The second stage of African World Cup Qualifying kicked off Friday with Ghana pounding Lesotho 7-0. Of more concern to Americans though, Bob Bradley's Egypt beat Mozambique 2-0 in Alexandria. They played in an empty stadium after training in Lebanon ahead of the match. I was able to catch a little bit of the match, including the first goal, and Bradley's stamp on the team was evident.

"Didier Drogba delivered a long and passionate eulogy to the European Cup as Chelsea finally secured their holy grail." The Sun, 21 May 2012

There are some matches that end up seeming primarily the vehicle for one person to somehow attain mythical status. The Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern was written, it seems now, purely to allow Didier Drogba a form of poetic catharsis worthy of fiction or film.

Today at 1pm, a group of professional athletes and celebrities aiming to use sports as a way to raise funds for charity projects in Africa and other developing countries will come together to raise money under the banner of iPAY2PLAY. Two football league stars are heavily involved - Stevenage loanee Patrick Agyemang and Peterborough United's Gabriel Zakuani - and the Posh defender is heading to Ghana in June to take training sessions and deliver HIV information to under-privileged kids - a project run in collaboration with the Tackle Africa charity.

By John Ray, follow on Twitter.

"Les Elephants", the footballers of the Ivory Coast, help captivate and enthrall a nation while playing against Madagascar: large outdoor television flicker and the metropolis of Abidjan rustles. Arouna Kone (PSV) crosses to Salomon Kalou (Chelsea) at the edge of the area; the supporters swell in deliverance as he belts the ball into the Malagasy net.

The Graham Norton Show isn't perhaps the most normal of environments for Premier League footballers, but maybe Didier Drogba isn't a 'normal' footballer. The Chelsea striker's appearance was related to his humanitarian efforts in the name of the Didier Drogba Foundation, which aims to build orphanages in poverty-stricken Africa.

Arsene Wenger knows the importance of Arsenal reaching out to their supporters in Africa and Asia by taking his team on a pre-season tour of foreign climes but he feels that it could take a toll on his usually relaxed pre-season preparations. "We have had to compromise on the sporting side, because we had a [.

Arsene Wenger knows the importance of Arsenal reaching out to their supporters in Africa and Asia by taking his team on a pre-season tour of foreign climes but he feels that it could take a toll on his usually relaxed pre-season preparations. "We have had to compromise on the sporting side, because we had a [.

An early start this morning and an early kick off for Arsenal as we face Norwich in our final home game of this challenging league season.

The situation we're in in simple and requires little explanation win both games we have left and we finish third and qualify automatically for next season's Champions League.

Footballer's Lives: I'm a Ghanaian in the Faroes is a post from: Just Football

We all know about the glitz and the glamour of life at the apex of the football world. But what about life in the lower echelons of the game, the globetrotters, the people just trying to make it in this jungle of a sport?

COVENTRY, Inglaterra, 23 abr (Reuters) - El anfitrión Gran Bretaña, el campeón mundial España y los latinoamericanos Brasil y México fueron elegidos el lunes por la FIFA como cabezas de serie del torneo olímpico de fútbol de los Juegos de Londres 2012, un día antes del sorteo que agrupará a los 16 equipos participantes.

Okay, well maybe it won't go for an Oscar, but Sporting KC's Kei Kamara is now a serious documentary film subject. Here's the trailer...- Greg Seltzer

Newcastle United: Cisse on fire but is the Ba / Cisse partnership working? is a post from: Just Football

by Amit Singh

Papiss Cisse has been something of a revelation since signing for Newcastle United in January. Despite Newcastle fans having to wait some time to see him in action due to the Africa Cup of Nations he has hit the ground running scoring 7 goals in 7 games including two crucial goals against Liverpool last Sunday.

Alan Pardew selects the menu every week, when the team get together for lunch at their Benton Training headquarters. Alan Pardew served up pie and peas and sausage and mash Last week it was Africa Day and curried goat, and that seemed to do the trick against Liverpool, and yesterday it was England Day and sausage and mash and pie and peas [.

Every single "worthy" own goal might be better than the last, and this one might be better than them all. It surely, at least, is the most unique.

Like Swan Lake meets a carnival carousel, Hassan Hissein, of Foullah Edifice in Chad, goes round and round in the most elegant, if unaware, manner, before side-footing a chipped shot into the back of the net.

Newcastle star Papiss Cisse put in his best performance since joining the club thanks to a diet of curried goat, according to manager Alan Pardew. Magpies boss Pardew reckons the goat gobbled by his squad on Friday as part of an African theme day in the Toon canteen powered Cisse to his match-winning performance against [.

For every heart-warming resolution to a heart-stopping sometimes literally tragedy in and around the sport, such as the case with Fabrice Muamba, there seems to be one which doesn't turn out as such. This time, it's twenty such cases.

Twenty players AC Virgin Ka, a team from the Democratic Republic of Congo, died earlier this week when returning from a friendly.

The good news isn't restricted to the pitch, as the Portland Timbers and Timbers Army are giving back to those in need while supporting their team. We provide some updates on various charitable endeavors, from visiting kids who gave to kids in Africa and helping some wonderful groups doing exceptional work.

Though Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has largely shed his reputation as a diver over the last few years, old habits returned during Wednesday night's Champions League round of 16 second leg match against Napoli.

