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Nigerian singer Yemi Alade expressed her excitement, describing it as a ‘dream come true,’ as she announced her upcoming performance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
In a post from her official X account, she shared her longstanding desire to perform at football ceremonies, dating back to 2016.
Alade emphasized the significance of prayer and verbalizing one’s aspirations, expressing her honour at the opportunity to perform at AFCON.
Alade also described the feat as “a dream come true“.
She wrote, “I cannot buttress the importance of prayer and speaking into existence your heart desires.
“Since 2016, I have desired to perform at the stadium for football ceremonies surrounded by 100’s of dancers and millions of people.
“A lot of calls came in almost every year when football championship preparations were made, but none was favourable.
“I never said this, but at some point, I started feeling like my team was chasing them away, but something told me to let them do their job.
“7 years after, I’m performing at AFCON. It’s indeed an honour and a dream come true. It’s just the beginning! God bless my team.”
The 34th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is scheduled to be hosted by Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11.
Yemi Alade, considered one of the best female musicians both in the country and on the continent, gained significant recognition in the music industry after the release of her hit “Johnny” in 2014.
Known for her versatility, Alade performs her songs in French, Yoruba, and English. Her achievements include winning the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) for Best Female in both 2015 and 2016.
THE Super Eagles of Nigeria have confirmed that Umar Sadiq is ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire (AFCON 2023) after sustaining an injury in training.
The Real Sociedad striker was involved in the team’s friendly defeat to Guinea on Monday but has not trained with the group since they arrived in Abidjan on Wednesday.
Trabzonspor striker Paul Onuachu has been called up as replacement for Sadiq, the Super Eagles media team announced this morning.
Sadiq joins a long list on injury-enforced absences for the three-time African champions, with fellow strikers Taiwo Awoniyi and Victor Boniface as well as midfielder Wilfred Ndidi also unable to play in the tournament, which kicks off tomorrow.
Nottingham Forest striker Awoniyi was ruled out with a long-term injury even before the 40-man provisional squad was named, while Bayer Leverkusen hitman Boniface and Leicester City midfielder Ndidi withdrew after being named in the 25-man squad for the continental showpiece.
Boniface has been replaced by Nice striker Terem Moffi, with Royal Antwerp’s Alhassan Yusuf stepping into the big shoes of Ndidi.
The Super Eagles get their AFCON 2023 campaign off the ground on Sunday against Equatorial Guinea before facing hosts Cote d’Ivoire on January 18 in one of the standout group phase fixtures.
Jose Peseiro’s side round off the group stages with a clash against Guinea-Bissau on January 22.
The tournament will end on February 11.
PHOTO: Umar Sadiq.
[NaijaTimes]
Paris Saint-Germain resume their Ligue 1 title bid after the winter break against last season’s runners-up Lens as the focus sharpens increasingly on the future of France captain Kylian Mbappe.
The league’s top scorer for each of the past five seasons, Mbappe’s contract with the French champions runs out at the end of June and he is free to sign an agreement to join a new club for the 2024-25 campaign.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi reiterated his stance this week that the club is the best place for the 25-year-old amid endless speculation he will join Real Madrid in the summer.
“I’m not going to hide that I want Kylian to stay,” Al-Khelaifi told broadcaster RMC.
“The best player in the world is Kylian and the best club for him is Paris.”
Reports in Spain suggest Madrid want Mbappe to commit by January 15, but he insists no decision has been made, and those around him said he would not be rushed into doing so by any ultimatum.
Liverpool have also been linked with the World Cup winner, who has spoken with the Premier League leaders in the past, notably meeting with them when he was still at Monaco in 2017.
While PSG look well on course for a record-extending 12th league crown, and 10th in the past 12 seasons, any sudden developments in the long-running Mbappe saga could unsettle Luis Enrique’s squad.
“We have a lot of very important matches, I ask for you to leave Kylian alone,” said Al-Khelaifi, adamant that whether Mbappe stays or not “is not a question of money”.
The capital club will lose Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and South Korea international Lee Kang-in to the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup respectively this month, escaping lightly compared to many others.
