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Tired and Sad, Mane and Salah Head to Africa for AFCON Qualifying

Liverpool, Britain - May 13, 2018 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah REUTERS/Phil Noble
Liverpool, Britain - May 13, 2018 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah REUTERS/Phil Noble
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Tired and Sad, Mane and Salah Head to Africa for AFCON Qualifying

Liverpool, Britain - May 13, 2018 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah REUTERS/Phil Noble
Liverpool, Britain - May 13, 2018 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah REUTERS/Phil Noble

Premier League stars Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah head to Africa for 2023 Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers weary and disappointed after a 70-match season that ended with Liverpool's Champions League final loss.

Mane-inspired defending champions Senegal host Benin and visit Rwanda in Group L and should secure maximum points in a competition where section winners and runners-up secure tournament places, said AFP.

Salah-captained Egypt begin with a home match against Guinea in Group D, then travel to Malawi to face Ethiopia, none of whose grounds meet international standards.

The first three of 46 matchday one and two qualifiers are scheduled for Wednesday and the last three for June 13.

Another Premier League star, winger Riyad Mahrez from champions Manchester City, cannot lead Algeria against Uganda and Tanzania in Group F due to an undisclosed injury.

Barcelona forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be a notable absentee when Gabon tackle the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritania in Group I having announced his retirement from international football.

But the spotlight, as always, will be on Anfield teammates Mane and Salah, the last two winners of the African Footballer of the Year title.

According to global footballers' union Fifpro, both forwards made 70th appearances in the 2021-2022 season when playing for Liverpool in the 1-0 Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid last Saturday.

Fifpro believe footballers should not play more than 55 matchers in a season, warning that stars like Mane and Salah are being pushed to their physical limits.

Vincent Gouttebarge, the Fifpro chief medical officer, sent a stark message: "This kind of working environment is conducive to the development of mental health problems."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is sympathetic to his African stars, saying "Mane and Salah have two weeks off a year in a physically demanding job".

Short flying distances between European countries help national team stars, but Mane, Salah and hundreds of other Africans regularly face many hours in the air, punctuated by lengthy stop-overs.

When South African sides play in north Africa, they usually travel via the United Arab Emirates or Qatar due to the absence of direct flights and to cut costs.

- Logistical challenges -
While a few comparatively rich national football associations charter jets, it is not unusual for squads to be split into several travelling groups and take several days to reach a destination.

Adding to the logistical challenges facing officials is that 16 of the 45 countries competing for 23 places along side the Ivory Coast next June cannot host matches due to sub-standard stadiums.

Morocco will stage the matches of Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mauritius and Liberia while South Africa serves as the temporary home for Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho.

A Confederation of African Football (CAF) spokesman told AFP that "the pitch, dressing rooms and spectator facilities are inspected and other issues considered before deciding on suitability".

South Africa officially protested after Liberia announced they would play a home Group K match against Morocco in the north African kingdom.

A number of contenders will have new coaches, including top 10-ranked sides Nigeria, the Ivory Coast and Egypt.

Ivory Coast, who last hosted the Cup of Nations in 1984, chose Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset and he faces a potentially awkward debut against Zambia in Yamoussoukro.

Little has gone right for the Zambians since a shock 2012 Cup of Nations final triumph over the Ivorians, and the Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) failed to qualify for the last three editions.

But there is hope of a brighter future under recently hired Croat coach Aljosa Asanovic, who can call on Premier League performers Patson Daka of Leicester City and Enock Mwepu from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Portuguese Jose Peseiro began his reign as Nigeria boss with a 2-1 friendly loss to Mexico in the United Stars at the weekend and they also play Ecuador before tackling Sierra Leone and Mauritius in Group A.

Nigeria should be wary of Sierra Leone, who staged the greatest Cup of Nations qualifying comeback by wiping out a four-goal deficit to draw 4-4 with the Super Eagles in the previous edition.

