Author: WAJ Reporter

English football legend Michael Owen, who played for many years at Liverpool, has harshly criticized South Africa’s football development system. In an interview with IOL, Owen stated that one of the main reasons South African players fail to break into elite European clubs is the lack of a long-term football development structure in the country. “Look, it’s really difficult. If your structure doesn’t support it, it’s very hard to succeed. And it’s quite clear that in South Africa, the system supports rugby players — maybe cricketers,” Owen said. He pointed out that although football is extremely popular in South Africa,…

Fenerbahçe wants to strengthen their midfield by signing Mali international Yves Bissouma. Tottenham is open to selling the player as they aim to generate financial resources. Bissouma, who is at the top of Fenerbahçe’s midfield target list, is also known to want to work with Jose Mourinho. However, recently Serie A giants Juventus have also shown interest in Bissouma. Although Juventus is keen on the transfer, they are unwilling to pay more than €10 million in transfer fees. Even if Fenerbahçe offers more, Tottenham does not want to sell the player for less than €20 million. If Bissouma moves to…

Arsenal wants to sign Nigerian-Igbo footballer Eberechi Eze. Having made significant progress in the transfer of Viktor Gyökeres, who scored 39 goals and provided 7 assists in 33 matches last season for Sporting Lisbon, Arsenal could become a strong contender for the title next season if they also add Crystal Palace’s star to their squad. Arsenal plans to sign Viktor Gyökeres on a 5-year contract and aims to pay around 80 million euros for the player. If this transfer is successful, they will also move to acquire Eberechi Eze. The player has a release clause of approximately 60 million pounds.…

Côte d’Ivoire has announced a partnership with G42 Presight, a technology company based in the United Arab Emirates, aimed at modernizing its public services. This collaboration seeks to further deepen the strategic partnership between the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and the United Arab Emirates. Prior to the formal announcement, two non-binding memoranda of understanding were signed on July 10, 2025. These agreements were concluded between G42 Presight and Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of State, Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Modernization, as well as the Ministry of Digital Transition and Digitalization. On behalf of Côte d’Ivoire, the documents were signed by…

After two decisive matches in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, the quarter-final pairings have been confirmed. Ghana and South Africa both delivered strong performances to secure their spots in the knockout stage. The first match saw South Africa face Mali. With goals from Lebohang Ramalepe, Refiloe Jane, Hildah Magaia, and Ronnel Tammlyn Donnelly, South Africa claimed a commanding 4-0 victory and finished top of their group. Ghana, on the other hand, defeated Tanzania 4-1, securing their place in the quarter-finals. As a result of these outcomes, Senegal, who finished third in Group A, also advanced to the quarter-finals. The…

Galatasaray is holding intense official negotiations with Napoli to sign Victor Osimhen on a permanent deal. The Nigerian striker was one of the key architects of the team’s championship during his loan spell last season. Most recently, Galatasaray submitted an offer of €40 million plus €35 million, structured over a two-year payment plan. However, this proposal was rejected by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis. According to reports, De Laurentiis demanded over €75 million, along with a 20% sell-on clause for any future transfer. These terms were not accepted by Galatasaray. Throughout the transfer process, Al Hilal has repeatedly knocked on…

After yesterday’s two matches, the finalists of the Rugby Africa Cup have been determined. In the first match, Namibia managed to defeat Algeria with a score of 21-7. The encounter between Kenya and Zimbabwe was a much closer contest. Zimbabwe narrowly defeated Kenya 29-23 in a hard-fought match. The final will be played on July 19. As a result, Zimbabwe and Namibia will compete for the Rugby Africa Cup title. On the same day, Algeria and Kenya will face off in the third-place playoff. So far, Namibia has not been seriously challenged in any of their matches. However, this time…

Funding for tech startups in Africa increased by 50% in the second quarter of 2025. In 2024, total funding had dropped by 50% compared to the previous year, falling to $1.1 billion. Additionally, the number of funded startups had also halved. However, large investments in companies like Moniepoint and Yellow Card late in the year raised hopes for a strong 2025. Yet, the expected increase in funding did not materialize in the first quarter of 2025. Only 55 startups secured investment, amounting to $283,925,000. In the second quarter, although the number of funded startups dropped to 49, the total funding…