They travel on Sunday to Lens, whose 11-match unbeaten run was ended by second-placed Nice prior to Christmas.
The Stade Bollaert is not quite the fortness it was last term when Lens failed to win just twice at home and finished a point behind PSG, but it remains a difficult ground for visiting teams.
Lens have won five of their last six at home to clamber back into European competition but were knocked out of the French Cup last weekend by Monaco on penalties.
Nice, who trail PSG by five points, must make do for the next few weeks without top scorer Terem Moffi, who was called up to the Nigeria squad in place of the injured Victor Boniface.
Monaco, in third, have six players on international duty including Japan’s Takumi Minamino. Marseille face a similar headache after finishing 2023 strongly by going six games without defeat.
One to watch: Mohamed-Ali Cho
The France Under-21 international has returned to Ligue 1 with Nice after a difficult 18 months at Real Sociedad. Cho, 19, scored only twice in 40 outings for the Basque club who face PSG in the Champions League last 16.
The former Angers striker, a youth product of PSG and Everton, will look to get his career back on track on the Cote d’Azur and could be brought into the line-up straight away with winger Jeremie Boga at the AFCON with hosts Ivory Coast.
Key stats
6 – games unbeaten for Brest, who have taken 16 of a possible 18 points since late November to climb up to fourth place.
7 – Marseille players away at the Africa Cup of Nations, the most of any Ligue 1 side along with Lorient.
18 – league goals this season for Mbappe, more than twice the total of Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder, who is second on the list with eight.
Fixtures (all times GMT)
Friday
Marseille v Strasbourg (20:00)
Saturday
Monaco v Reims (16:00), Rennes v Nice (20:00)
Sunday
Lille v Lorient (12:00), Brest v Montpellier, Metz v Toulouse, Nantes v Clermont (14:00), Le Havre v Lyon (16:05), Lens v Paris Saint-Germain (19:45)
[Vanguard]
As the days to the kickoff match for the 2023 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations draw closer, there are quite some fascinating facts to know about the continent’s highly revered football tournament.
The tournament which will start on January 13, 2024, with the opening match between the host country, Cote d’Ivoire, and Group A opponent, Guinea-Bissau, will end on February 11, 2024.
In this piece, PUNCH Online highlights some facts about the AFCON as shared by CAFOnline.com:
* The first AFCON tournament took place in Sudan in 1957. Only three countries, hosts Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia, took part in that first tournament. There was no qualifying competition.
* South Africa was also invited to the first Africa Cup of Nations tournament in 1957 but their invitation was later withdrawn as a result of the country’s apartheid laws.
* Egypt defeated hosts Sudan in the first game played at the AFCON winning 2-1 on 10th January 1957.
* Raafat Attia scored the first goal at an AFCON tournament when he opened the scoring for Egypt in their 2-1 semi-final win over hosts Sudan in 1957.
* Egypt defeated Ethiopia 4-0 in the final to win the first AFCON tournament in 1957.
* Egypt won the first two AFCON tournaments in 1957 and 1959 while they were runners-up in 1962, losing to hosts Ethiopia in the final.
* Cote d’Ivoire is hosting the Africa Cup of Nations for a second time with the first hosted in 1984.
* When Cote d’Ivoire hosted the AFCON in 1984, eight nations participated. Five of those countries – Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, and Nigeria will be joining the hosts again. Missing out are Malawi and Togo.
* Egypt has won the most AFCON Titles (seven), followed by Cameroon (five), Ghana (four), Nigeria (three), and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Ivory Coast (two each).
* Egypt and Ghana have both reached nine AFCON finals while Egypt has won seven, Ghana has four wins and Cameroon has played in seven finals winning five.
* Cote d’Ivoire has appeared in four AFCON finals in 1992, 2006, 2012, and 2015, and in 480 minutes of play in the AFCON finals, they have failed to produce a single goal. They won on penalties after extra time in 1992 and 2015 and lost on penalties after extra time in 2006 and 2012 with all four games ending 0-0.
