Facts and not the least were the national and international news during this year 2022. Afrikipresse.fr resumes the essence of these events that vibrated throughout the year.
January
1- Dr. Daouda Karaboué is re-elected as President of the Ivorian Handball Federation (FIHB) for a term of 4 years. He defeated Boni Ehouman dit Zamora, Koné Drissa and Coulibaly Ibrahim dit Ibou in the elections.
2- Start of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) football in Cameroon. The host country won in the opening match against Burkina Faso (2-1).
February
3- Senegal are crowned African champions after beating Egypt in the CAN 2022 football final. The Senegalese defeated the Egyptians with 4 shots on target at 2.0-0 after extra time.
March
4- 25 to 29- Third and final elimination round of the Africa zone football World Cup at the end of which five countries namely Cameroon, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal and Ghana won the ticket to the stage final in Qatar.
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5- Start of the U20 (or junior) CAN qualifiers in Niamey, Niger in zone UFOA B. In the opening Ivory Coast defeated Niger (1-0).
6- Zamalek from Cairo defeats Al Ahly from Cairo (29-28) in the final to win the 37th edition of the Men’s African Handball Cup Winners’ Cup. In the ladies, Petro Atlético de Luanda from Angola was crowned after dominating three opponents Bandama Handball Club (Ivory Coast), FAP (Cameroon) and DGSP (Congo). The competition took place in Niamey in Niger from the 10th to the 18th of this month.
7- Nigeria beats Benin (1-3) to win the CAN U20 qualification trophy in the UFOA B football zone. Both countries have qualified for the final stage of the event in 2023.
June-
8- Start of the CAN U17 (or cadet) qualifiers for the UFOA B football zone in Cape Coast, Ghana. 7 countries took part in this tournament, namely Nigeria, Ghana and Togo (group A) and Ivory Coast, Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso.
9- Nigeria beats Burkina Faso to win the CAN U17 qualifying tournament in UFOA B soccer zone.
July
10- Start in Morocco of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) for women’s football. Morocco beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in the opening match. Morocco, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Uganda, Cameroon, Zambia, Tunisia, Togo, Nigeria, South Africa, Burundi and Botswana were the participating countries.
11- South Africa defeated Morocco 2-1 in the women’s football AFCON final to win the continental trophy for the first time in its history. The day before, Zambia won the bronze medal by beating Nigeria (1-0) in the ranking match. South Africa follows Nigeria.
August
12- Start in Abidjan in Ivory Coast of the men’s and women’s volleyball tournament Zone 3. Five countries participated in this event. These are Mali, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin and Niger. Liberia and Nigeria were conspicuous by their absence.
13- Ghana won the zone 3 volleyball tournament in the men’s and women’s tournament by beating Mali twice in the final.
September
14- Bayelsa Queens FC of Nigeria won against Ampem Darkoa Ladies FC of Ghana in the final of the Women’s Champions League qualifiers in the UFOA B zone. The Nigerians clearly dominated the Ghanaians 3-0.
15- Ivory Coast defeated Burkina Faso in Agadir, Morocco to qualify for the 7th edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) football which will take place in Algeria in 2023. The Ivorians defeated the Burkinabè at the end of the penalty shootout (5 against 3) after a double white draw both on the way there and on the return.
October
16- Election of Jean-Marc Yacé as president of the Ivorian Federation of Taekwondo (FITKD) in Abidjan.
17- Horoya AC from Conakry surprised ASEC Mimosas (1-0) in Yamoussoukro in the first leg of the final qualifying round of Champions League football.
17- Horoya AC of Conakry knocks out ASEC Mimosas after a draw (1-1) in Conakry in the 2nd leg. In the first leg a week ago, the Guineans forced the Ivorians to defeat in Yamoussoukro with the least score (1-0).
18- Niger knocked out Ivory Coast in the race for the CAN U23 and qualifier for the Olympic football games after drawing (1-1) in Yamoussoukro. On the way to Niamey, the two teams separated by a white draw (0-0). This elimination came at the end of the second qualifying round of this event.
November
19- The former famous sports journalist, sports consultant and president of Olympique de Marseille (France) Pape Diouf, who died on March 31, 2020, was celebrated in Abidjan with an award that paid tribute to him vividly for his contribution to football. The award was sponsored by Thierno Seydi, player agent and placed under the patronage of Alafé Wikili, CEO of the group L’Intelligent d’Abidjan. The winner received the first prize of one million CFA francs.
20- Qualification of ASEC Mimosas for Sporting Club for the group stage of the Confederation Cup of football. The double confrontation took place at the Yamoussoukro stadium. In the first leg (November 2), the yellow-black club won 2-0 and on the return 3-2.
21-Begin in Abidjan in Ivory Coast of the qualifications for the first edition of the African school football championship of the UFOA B zone. Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, Niger and Burkina Faso participated in this tournament. Nigeria and Ghana, the two English-speaking countries in the area, were conspicuous by their absence.
22-Signing in Abidjan of the framework agreement stipulating the cessation of the organization of the 34th edition of the CAN football in Ivory Coast. The agreement was signed between Prime Minister Patrick Achi of the Ivorian side and Secretary General Véron Mosengo-Omba on behalf of CAF.
23-Benin for men and women (U15) won the qualifying tournament for Zone UFOA B of the first edition of the African School Football Championship in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The two categories, which together raised more than 100 million CFA francs, have also qualified for the final phase of the competition.
24-Angola won the 25th edition of the African Women’s Handball Cup of Nations in Dakar, Senegal. She beat Cameroon 29-19 in the final to win her 15th continental title in the competition, including her fourth in a row since 2016.
25- Start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In the opening game, Ecuador clearly won 2-0 against host country Qatar.
December
26- Morocco knocked out Portugal (1-0) in the quarter-finals of the 222 World Cup and qualified for the semi-finals of the event. A nice first for this country and for the African continent that is used to the quarterfinals with Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010).
27-Croatia defeated Morocco (2-1) in the ranking match to win the bronze medal of the 2022 World Cup.
28-Argentina defeated France in the final (3-3 and then 4 shots to 2) in the final of the 2022 World Cup and won the gold medal. She is world champion. France settled for the silver medal.
29-Brazilian and world football legend Edson Arentès do Nascimento aka Pelé dies of colon cancer.
A selection of Adou Mel