The quarter-final matchups of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Championship will be decided today. After today’s matches between South Africa vs. Mali and Tanzania vs. Ghana, the group stage will be completed. On Saturday, Zambia defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Morocco beat Senegal 1-0. Following these results, Morocco and Zambia secured their places in the quarter-finals by finishing their groups with 7 points each. Yesterday, Nigeria drew 0-0 with Algeria. Thanks to this result, Nigeria topped Group B with 7 points, while Algeria qualified for the quarter-finals with 5 points. In this tournament with three groups, the…

One of Africa’s leading financial technology giants, Flutterwave, has obtained a license to operate in Senegal. This marks a significant step in leveraging the country’s rapidly growing mobile money ecosystem and digital economy. With the Payment Institution License granted by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the company will now be able to operate fully within Senegal. This license, along with others previously secured, clearly demonstrates Flutterwave’s aggressive growth strategy across the continent. SENEGAL IS LEADING THE WAY IN AFRICA’S FINTECH DEVELOPMENT In recent years, Senegal has become one of the most important players in Africa’s digital payments…

Nigeria’s U20 national team defeated Benin 4-1 in the WAFU Tournament. The Flying Eagles had previously drawn 1-1 with Ghana and were at risk of early elimination from the competition. However, in this match, Nigeria responded strongly with goals from Mohammed Abdullahi, Anthony Kpangu, Imrana Muhammad, and Abduljelil Mustapha. Benin scored the opening goal through a free-kick by Junior Olugbade, but Nigeria quickly regained control and delivered a dominant performance to secure a convincing win. Following this result, Nigeria climbed to the top of Group A temporarily with 4 points, earning a spot in the semi-finals. However, to finish as…

The South African national team dominated Italy in emphatic fashion. Despite forward Jasper Wiese receiving a red card, South Africa still managed to crush Italy with a 45-0 victory. With this result, they secured the series win by 2-0. Scrum-half Grant Williams scored the opening try for South Africa. The home side then added three more tries, completely taking control of the game. In the 22nd minute, Jasper Wiese was sent off for headbutting Danilo Fischetti. However, this setback did not stop South Africa’s momentum. In the second half, tries from Malcolm Marx, Makazole Mapimpi, and Jan-Hendrick Wessels extended the…

Airtel Malawi Launches Africa’s First AI-Powered Spam Alert Service With this step, both Malawi and the African continent have made significant progress in the field of cybersecurity. The primary goal of this spam alert service is to protect customers from fraud and to strengthen digital security across the country. The system works by sending real-time alerts for suspected spam SMS messages. It is designed to be compatible with both smartphones and feature phones. The launch event, held on July 3rd, was attended by key figures such as Airtel Malawi Managing Director Aashish Dutt, Minister of Information and Digitalisation Moses Kunkuyu,…

Elsewedy Industrial Development has reached an agreement with Bony, one of the leading Turkish industrial companies, to purchase a 120,000-square-meter industrial plot in the “Industria El Asher” project in 10th of Ramadan City. This land will first be converted into a special free zone, after which an integrated factory will be established for the production of high-quality textile products. An estimated investment of approximately USD 100 million is expected. This marks an important step toward positioning Egypt as a regional hub in the textile industry. Institutional Support for the Partnership The project is a joint effort supported by the General…

All eight finalists from the men’s 800m final at the Paris Olympic Games will face each other again today at the Herculis EBS Meeting. In addition to this highly anticipated rematch, the men’s 200m event will feature two Olympic gold medallists. Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will face two strong challengers in this race. If Marco Arop and Djamel Sedjati perform well, they could overtake him. Arop, who is undefeated over 800m this year, and Sedjati, who broke the meeting record in Monaco last year with 1:41.46, pose a serious threat to Wanyonyi. The field also includes Gabriel Tual and…

The first quarter-finalist of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has been confirmed. Nigeria defeated Botswana 1-0 and reached 6 points in Group B. With this result, they secured a top-two finish in the group and advanced to the quarter-finals. In the other match of the day, Tunisia and Algeria faced each other. The match ended in a goalless draw. If Algeria manages to earn even a single point in their next match, they will secure a place in the knockout stage. Today, matches from Group C will be played. In the first game of the day, Ghana will face…