the cart before the horse, but uh … hmmm … talking about a pro-league; do we one day want to look at something like a NFL Africa, pro- league that’s directly linked to the NFL here in the USA? Amobi: -- yeah that could be in the makings but right now our concerns are just in the high schools, eventually that would probably definitely take place, but right now we want to teach football right now 57

Amobi Okoye (l) at one of his Camps in Nigeria ASM: Well you know that the NFL tried NFL Europe, and that never panned out; and my personal research and experience with that is that I feel because there was no base of players from Europe as opposed to what you have in Africa, therefore I believe maybe in the case with Africa you have such a great amount of players who – Amobi: Of, course you have kids that can look at a player and say that’s my brother playing.

ASM: There you go…. there you go …. So I’m kind of like pitching the idea to you, because I think the reason why the NFL failed in Europe is because you don’t have that many players in the league that hail from Europe who play in the NFL. I mean even if there are any they are not even a full hand count you know...I would say … so but in this case with Africa you have so many, a little over a hundred, I would say, so I think this has more chance of succeeding than what they tried in Europe. So anyway you’re doing an awesome job, Amobi, and I want to commend you, so how’s life with the Chicago Bears so far, how is your career going with the Chicago Bears at this stage?

Amobi: I’m really blessed; I’m happy to be there to do what I have to do and I just love to win. I love this it man I love the team, I love the payers, my teammates, and most importantly the fans the fan base..

ASM: I have to say on a personal level, that you’re one of the players that I admire the most and I kind of followed your career, because I live in the Houston area here and you’re one of the guys that initially—when we started covering NFL Africa, you’re one of the first players we highlighted to let people know that you have this part of Africa here in the USA and they are thriving – Amobi: Thanks man I appreciate it.

ASM: You’re welcome, 58

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By Thomas Meinders

The First half of Germany's 2012/13 Bundesliga campaign has been a demonstration of power by perennial giants Bayern Munich. The record champions started the season by winning eight games in a row - an historic series of wins from the start. By the end of the year (2012), Munich lost only one game. Ironically this happened at home against Bayer Leverkuse, a team from Western Germany that had not won a single game in Munich for 23 consecutive years.

What one needs to note though is that the Leverkusen team of 2012 is totally different one. At the beginning of the year, manager Rudi VÜller made a surprising decision. He decided to appoint former Liverpool-legend Sami Hyypiä alongside Leverkusen's U23-coach Sascha Lewandowski as kind

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Cont’d on Page 66

PART

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Bundesliga Review Continued from Page 63 of a double-head-coach-system. Skeptically eyeing them, the two managed to form a team that led to every player improving their performances. Gonzalo Castro who had complained year after year considering himself an offensive midfielder, and had every coach play him out of position as right defender finally got his wish as Hyppiä and Lewandowski listened to him and played him as he asked. The bold move led to Castro scoring six goals and adding four assists in the process. In addition Stefan Kießling became the Bundesliga’s top scorer thus far with 12 goals and even with such stellar performance has yet to receive a call from Germany’s national coach Joachim Löw. So it’s not surprising that with all these changes Leverkusen are now surprisingly in second place in the league but are however nine points behind Bayern Munich.

Reigning champion Borussia Dortmund, which performed extraordinarily in the Champions League campaign (finishing first in their group ahead of Real Madrid, Ajax Amsterdam and Manchester City), have struggled mightily in some easy-looking Bundesliga matches.

The same can be said of Schalke 04, which eventually fired the Coach of the century Huub Stevens at the end of the year in an act of desperation after losing six games in a row.

Totally unexpected were the performances of two promoted teams: Eintracht Frankfurt and Fortuna Düsseldorf. Frankfurt is now ranked fourth and still has a chance to make the European Cup. Fortuna Düsseldorf – astonishingly collected 21 points in their campaigns so far nine more than 1899 Hoffenheim who is now the disappointing story of the league thus far. In what was supposed to be a strengthening of the team with the addition of defender Matthieu Delpierre, the Swiss international striker Eren Derdiyok and German international goalkeeper Tim Wiese, they have performed badly throughout the season and have allowed up to 41 goals in 17 games.

Even with such poor performance Hoffenheim is Still, not at the bottom of the league table and that is because there are two teams who have had very slow starts to the season. They are FC Augsburg and first time promoted SpVgg Greuther Fürth who both have only one victory each. Stuck at the bottom with only nine points each, there is no doubt that these two will be the relegated teams at the end of the season.

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The Ugly and Beautiful face of Sierra Leone Cricket

Sierra Leone’s only cricket oval at Kingtom an eyesore

By: Sahr Morris Jr. For many sports loving Sierra Leoneans, terms like bowling, bats, wickets and run-out are strange.

Majority of them are football enthusiasts who devote their attention to the round leather game.