* Cameroonian striker, Samuel Eto’o, is the leading overall Cup of Nations scorer, notching 18 goals in six tournaments between 2000 and 2010.
* Egypt goalkeeper, Essam el Hadary, became the oldest player at 44 years and 21 days to feature in the tournament when he faced Cameroon in the 2017 final in Libreville as Egypt lost.
* The only time the opening game of the AFCON ended 0-0 was when South Africa played out a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in 2013.
* The last host nation to reach the AFCON finals was Egypt who won the title on home soil in 2006.
* Egypt has reached the AFCON final in five of the last six tournaments that the country participated in, winning in 2006, 2008, and 2010 while they were runners-up in 2017 and the 2021 edition. They only failed to do so in 2019 as hosts.
* Four players – Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, Ghanaian duo Asamoah Gyan, as well as Andre Ayew, and Zambia’s Kalusha Bwalya, have scored in six AFCON tournaments. No player has scored in more editions of the competition than them.
* The 2023 AFCON will be the 34th edition of the tournament since the first one held in 1957.
* The AFCON has been expanded from a 16-team tournament which it has been since 1996 to a 24-team event in 2019.
* This is the third edition to have 24 teams participating.
* 16 players have scored 17 hat-tricks at the Africa Cup of Nations but none since Soufiane Alloudi scored three goals in Morocco’s 5-1 triumph over Namibia in the 2008 group stages.
* Egypt has had five different players scoring six AFCON hat-tricks. No country has managed as many players to have scored a hat-trick at the tournament.
* The first hat-trick at the AFCON was scored by Ad-Diba who scored all four of Egypt’s goals in their 4-0 triumph in the 1957 final victory over Ethiopia.
* Egypt’s Hassan El-Shazly is the only player to have scored multiple hat-tricks at the Africa Cup of Nations, doing so in 1963 and 1970.
* Egypt is the only team to have two players score a hat-trick in the same game. Hassan El-Shazly and Mohammed Hussein netted all their goals in a 6-3 win over Nigeria in a 1963 group-stage encounter.
* Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan and Cameroon’s Rigobert Song hold the record for the most number of AFCON participations with each player having featured in eight final tournaments in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010 – a record that could be tied by Ghana’s Andre Ayew at the next edition.
* South Africa finished 1st (1996), 2nd (1998) and 3rd (2000) in the first three AFCON tournaments that they participated in.
* Ghana’s Charles Gyamfi (1963–1965, 1982) and Egypt’s Hassan Shehata (Egypt 2006–2008-2010) are the only coaches to have won the title three times. Shehata is the only coach to have won the title in three successive tournaments.
* Two persons – Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary (1959 as player, 1998 as coach) and Stephen Keshi of Nigeria (1994 as player, 2013 as coach) have won the AFCON as a player and coach.
* French man Herve Renard is the only coach to have won the AFCON with two different countries; Zambia in 2012 and Cote d’Ivoire in 2015.
* Senegal coach Aliou Cisse holds the unwanted record of losing in the final as both a player (2002) and coach (2019). He also now has won the tournament as a coach lifting the title with Senegal at the 2021 edition.
* In 2004, Frenchman Roger Lemmere became the first coach to win the AFCON and the UEFA European Championship when he led Tunisia to the title. In 2000, he led France to the European Championships.
* 44 different African nations have participated in the AFCON, with Comoros and Gambia being the debutants at the last edition in Cameroon.
* Egypt (1957), Ghana (1963), and South Africa (1996) are the only teams to have won the tournament in their debut appearances.
* Starting in 2008, Ghana has reached the AFCON semi-finals in six of the last eight tournaments and has been beaten finalists twice in that time, losing to Egypt in 2010 and Cote d’Ivoire in 2017.
* Tunisia has qualified for their 16th successive AFCON tournament, a run started in 1994. No team has ever managed 16 successive qualifications.
* Egypt has played more games at the AFCON than any other team (107), they have won more matches than any other team (60). Ghana has played 102 games and won 54. Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria will join the centenary club as they have currently played 99 and 97 games respectively at the finals.
* Ndaye Mulamba scored nine goals for DR Congo at the 1974 AFCON. No player has managed more in a single tournament.
