U-17 World Cup 2017 Qualifier: Nigeria Draw Algeria, Libya & Others

U17 world champions Nigeria will begin another continental quest when they face next-door neigbours Niger in a second round qualifier in August, but their qualifying pool also has Algeria, Libya and Gabon.

Algeria and Libya will do battle in the first round between June and July, before they face Gabon in the second round in August.

The overall winners will then battle the winners of the clash between Nigeria and Niger in September to determine the qualifier for the tournament to be staged by Madagascar in April 2017.

AFCON 2017: CAF Sends Hosting Invitation To Nigeria As Libya Pulls Out

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have confirmed that they have sent out invitation to all 54 member associations including Nigeria; informing them of opening bids for the hosting of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. The development became necessary as Libya who were previously designated to host the Africa football showpiece have pulled out from the exercise.

CAF said on Saturday that a Libyan delegation led by the country's Minister of Youth and Sports and included the president of the Libyan Football Federation revealed in a meeting with CAF President Issa Hayatou that owing to the unstable security situation in the country, Libya would not be able to host the Afcon in 2017.

Meet Nigeria's Basketball Player Alex Owumi Who Ate Cockroaches To Survive While Playing For Gaddafi In Libya

When US basketball player Alex Owumi signed a contract to play for a team in Benghazi, Libya, he had no idea that his employer was the the most feared man in the country. Nor did he guess the country was about to descend into war. Here he tells his story, parts of which some readers may find distressing. It was a beautiful flat. Everything was state of the art and it was spacious, too. It had two big living rooms, three big bedrooms, flat screens everywhere. The couches had gold trim and were so big and heavy they were impossible to move. The door to the apartment was reinforced steel, like on a bank vault.

It was 27 December 2010 and I had just arrived in Benghazi, Libya’s second biggest city, to play basketballfor a team called Al-Nasr Benghazi. I had stayed in some nice places playing for teams in Europe, but this seventh-floor apartment in the middle of town was something else. It was like the Taj Mahal.

Libya Beat Ghana On Penalties To Win CHAN Title

Libya claimed the 2014 African Nations Championship (Chan) title after defeating Ghana on a penalty shootout in the tournament final at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday evening. The North Africans’ first piece of continental silverware arrived courtesy of a 4-3 shootout win over the Black Stars after the match had ended goalless after extra time. It was the third successive match Libya won by a shootout, after ousting Gabon and Zimbabwe in the same manner in the quarter- and semifinals respectively.

The first half saw little in the way of goalmouth action, with the teams effectively cancelling each other out. Ghana had the edge in terms of pace and athleticism, but Libya were well organised and looked dangerous on the counter attack.