Just a few of them could tell you that those terms belong to one of the most successful sporting discipline in the world, a sport that is as successful as the much-craved football; Cricket.

Cricket is played by two teams of eleven players each on a pitch with two sets of three stumps (wickets), it involves a bowler from one side who bowls the ball down the pitch to the batsman of the opposing team who must defend the wicket. The object of the game is to score as many runs as possible.

Since the games was first introduced in Sierra Leone by the British Artillery Forces in 1898, cricket has become one of the most successful sporting discipline in the country and used as a reference point for the amount of international laurels that Sierra Leone as a nation has won on the international scene.

The game’s resurgence in 2002 has been the key to its current strength in Sierra Leone. The then Sierra Leone Army SLA, now the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces RSLAF, was the first to have a test of the gentleman’s game at the Freetown Garrison of Tower Hill.

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The lack of a standard oval is the biggest issue facing the growth of the game. The only cricket oval in the country is at Kingtom and it is just bare pitch with no provisions for the game. On top of everything it is owned by the Sierra Leone Police whose personnel use the ground for several other activities including parades and sport meets. Youths around the community also use it to play football.

(left) SLCA board Chairman…Bournce Coker & CEO Francis Samura…more need to be done

The deplorable state of the ground makes it unworthy of international standards. The cricket association uses it for test trials and as a training ground for its national teams in preparation for competitions; and schools also use it for others types of competitions. Because of the lack of a proper facility the International Cricket Council ICC has banned the oval from being used to host any international matches, something which has denied the exposure needed for the game to grow in the country.

The problems are numerous and one of the worst situations came when an attempt by the former executive of the Sierra Leone Cricket Association tried to grass the Kingtom oval with funds from the ICC but that effort was suspended after a big misunderstanding between SLCA and the police force that use the grounds for their regular official functions.

However, both the former Bournes-Coker -led executive and the board executive council now led by a Chief Executive Officer CEO, a former cricketer, Francis Samura, have engaged the government to try and solve the problem of getting a better oval for the sport.

Since there has been a lack of a standard playground for the sport, the development of the game has been hindered and, CEO Samura has attributed the national cricket team’s miserable performance in the just concluded T20 ICC-Africa Division II World Cup qualifiers in South Africa to the lack of or rather poor oval condition that they use in the country.

The team secured a single victory against Swaziland out of seven matches which saw them finish at the bottom of the table and could have been relegated to the Division III ranks but thanks to the ICC which says no team should be relegated because of the tournament’s standard in that nation.

“The time is right for us to get an improved oval if only we want to challenge the East and Southern African countries at the highest level,” Samura said.

Before the team’s departure to South Africa, Samura revealed that the SLCA was able to acquire a 68

Cross section of national cricketers piece of land at Sussex, in the outskirts of Freetown, but was faced with the problem of securing the service of a surveyor to allocate the actual size to the association.

Though this could be considered to be welcome news for the improvement of the game in Sierra Leone, other obstacles before the game include the lack of adequate equipment.

Despite all these difficulties it is worthy to note that some foreign companies have been supportive too. Recently, an England-based coaching agency, Coaching Cricket Excellence, donated cricket equipment including bats, pads, helmets, gloves and balls to the Kenemmanjane Cricket Club and the national cricket team also received a huge quantity of equipment from a business entity called A Call to Business, the lack of qualified coaches also pose a big problem for the country. .

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Leonard Bundu an improbable Boxing story

Photo Credit/ Michela Commiso

By Leslie Koroma On December 1st of 2012 European Welterweight Champion Leonard Bundu of Florence Italy stepped into the ring to defend his Title against a very experienced journey man in the Boxing world in Ismail El Massoudi of France and Leonard a ferocious southpaw was able to dispatch of El Massoudi within 2 minutes 42 seconds of the first round.

Leonard is a naturalized Italian who emigrated to Italy from Sierra Leone in the early 1990’s and has lived in Italy ever since. He however has an undying love for his birthplace Sierra Leone which is evident in his competition outfits (Boxing Trunk) bearing the name LEONE on the front.

His life in boxing is a very interesting and improbable one because he had never boxed before taking up the sport in what is considered very late (16 years) in life relative to most Boxers who start out early and work their way through the amateurs, usually making it to the Olympics as a rite of passage before eventually going Pro, but despite his late start and late bloom he has quickly risen up in the ranks globally given his unique circumstances and path to stardom.

Having no friends when he landed in Italy from Sierra Leone in 1991he decided to visit the local Boxing Gym which was a stone’s throw away from where he lived and give the sports a try as a way of making friends and keeping busy and having somewhere to go and he has never looked back since.

Leonard is currently ranked 5th in the WBC global rankings and 8th in the WBA and currently holds the European Welterweight Championship belt. Now for someone who started boxing at such a late stage in life at about age 16 that is a truly remarkable story.