* The name of the continental trophy has changed three times in history. The first trophy was the Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem Trophy, followed by the African Unity trophy and then the Africa Cup of Nations.
* Twelve former African champions will be making their way to Cote d’Ivoire for the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.
* The top 15 ranked African teams have all qualified for the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.
* Five Southern African teams have qualified for the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the most the COSAFA region has had at a single final.
* Each winner of the last 25 editions of the tournament from 1974 has qualified for the current edition of the finals. The last winner to miss out is the 1972 champions Congo.
* Every finalist from the 1984 edition has reached the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. The last team to reach the final who have not qualified are 1982 runners-up Libya.
[Punch]
Ahead of the 2024 African Cup Of Nations (AFCON), Super Eagles of Nigeria coach, Jose Peseiro has issued a stern warning to his players that there’s no excuse not to give 100% in the tournament.
Peseiro who issued the warning shortly after the first team training on Wednesday night in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire said AFCON is a tough competition, but the team is 100% focused on the first game against Equatorial Guinea and they cannot afford to make mistakes in the tournament.
He said, “We cannot use the weather as an excuse, we need to put our Focus on and understand that, adapt well and do our best with the weather, hot humidity, don’t care about the weather, we only want to put the focus on the first match, it’s important for us.”
“Short tournament is that difficult tournament, hard tournament, Guinea Equatorial did better than us last AFCON and it’s a good team, but you want to win, you want to put 100% focus on everybody.
“No one in the training, meals, rest, meetings, all activities, we must put all our maximum focus because we cannot make mistakes in our next match, we have done a collective game to win our first match and it’s important for us.
“The first training was frustrating due to the long trip, we did hydration training. No tactics training, no conditional training, only hydration training,” he noted.
Peseiro also shared fitness news on Terem Moffi and Kelechi Iheanacho who were called up to the squad after Bayern Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface was ruled out of the tournament with groin injury.
He said, “Moffi likes 14 because he plays with the team and Kelechi Iheanacho, he had contact with the medical staff, the staff and all the players and there, he’s working there for recovery and we have confidence in them.”
However, after losing 2-0 against Guinea in a friendly game on Monday afternoon, the team will be hoping to claim all three points in their AFCON opening match against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday afternoon by 3 pm at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé.
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the year 2023 is scheduled to commence on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
Ivory Coast, the host country, will face Guinea-Bissau in the opening match.
According to Opta’s artificial intelligence prediction model, Senegal, the current title holders, are the narrow favourites to win the tournament this time.
If they win, they will become the fourth team to win consecutive AFCONs and the first team since Egypt, who won three in a row between 2006 and 2010.
The prediction model uses betting market odds and Opta’s team rankings to assess the probability of each match outcome, victory, draw, or defeat, to provide a more comprehensive picture of who will win the delayed 2023 AFCON.
The odds and rankings are determined based on past and present team performances.
Using match result probability, group composition, and possible knockout round match-ups, the model then takes opponent strength and the difficulties of their route to the final into account.
Senegal is the most likely winner according to the model, with a 12.8% chance, just ahead of hosts Ivory Coast (12.1%), who are attempting to win the trophy for a third time, after 1992 and 2015,
Morocco (11.1%) is given the third-best chance of winning by the predictor model. Algeria (9.7%) is the fourth-most likely winner, with Egypt fifth (8.5%) to round off the top five.
[TheNation]
THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has claimed that hundreds of millions of football fans from at least 180 countries across the world will watch the matches of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023).
The tournament will begin on Saturday and end on February 11, with 24 national teams, including the Super Eagles of Nigeria, competing across five cities in Cote d’Ivoire.
“The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) today announced the conclusion of extensive global broadcast agreements with TV-Broadcasting Rights Holders from Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, North America and the Caribbean ahead of the kick-off of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (“AFCON”) Côte d’Ivoire 2023,” CAF stated today.
“The global TV-Broadcast partners include Sky (United Kingdom), BBC (United Kingdom), LaLiga+ (Spain), SportItalia (Italy), Sport Digital (Germany & Switzerland), SportTV (Portugal), Viaplay (Nordics) and Band TV (Brazil).
