The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has named the final three for its 2015 Player of the Year award. Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure could be the first man to win the accolade five times. The Manchester City star is up against Ghana and Swansea’s Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and Borussia Dortmund. The winner is chosen by head coaches of the FA’s affiliated to CAF and ‎will be announced at a gala on 7 January. CAF named an original list of 37 players in October  before cutting it down to ten last month. Toure, who captained Ivory Coast to the Africa Cup of Nations title in January, has won the award for the last four years and was named the BBC’s 2015 African Player of the Year last week. Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o is the only other player to have been crowned the best on the continent four times by CAF, winning in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010. CAF has also released the final three names for the Africa-Based Player of the Year; Baghdad Bounedjah of Algeria and Etoile du Sahel as well as the TP Mazembe duo of Tanzania’s Mbwana Samatta and the DR Congo goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba.

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Nigeria and Stoke City striker Osaze Odemwingie (right) poses with new British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (centre). Joshua was born in Watford to a Nigerian mother and an English father of Nigerian and Irish descent. He recently beat Dillian Whyte to become British heavyweight champion.   The 26 years old boxer is also an Olympic gold medalist in the super-heavyweight category.

Here comes the Europa draw:

Valencia vs Rapid Vienna

Fiorentina vs Tottenham

Borrusia Dortmond vs Porto

Fenerbahce vs Lokomotiv Mosco

Anderlecht vs Olympiacos

Midtjylland vs Manchester United

Augsburg vs Liverpool

Sparta Prague vs Krasnodar

Galatasaray vs Lazio

Sion vs Braga

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Schalke

Marseille vs Athletic Bilbao

Sevilla vs Molde

Sporting Lisbon vs Bayer Leverkusen

Villarreal vs Napoli

Saint-Etienne vs Basel

Below are the ties for the last 16 of the Champions League. The draw conducted by UEFA Secretary Gianni Infantino just held few minutes ago.

Gent vs Wolfsburg

AS Roma vs Real Madrid

Paris St Germain vs Chelsea

Arsenal vs Barcelona

Juventus vs Bayern Munich

PSV Eindhoven vs Atletico Madrid

Benfica vs Zenith

Dynamo Kiev vs Manchester City

Arsenal goalkeeper, Petr Cech made a goalkeeping milestone at the weekend while his club played away to Aston Villa at the Villa Park. Cech has now kept 169 clean sheets in 349 games in the Premier League This has equaled David James Premier League record of 169 clean sheets albeit in 223 games. Remember James? Some called him calamity James but he sure set some records in the game.

Cameroon’s Football Federation (FECAFOOT) officially launched its search for a new national team coach on Sunday, following the sacking of Volker Finke on 30 October. FECAFOOT, who placed Alexandre Belinga in temporary charge of the Indomitable Lions following Finke’s dismissal, advertised for applications   on their website. As interim coach, Belinga helped Cameroon reach the next round of 2018 World Cup qualifying, beating Niger 3-0 away and drawing 0-0 at home. FECAFOOT says it is open to looking at applications from a foreign coach – not just native Cameroonians – and has given a deadline of 15 December for applications to be submitted. The Federation also outlines an intriguing list of requirements for anyone hoping to become the next Cameroon coach.

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Nigeria’s  U-23 male team, Dream Team VI, have won the  African U-23 Africa Cup of Nations following a 2-1 win over Algeria in the final played last night at the at the Leopold Sedar Senghor Stadium in Dakar. Nigeria’s Etebo Oghenekaro  scored a  first half brace in the 15th and 40th minute while Segun  Oduduwa conceded an own goal  in the 31st minute in the pulsating match that saw  goalkeeper  Daniel Emmanuel  deny the Algerians a possible  equaliser  after  he caught  a penalty kick in the second half. Nigeria and Algeria will be joined the South Africa to represent Africa at the Rio Olympics next year. South Africa  defeated hosts Senegal 3-1 (penalties) in the third place play-off match.

Congrats to coach Siasia and his boys!

The draw for EURO 2016 to be hosted by France was held today:

Saturday 12 December, 2015:

Norwich 1 – 1 Everton 

Crystal Palace 1 – 0 Southampton 

Man City 2 – 1 Swansea 

Sunderland 0 – 1 Watford 

West Ham 0 – 0 Stoke 

Bournemouth 2 – 1 Man Utd

Super Eagles of Nigeria striker, Odion Ighalo is actually having fun in his debut season in the English premiership where he plays for Watford. His goal today against Sunderland brings his goal tally to 10 so far this season (the most goals by a Watford player in Premier League history) . The goal is also Ighalo’s 26th in 2015. Something to cheer up Nigerian fans. Go Odion!

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Goalline technology could be used at Euro 2016 and in next season’s Champions League and Europa League. If approved, UEFA’s system of positioning an additional assistant referee behind each goal would remain. European football’s governing body discussed the issue on Friday and said it would make a decision in January. Goalline technology was introduced in the Premier League for the 2013-14 season, and FIFA used it for the first time at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. At a news conference in Paris, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said there was a “positive” attitude towards its implementation, despite “logistical challenges”. “This has been on the table for quite some time,” he added. “If it happens for Euro 2016 then it will also happen for the club competitions for next season, the Champions League and Europa League. This will be in addition to the five assistants. “The final decision will be made in January but the executive committee was pretty positive in its mindset.”

Cote d’Ivoire captain Yaya Toure has been voted the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2015. Football fans voted for Manchester City’s Toure, who first won in 2013, ahead of Yacine Brahimi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andre Ayew and Sadio Mane. “I am very proud. To receive this dedication from the fans is unbelievable,” Toure told BBC Sport. “Also I want to pay tribute to the other nominees. African football is growing up, becoming much better and we have fantastic young players coming through now.” Toure described all five nominees as “champions”. He added: “I am delighted and very happy. And as an African player, I want to lead all my younger brothers to be successful in the future. “When I was a kid I was always dreaming of being an important player. I have sacrificed a lot. “I will continue to try to win a trophy every year, I will fight to win a personal trophy.”

Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj says that he does not know if he will return to Old Trafford from his loan spell with German side Borussia Dortmund. “I don’t know,” the 20-year-old Belgian replied when asked about his future beyond the end of the season. “I wanted to join somewhere I could play and there were a few things behind that were a problem but I’m happy here. I just need more games to play and then I’ll be fine.” Januzaj started his first game since October in Dortmund’s Europa League defeat to PAOK and was rated a humiliating 1/10 by German newspapers WAZ and Ruhr Nachrichten.

Leicester’s Claudio Ranieri and Jamie Vardy have won November’s Premier League Manager and Player of the Month awards respectively. Vardy wins the accolade for the second successive time after sealing October’s prize, having continued his scoring run in consecutive games to break Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s Premier League record and extend it to 11 matches. The 28-year-old forward, who recently made his England debut, has been in superb form this season with 14 goals in all competitions. Ranieri, meanwhile, took Leicester back to the top of the Premier League with victory over Swansea last weekend a position they hit during an impressive unbeaten November which saw them record wins away to Newcastle, at home to Watford, and a 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

Former Super Eagles captain and coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has lost his wife, Kate to the cold hands of death on Wednesday night. In a statement from family spokesman Emmanuel Ado, Kate battled with cancer for three years but finally succumbed to it in the United States of America. A condolence message released by the NFF through its website described the death of the wife of the former coach as a big loss.  “This is devastating. To lose a spouse is the equivalence of a tragedy. I pray that Almighty God will give you and the children the fortitude to bear this huge loss,” NFF president Amaju Pinnick said. “Keshi is a Nigerian hero and we mourn deeply with him at this time. This has come like a big blow, but we pray that he receives divine strength to cope with the situation, and we also pray that the Almighty God will grant the departed eternal rest.” Keshi and Kate were married for 33 years. She is survived by her husband, four children, her mother, brothers and sister.

Presidential candidate, Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan has promised to bring developments to African football if he wins the FIFA election next year. Hussein who flew into Nigeria to consult with NFF President Melvin Amaju Pinnick said that Africa was key in his developmental plans and would fulfill his promises if he gets elected. ‘’When I make a promise I fulfill it. I am driven by passion and love of the game. I am young and energetic and indeed we need a young man who can withstand the rigours of travelling the length and breadth of all the countries that make up FIFA. He also promised borrow a leaf from Nigeria’s Football Federation President Pinnick in building human capacity for the good of the game. ‘’I’m impressed with the work my friend Pinnick is doing with builing human capacity. It’s important we do this and give scholarships to help grow the game especially among all the developing countries’’.

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Michel Platini has lost his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have his 90 day provisional suspension from football overturned, but Fifa have been ordered not to extend it. In a statement, the panel said they “determined that maintaining the provisional suspension for the remainder of the 90 days does not cause irreparable harm to Michel Platini”  His longtime ambition of becoming FIFA president now seems a tall order.

Karim Benzema has been suspended from the France team until an investigation into his alleged part in a blackmail and sex tape case has been resolved. The 27-year-old striker could miss Euro 2016, which starts in France in June. Benzema has been placed under formal investigation by a French judge over an alleged bid to blackmail France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex video. The Real Madrid forward denies any wrongdoing but if found guilty, could face a minimum of five years in prison. France Football Federation president Noel le Graet, who had previously supported Benzema, said it was a “heart-breaking” decision to suspend him. But he added: “I have decided that he is not available for selection.” According to French media, Benzema mentioned the tape to Lyon midfielder Valbuena, 31, during a national team training session at Clairefontaine on 5 October. Benzema, who scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, told police he was advising a friend about what to do in a difficult situation. But he could face charges for complicity in attempted blackmail and participation in a criminal conspiracy by the judge in November. When a suspect is placed under formal investigation, a judge will then determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the suspect to be formally charged.

Honduran international footballer Arnold Peralta has been shot dead while on holiday in his hometown. He was killed in the car park of a shopping centre in La Ceiba, on the country’s Caribbean coast. The motive for the attack is unclear. The 26-year-old midfielder for Olimpia, in the capital Tegucigalpa, played for Scottish giants Rangers until January. Honduras is plagued by gang violence and has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Osman Madrid, director of the Honduran football federation, said it was a “tragic death that the national sport mourns”. No arrests have been made. Police ruled out robbery as a possible motive because Peralta had not had his belongings taken. He represented Honduras at the 2012 Olympic Games in London but was ruled out of the 2014 Brazil World Cup squad through injury. He had been due to play for the national team in a friendly against Cuba next week.

Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger will be banned for three matches after accepting a Football Association charge of violent conduct. He was charged after catching West Ham’s Winston Reid with his left arm as they waited for a free-kick in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Old Trafford. The incident was not seen by the match officials but was caught on video. Schweinsteiger, 31, will miss games against Bournemouth, Norwich and Stoke, and return in time to play Chelsea. Referee Mark Clattenburg spoke to both players after the incident, but did not mention it in his post-match report. A panel of three former elite referees each reviewed the video footage independently of one another and unanimously decided it was a sending-off offence. “He knows what he’s done – he’s elbowed me in the face,” Reid said following the match. West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said it was “a clear red card – a straight red without any doubts”. He added: “It was a moment of madness. He deserved to be sent off, but the referee told me he didn’t see it. Fair enough, I believe it. It was an elbow.”