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Leonard is currently undefeated with 28 wins 0 Losses and 2 draws with 8 fights settled by way of TKO (technical knockout). He lives in Italy with his wife and children and sometime this past November (2012) before his title defense on December 1st I was able to catch up with him and have an in depth conversation with him.

Here is that interview ASM: Leonard hello and welcome Leonard: Yeah … Hello, thank you, thank you very much, I am glad to be here …

ASM: Tell us who you are as a boxer and what your weight category is and how you got into boxing.

Leonard: well ever since growing up in Sierra Leone I always wanted to be involved in combat sports so when I came over from Sierra Leone to Italy in my early days I didn’t have any friends and I found out that there was boxing gym right next to my house and so I said let me go over there and make some friends and start doing what I have always wanted to do and I have never looked back ever since.

ASM: So what weight category do you fight in?

Leonard: I am a welterweight and that is the 67.7 kilograms category …. I don’t know how much that is in pounds but it is the category of Mayweather and Pacquaio. Anyway I am the current European Champion and I am going to be defending my title next Saturday (That Title Defense was back on December 1st 2012 a week after this interview was done)

Photo Credit/ Michela Commiso

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Photo Credit/ Jerry Lee Ingram

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ASM: So you are going to defend you Title can you tell us who you are going to be fighting and what are your prospects are in that fight.

Leonard: I will be fighting against a French guy … he is called Ismail el Massoudi and he is an exchampion an ex interim champion he is actually very good and he will be coming to try and get my belt, but I am going to try my hardest to keep my belt and defend it and hopefully I will try and get a shot at the world title sometime soon, but I have to take it one step at a time and so I am focused on my upcoming fight this Saturday and I hope everything goes well for me.

ASM: It is a wonderful accomplishment to be the European Champion in the Welterweight category and I think it is an awesome achievement. Even before I continue to ask you questions in this interview I will like to commend you for what you have accomplished. This is really really a wonderful thing you attained in your life.

Leonard: Thank you, thank you …

ASM: So what are you aims and ambitions, I know you have just talked about going up for a World Title shot, but besides the World Title do you have any other specific target out there say like a Mayweather or a Manny Pacquaio … or you know like other guys like an African fighter … say like a Joshua Clottey, you know guys like that or do you have any specific target in mind.

Leonard: well for me it will be nice to fight another African fighter especially in Africa, and you know that will be like another Rumble in the Jungle. But you know when I started boxing my goal was to at least reach the European Title and now I will be defending it for a third time and I feel like after overcoming the last fighter I am ready for a bigger chance now. But I will like a shot at the world Title it will be a great thing for me to get a shot at it. As for Mayweather and Pacquaio those guys are big names but if it happens that will be a dream for me to get a shot at them. Currently I am number 8th in the WBA and 6th in the WBC (December 2012 rankings) in the world ranking so I know I can have a shot but anyhow I am just looking to get a shot at the World Title against whomever is willing to.

ASM: Now let’s go away a bit from boxing and talk about your Sierra Leonean heritage, so since you relocated to Italy have you ever been back to Sierra Leone.

Leonard: No I have never been back since 1991 when I left, but I really have to go visit. I really would like to go visit, but I have two young kids and they are really young, one of them is 2 years old and my wife has asked that I wait till they grow a little older. Anyway I still have a lot of friends and lots of family from my father side over there and I do talk to them. We communicate and everybody is waiting for me but it’s just a matter of time for me to go back to Sierra Leone. I really have to, I miss Sierra Leone. When I initially left I did not miss anything at all but now after a lot of time over here I really want to go back.

ASM: So what part of Sierra Leone are you actually from?

Leonard: I am from Freetown, from Aberdeen, I used to live on Aberdeen road and that’s my area and I have lots of friends around that area. I have never been back for 20 years now and I want to go back and visit there sometime since that’s my home.

ASM: Now back to boxing …. Your next title fight is coming up next Saturday (December 1st 2012) so what is going on in your mind at this stage as you get ready for a third Title defence.

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Leonard: Well … I am just focused on the fight … I am trying to just relax … My training is winding down and I am just trying to make weight for the fight, I have already trained for over three months (very hard) for this fight and I am in top shape I hope I will be able to express myself one hundred percent on Saturday. So now I am just concentrating and trying to relax. When Saturday comes and the bell sounds we will see what happens.

ASM: I want to wish you Goodluck on your fight on Saturday (December 1st 2012) Leonard: Thank you very much …

ASM: We are looking forward to a successful title defense for you and this is just one of many interviews I will be having with you as your career continues, we definitely be promoting you as you continue.

Leonard: Alright …. Okay thank you very much …. I really appreciate the interview and hope you continue to follow me and I hope every Sierra Leonean around the world will follow what I am doing out here you know, because I have actually put Sierra Leone on the map in the boxing scene you know.