“BeIN Sport, CANAL+, New World TV and approximately 45 Free To Air broadcasters have also concluded partnership agreements with CAF and this will result in the TotalEnergies AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023 being broadcast in approximately 180 countries.
“The significant increase in financial investment by TV-Broadcasting Rights Holders from Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, North America and the Caribbean will result in a substantial global increase in viewership of the TotalEnergies AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023.”
CAF is projecting a big raise in its revenue due to the unprecedented interest in the continental showpiece, in which African players from across the world’s top leagues will feature.
“CAF’s Broadcasting revenues will also increase significantly and this will assist with the development and growth of football in Africa,” the continental ruling body added.
“The TotalEnergies AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023 is expected to be the most competitive as all the prominent and successful African Football Nations will be competing in Côte d’Ivoire for the prestigious AFCON Cup.”
CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe said: “African football and the TotalEnergies AFCON competition is recognised as being amongst the most competitive and exciting in world football.
“We are delighted by the extensive global broadcast agreements concluded by CAF with the TV-Broadcasting Rights Holders. Huge investments are being made in youth football, including schools football, professional leagues, training of coaches and referees, as well as the building and upgrading of football infrastructure in Africa. This is contributing enormously to the quality of African football being globally competitive and as good as the best in the world.
“CAF is committed to working together and assisting the Media during the TotalEnergies AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023 and at all future CAF competitions and events.”
[NaijaTimes]
Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles, have arrived at the Aéroport International Felix Houphouet Boigny d’Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire ahead of the 2023 African Cup of Nation (AFCON).
That Super Eagles stormed the West African country on Wednesday afternoon with all team members stylishly dressed in native attires.
The players and team officials were adorned in white kaftan with green caps, showcasing Nigeria’s national colours.
The Super Eagles departed the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos around noon local time today.
Coach Jose Peseiro and his coaching crew, including his countrymen from Portugal, jointed the Nigerian players in dressing in the stylish native wear with a crown-like cap that was made to go with it.
The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) has announced that it will broadcast all 52 games of the forthcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON) live.
In a post on X on Wednesday, the federal government-owned television station said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with AfroSports TV, a cross-continental Free-To-Air (FTA) sports channel.
“NTA signs a memorandum of understanding with Afro Sports TV for transmission of 52 games of African Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire,” the post read.
The announcement by NTA follows a few weeks of confusion after MultiChoice, the parent company of DStv and GOtv, disclosed that it had failed to acquire the broadcasting rights for the AFCON billed to hold Ivory Coast.
The broadcast powerhouse said its SuperSport channel would not show the competition billed to commence on January 13.
Shortly, it was revealed that Multichoice was beaten to the broadcasting rights by New World TV, a Togolese audio-visual group.
New World TV had won the rights to broadcast all CAF’s 13 competitions to the sub-Saharan African audience for two years.
The deal will hold from 2023 to 2025, encompassing the forthcoming AFCON and the tournament’s next edition.
There were concerns about the cross-continental reach of New World TV, which only has footholds in majorly French-speaking African countries.
However, StarTimes announced it had struck a sublicensing deal with New World and would air the competition on its sports channels.
The 34th edition of the AFCON will be held in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria are in Group A alongside Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
Nigeria will take on Equatorial Guinea in their opening game on January 14 before facing Ivory Coast four days later and rounding off the group stage with the Guinea-Bissau tie.
The Eagles recently returned from a one-week training camp in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they thrashed Al Gharaib, a local club, 12-0 before losing 2-0 to Guinea a day later.
The team will proceed to Ivory Coast on Wednesday
Former Portugal manager, Fernando Santos has given two reasons he benched captain, Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2022 FIFA World Cup knockout games.
Santos insisted it was a ‘tactical and technical decision,’ adding that Ronaldo was not happy to sit on the bench.
Santos benched the Al-Nassr forward during the win over South Korea in the Round of 16 and the defeat to Morocco in the quarterfinal.
His decision sent shockwaves across the world.