Another Portuguese, Carlos Queiroz, could not agree on a contract extension with Egypt so Ehab Gabal swaps Cairo club Pyramids for one of the most demanding national team posts in Africa.

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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open on Friday after a soaking wet ceremony in which athletes were cheered by the crowd along the Seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.

France's three-time Olympic gold medalists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada's Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf's "Hymn to Love", in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.

The 30-meter (98 ft) high balloon carrying a 7-meter diameter ring of fire took to the air and was hovering dozens of meters above the ground.

It will be in the air from sunset until 2 am local time every day, organizers said.

"We are so proud of this show, I'm so proud that sport and culture were celebrated in such a fantastic manner tonight, it was a first and the result was fantastic despite the rain," Paris 2024 organizing president Tony Estanguet told reporters.

A fleet of barges took the competitors on a 6 km-stretch of the river alongside some of the French capital's most famous landmarks, as performers recreated some of the sports to be showcased in the Games on floating platforms.

It was the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.

"I invite everybody: dream with us. Like the Olympic athletes, be inspired with the joy that only sport can give us. Let us celebrate this Olympic spirit of living in peace," International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach said as the ceremony came to an end at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday.

As the show started four hours earlier, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke, resembling the French flag, was sent high above a bridge over the Seine as part of a show that included many postcard-like depictions of France, including a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge dancers on the banks.

A more modern image of the country was on display when French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most-listened to French female singer in the world, sang some of her biggest hits, accompanied by the French Republican Guard's army choir.

Nakamura's performance drew some of the ceremony's biggest cheers. Rumors of her inclusion had sparked a row over French identity, with supporters saying she represented the vibrancy of modern-day France while her detractors said her music owes more to foreign influences than French.

POURING RAIN

While the celebration of French culture, fashion and history was warmly cheered by many of the 300,000 spectators lining the river, hundreds were seen leaving early as the rain fell.

"It was good other than the rain, it was nice, it was different, instead of being in a stadium being on the river, so that's always a good thing - interesting, unique," said Avid Pureval, 34, who came to the Games from Ohio.

"Once you're wet, it's fine," he said. Still, he was heading back to his hotel after the French boat passed, long before the ceremony ended.

"It would have been better with sun," said Josephine, from Paris, sitting beside her 9-year-old daughter and who paid 1,600 euros ($1,736) for her seat.

With many world leaders and VIPs present, the ceremony was protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine's riverbed was swept for bombs, and Paris' airspace was closed.

Some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers were deployed in a huge security operation in Paris for the ceremony. Armed police patrolled along the river in inflatable boats as the armada made its passage along the Seine.

WELCOMED IN TAHITI

A mix of French and international stars, including soccer great Zinedine Zidane, 14-times French Open champion Rafa Nadal, 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and three paralympic athletes were among the last torchbearers before the cauldron was lit.

It will blaze until the closing ceremony on Aug. 11.

At the start of the parade, applause erupted for the Greek boat - the first delegation, by tradition - and there were even bigger cheers for the boat that followed, carrying the refugees' team. The French, US and Ukrainian delegations also got loud cheers.

The two most decorated athletes in the Games' history, Michael Phelps and Martin Fourcade, unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals.

At one point, there was a live crossover to the early morning welcome ceremony at the surfing venue, 16,000 km away in the Pacific island of Tahiti.

ISRAEL DELEGATION

France is at its highest level of security, though officials have repeatedly said there was no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.

But since the last Games - the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 - wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a tense international backdrop.

Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and are given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics due to the war in Gaza, officials say.

The Israel delegation got some boos, but also a lot of cheers, as it sailed by spectators, Reuters reporters saw. Chants of "Palestine! Palestine! Palestine!" rose from the crowd as the boat passed.

Macron, who won a second mandate two years ago, had hoped the Olympics would cement his legacy. But his failed bet on a snap legislative election has weakened him and cast a shadow over his moment on the international stage.