ASM: I certainly will continue to follow you and we will let all Sierra Leoneans know about you.

Photo Credit/ Michela Commiso

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Photo Credit/ Jerry Lee Ingram

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Profiling AFCON 2013

The big dance is upon us once again and Africa’s best football teams are set to vie for the AFCON Trophy which is the most prestigious of all sports trophies on the continent.

The usual suspects and perennial powerhouses have football pundits forecasting and heatedly debating each other on the possible outcome of the tournament in South Africa. Are the Elephants of Ivory Coast the team to beat again this year?

The preparations are almost over with and it is time for Africa to take center stage in the football world and indeed all eyes will be on the tournament which will be hosted in South Africa, home of the first ever FIFA World Cup on African soil.

Who are the powerhouses in this year’s tournament and who is likely to take it all this time around, that is the question that fans and football experts are debating and wrangling over.

Remember regardless of all the forecasting done, the last time around, Zambia a non-factor came out of nowhere to grab it all in a very unlikely series of upsets, knocking off powerhouse after powerhouse till Christopher Katongo captain of the Chipopolo boys who was crowned the AFCON player of the tournament hoisted the much coveted trophy to the dismay and amazement of the star packed Elephants of the Ivory Coast.

However to be realistic, the Ivory Coast with all its star power and having been embarrassed the last time around by the Zambians are still head and shoulders above the rest of Africa and it is still their trophy to lose in South Africa. Coming in a close second to them are the Desert Foxes of North Africa Algeria, who might just walk through its group all the way to the top and hoist the trophy but de 76

Coming Soon to the African Sports Monthly Store

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spite the ranking s and star power football is also about heart and determination and there are a few underdogs to watch out for that might cause serious heartbreaks for the hopeful champion wannabes. Ethiopia has not been in the tournament for several decades and Cape Verde is just making an entry into the grand event for the first time in its history will their Cinderella and feel good climb into the big leagues suffice for them to snatch victory from the mighty. That remains to be seen come January 19th.

Here are our rankings before the big dance in South Africa and how they might fare after all is said and done come February 10th 1. Cote D’Ivoire 2. Algeria 3. Zambia 4. Ghana 5. Mali 6. Tunisia 7. Nigeria 8. Togo 9. Morocco 10. South Africa 11. Democratic Republic of Congo 12. Cape Verde 13. Angola 14. Burkina Faso 15. Niger 16. Ethiopia Our Prediction is that a determined Ivory Coast squad will not squander its opportunity this time around and will take care of business and win the Nations cup. Zambia will unfortunately not repeat but they will give fits to every team in their path. Ghana and Nigeria still have some work to do and will fall short but watch out for them in the 2015 edition in Morocco.

Country: Cote D’Ivoire Nickname: Elephants FIFA Ranking - 14 Star Power: Didier Drogba, Yayah Toure, Gervinho, Kolo Toure, Salomon Kalou and more Possible Outcome: Champions

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Country: South Africa Nickname: Bafana Bafana FIFA Ranking - 84th Possible Outcome: 10th place

Country: Cape Verde Nickname: Blue Sharks FIFA Ranking - 63rd Possible Outcome: 12th Place

Country: Zambia Nickname: Chipopolo Boys FIFA Ranking - 34th Star Power: Christopher Katongo, Stopila Sunzu, Kenedy Mweene Possible Outcome: 3rd place

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Country: Angola Nickname: The Sable Antelopes FIFA Ranking - 79th Possible Outcome: 13th place

Country: Niger Nickname: Menas FIFA Ranking - 105th Possible Outcome: 15th place

Country: Tunisia Nickname: Eagles of Carthage FIFA Ranking - 46th Possible Outcome: 6th place

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Country: Nigeria Nickname: Super Eagles FIFA Ranking - 57th Possible Outcome: 7th place

Country: Ghana Nickname: Black Stars FIFA Ranking - 30th Star Power: Asamoah Gyan Possible Outcome: 4th place

Country: Ethiopia Nickname: Black Lions FIFA Ranking - 102nd Possible Outcome: 16th place

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Country: Algeria Nickname: Desert Foxes FIFA Ranking - 19th Possible Outcome: 2nd Place

Country: Mali Nickname: The Eagles FIFA Ranking - 25th Star Power: Seydou Keita Possible Outcome: 6th Place

Country: Togo Nickname: The Sparrow Hawks FIFA Ranking - 73rd Star Power: Emmanuel Adebayor Possible Outcome: 8th

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Country: Democratic Republic of Congo Nickname: The Leopards FIFA Ranking - 99th Possible Outcome: 11th

Country: Morocco Nickname: Lions of the Atlas FIFA Ranking - 72nd Possible Outcome: 9th

Country: Burkina Faso Nickname: The Stallions FIFA Ranking - 89th Possible Outcome: 14th place

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