Reflecting on the incident at his unveiling as new Besiktas manager, Santos said (via Goal): “It was a tactical and technical decision.
“There was no other situation. Strategic decisions are always the most important things for me. I had to make these decisions and I made them correctly. If we had not been eliminated from the World Cup, there would have been no problem.”
“I told him that he was not going to start in the Round of 16. He was not happy with the conversation, as is normal. But I assure you that he never wanted to leave.”
[DailyPost]
More...
Samuel Eto’o, a former captain of Cameroon has asserted that Africans are more gifted football players than Europeans.
Eto’o who made the assertion on Tuesday said that an African nation can triumph in the FIFA World Cup with ease.
Speaking before this weekend’s 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), the former Barcelona and Chelsea player noted (via SportBible’s Instagram handle): “Africans have a lot of talent, Europeans a bit less.
“I don’t see why an African country will not win a World Cup. It’s one of the easiest things to do. It’s just a couple of football matches.”
Former France, Barcelona and Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry, has revealed that he struggled with his mental health during his career, adding that he “must have been in depression.”
The 46-year-old ended his glittering 20-year club career in 2014, which also included stints at Monaco, Juventus and New York Red Bulls.
He scored 228 goals for Arsenal during his two spells, winning two Premier League titles before moving to Barça, where he won a pair of LaLiga titles as well as the Champions League.
A World Cup winner with France, Henry has also managed Arsenal’s youth teams, served as assistant coach of Belgium, and was the head coach of Monaco and Montreal Impact in MLS. He was appointed as the head coach of France under-21s in August.
“Throughout my career, and since I was born, I must have been in depression,” Henry told The Diary Of A CEO podcast.
“Did I know it? No. Did I do something about it? No. But I adapted to a certain way.”
Henry said it had been a difficult time for him during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he was managing Montreal.
“I was in isolation in Montreal, and not being able to see my kids for a year was tough,” he added.
“Tears were coming alone. Why I don’t know, but maybe they were there for a very long time.”
[Leadership]
Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand has warned Axel Disasi that he could lose his spot at Chelsea next season if Thiago Silva remains at the Premier League club.
Since his £38.5 million move from Monaco last summer, Disasi has made 22 appearances for the Blues.
The defender has played at both centre-back and right-back under Mauricio Pochettino due to injuries.
Silva’s future at Stamford Bridge remains uncertain, with the 39-year-old’s contract due to expire at the end of the season.
The Brazilian remains one of Chelsea’s standout performers and Ferdinand feels he should partner Levi Colwill if he extends his stay at Stamford Bridge for another campaign.
“I don’t think he gets to play.
“Next season I’d keep Thiago Silva still and I’d play Colwill left centre-back,” Ferdinand said on Vibe With Five when asked about Disasi’s start at Chelsea.
[DailyPost]
Senegal forward Sadio Mane has entered marital bliss with his longtime girlfriend, Aisha Tamba, in an intimate ceremony held in Dakar, Senegal.
The nuptial event unfolded on Sunday in Keur Massar, Dakar, the capital city of Senegal.
Captured in a post by Senegalese photographer Magvision, Tamba radiated elegance in her white gown.
In a separate video shared by Dakar Live, a Senegalese TV station, the bride was escorted into a vehicle, surrounded by members of the community showing their support and joy.
The footage also featured Tamba capturing moments with some of her family members.
Mane, adorned in a traditional white Arabian outfit, showcased cultural flair.
The Al Nassr player is presently in training camp with his Senegalese teammates, gearing up for the upcoming 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.
Mané initiated his professional journey with Metz, the Ligue 2 club, at the youthful age of 19.
In 2012, he made a transition to Red Bull Salzburg, the Austrian club, securing triumphs in both the league and domestic cups.
Subsequently, Mané joined the Premier League club Southampton later that summer and then moved to Liverpool in 2016.
Departing from the Merseyside club in 2022, he ventured to Bayern Munich and is presently active in the Saudi League.
Mané’s exceptional prowess on the field earned him the title of African Player of the Year in both 2019 and 2022.
