Author: Michael Mbuyi

A packed CAF calendar sets the stage The Confederation of African Football is preparing for an unusually dense sequence of competitions stretching from the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the African Nations Championship to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations itself. In parallel, the CAF Super Cup scheduled for 18 October will pitch the continent’s two club champions against each other, a single night that routinely draws television audiences in excess of thirty million according to previous CAF audience reports. It is against this backdrop that global bookmaker 1xBet – an official partner of CAF since 2022 – has…

A painful scoreline for the Red Devils The chill that greeted the final whistle at the Stade du 4 Août in Ouagadougou still hangs over Congolese football. Beaten 3-1 by Niger, Fabrizio Cesana’s men have now collected merely one point in seven qualifying fixtures, an arithmetic that makes the road to the 2026 World Cup appear steep, if not vertical. The early concession before half-time, followed by two further blows, erased any tactical blueprint the staff had rehearsed. Only in the 93rd minute did the talented teenager Bassinga Déo Gracias claw back a consolation, a gesture more symbolic than transformative.…

Judicial Injunction Disrupts National Football The ordinary general meeting of the Congolese Football Federation, scheduled for 4 October in Brazzaville, was abruptly postponed after a new ordinance was signed by the senior investigating judge of the city’s Tribunal de grande instance. The ruling, which reached stakeholders only through social networks, effectively suspended a statutory event that normally calibrates the federation’s technical, financial and electoral agenda for the coming season. Second vice-president Carle Boniface Malalou informed the delegates, noting that the federation itself had received no formal notification. “We were all surprised,” he said, “to discover on Friday afternoon a decision…

A measured continental panorama From the Baltic coast to the Balkans, Congolese footballers continue to add nuance to the competitive tapestries of Europe’s elite and subsidiary divisions. The weekend fixtures of 6-8 October offered a revealing cross-section of form, fitness and tactical deployment for players who remain eligible for the Red Devils of Congo-Brazzaville. While one headline belongs unambiguously to Christopher Ibayi’s clinical contribution in Switzerland, the collective narrative is richer, speaking to rotation decisions, disciplinary learning curves and the resilience demanded by club and country calendars. Poland: Charpentier’s enforced hiatus persists For the third consecutive match-day, Cracovia Kraków published…

Historic Night in Santiago Only a handful of youth fixtures manage to bend the global football narrative, yet the evening of 1 October in Santiago did precisely that. Morocco’s U20 selection, colloquially celebrated as the Atlas Cubs, resisted the famed Brazilian possession game and produced a 2–1 victory that guarantees a place in the FIFA U20 World Cup round of sixteen with one match to spare. The result, their second straight win in Group D, represents the most prestigious scalp ever claimed by a Moroccan youth side on the world stage (FIFA match centre, 1 October). Tactical Discipline and Clinical…

Executive Committee aligns the roadmap Under the vaulted ceilings of the federation’s headquarters on 2 October, the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) convened an extended session of its Executive Committee as a prelude to the ordinary General Assembly scheduled for 4 October in Brazzaville. President Jean Guy Blaise Mayolas opened the proceedings by insisting on “rigorous organisation” and “responsible deliberation”, framing the preparatory meeting as a pivotal step toward a congress that must, in his words, be “dignified, constructive and a bearer of hope for the sustainable development of our football” (FECOFOOT communiqué, 2 Oct.). Participants reviewed the state of completion…

Casablanca Tatami Elevates Congolese Ambitions Under the floodlights of the Mohammed V sports complex in Casablanca, the seventh World Nanbudo Championships unfolded on 27–28 September before an audience that blended Moroccan aficionados with delegates from four continents. Among the 140 athletes in contention, the Republic of Congo’s compact but resolute delegation—escorted by national coach Brunel Bouap Poundjoll—entered the tatami with the task of defending the green-yellow-red colours in the under-65 kg and under-70 kg divisions. Their journey had begun with late-hour visa formalities and fundraising hurdles, yet the athletes reached the host city in competitive shape thanks to coordinated effort…

Belgian Window: Goals, Absences and Leadership Tests Saturday’s slate in the Jupiler Pro League offered contrasting emotions for Congo-Brazzaville followers. Alexis Beka Beka, whose versatility had been welcomed by the staff of RAAL La Louvière, was conspicuously missing when the side fought to a goalless draw at Dender. Technical sources inside the club described the omission as a “rotational choice” designed to manage muscular fatigue, a reminder of the delicate balance coaches seek in the first third of the season. One tier below, the Challenger Pro League produced a brighter image. Enjoying numerical superiority from the thirty-second minute, Patro Eisden…

Madingou breathes handball for eleven days For nearly a fortnight the usually tranquil Stade omnisport of Madingou transformed into a resonant arena where whistles, drums and chants blended with the thud of resin-coated balls. From 8 to 18 September 2025, twenty-three clubs representing Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, Pool and the host department of Bouenza contested the first edition of the senior men’s and women’s tournament tellingly christened “J’aime la Bouenza au sens propre”. The appellation, at once affectionate and ambitious, framed a competition designed to celebrate handball’s health in Congo-Brazzaville despite acknowledged governance challenges. Finals deliver drama and technical mastery The women’s…

High-stakes countdown to 27 September The calendar approved by the Congolese Football Federation (Fécofoot) envisaged a ceremonial kick-off for the 2025-2026 season on 13 September. Two weeks later, the whistle has yet to sound. The federation postponed the opening fixture to 27 September after the Ministry of Sports withheld access to the three national stadiums, citing the need for additional safety audits and technical conformity with recent Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA guidelines. With barely a fortnight remaining, officials are racing against the clock to avoid a second consecutive blank season, a scenario lamented by club executives as…