Drogba, who scored the first goal in Chelsea's 4-1 extra-time win that allowed them to advance to the quarter finals on a 5-4 aggregate score, feigned getting hit in the face by Salvatore Aronica and fell to the ground clutching his face.

This is bound to be one of the best full-on slugs of an official you've ever seen, though the form and technique certainly won't win any world titles anytime soon.

The "gentlemen" come from Yanga, of Tanzania, went after the referee, who was doing an excellent job of backpedaling and avoiding the onslaught until a leaping slap-punch caught him in the face.

In October 1978 the Zambian national side undertook a tour of England. They played five matches in a fifteen day period against Shrewsbury Town (9/10/78), Wigan Athletic (11/10/78), Workington (16/10/1978), Marine (17/10/78) and Bristol Rovers (24/10/78). It's likely that the tour was arranged by Englishman, and then Zambian manager, Brian Tiler (a former Wigan Athletic player).

Right then, once more into the breach and this morning we face those dastardly Mugsmashers who want nothing more than smash our mugs of Sp*rs filled joy.

In terms of the team the manager cast doubts over the involvement of both Robin van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen yesterday, due to their international involvement.

Herve Renard's cheeky grin, bright white shirts and furious bawls at perenially offside strikers are now a distant memory. Nevertheless, the wheels of African football continue to grind along, domestic leagues are in full swing from Lubumbashi to Nairobi, and the heroes (and villains) of the Cup of Nations are back with their respective European, Asian and African clubs.

Something is wrong with Angelina Jolie. The once very sexy actress is now a skeleton. I don't know if Angelina Jolie is anorexic or something else is wrong but something is definitely wrong! Check out the skinny Angelina Jolie pictures below to see for yourself.

Angelina Jolie was presenting at the Oscars last night.

Africa Cup of Nations 2012 Zambia answer the call of destiny is a post from: Just Football

In my final Africa Cup of Nations 2012 column for FourFourTwo I took a look at Zambia's triumph on penalties in a final of incredible drama, tension and, ultimately, joy for the Chipolopolo and despair for Côte d'Ivoire:

When he saw the shot sail wide he could take it no more.

Welcome to Spirit of Mirko's first ever weekly review of African football. It's likely to be skewed somewhat towards the more obscure, it'll be an interesting experiment nonetheless. I hope you enjoy it.

Team of the Week

Africa Team of the Week

In goal we have Joslain Mayebi who plays for Wrexham of the Conference National (fifth-tier in England).

Murder in Port Said The day a revolution turned cold is a post from: Just Football

Just days after the one year anniversary of the revolution, Egyptian football was plunged into despair by the tragic events in Port Said. Adam Mostafa reports on events that shook the game. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Just Football.

With Daryl gone to sort out his beloved Wolves, Albert, Josh and Peyton took to the studio to discuss the return of the Champions League, Landon Donovan's departure from Everton, Rangers financial woes, Zambia being crowned champions of Africa and new the USNMT jersey.

Eighteen years after eighteen of Zambia's footballers were killed off the coast of Libreville, Stippola Sunzu scored the eighteenth penalty of a marathon shootout to win his country their first ever Africa Cup of Nations.

During the shootout the Zambian players could be heard indulging in communal singing in support of their team-mates as they faced the dreaded walk to the penalty spot.

Modern Family isn't on until tomorrow night, so we need some tube to hold us over...Taped before the rather peculiar news broke that Landon Donovan will return to the Galaxy early (adding two unnecessary long flights to his February itinerary), he speaks here about a variety of topics wearing Everton colors.

Lo Zambia zittisce tutti e vola sul tetto d'Africa, superando in finale gli altissimi elefanti della Costa d'Avorio. Mai la squadra zambese, i cui giocatori sono soprannominati Chipolopolo ("proiettili ramati") aveva vinto la competizione, dove vi era arrivata vicina, con le finali, poi perse, del 1974 e del 1994.

By Alan Duffy

With the Zambian players and coaching staff still celebrating their surprise African Cup of Nations victory in a hugely dramatic penalty shoot-out in Libreville, Wayne Rooney decided to provide us all with a fine example of the unsporting, unpleasant and ungracious.

Zambia win the African Cup of Nations, honor those lost 19 years ago in plane crash

After taking off from Libreville in Gabon 19 years ago, a military plane carrying most of the squad crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. All 30 people on board, including 18 players, were killed. Before the crash, it was a golden era for Zambia's football team.

Africa Cup of Nations final preview Zambia are winners regardless of result is a post from: Just Football

With the final today, here is my latest Africa Cup of Nations 2012 column for FourFourTwo.com on Zambia and their remarkable journey to the final:

Together they walked slowly to the coastline, singing in unison.

Mali vs Ivory Coast 0-1 Highlights CAN 2012 Semifinal Cote d'Ivoire Gervinho Goal Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Mali vs Ivory Coast 0-1 Highlights CAN 2012 Semifinal Cote d'Ivoire Gervinho Goal Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Mali vs Ivory Coast 2012 ( Mali Cote d'Ivoire video below) Final score and result:- Mali vs Ivory Coast 0-1 ( Gervinho) Stade de Angondje, Libreville- 8 February, 2012- Africa [.

Heartbreak for Gabon and Aubamayeng but a bright future awaits... is a post from: Just Football

In my latest column for FourFourTwo I take a look at co-hosts Gabon and their exciting but ultimately heartbreaking Africa Cup of Nations campaign:

After the laughter comes tears.

Remember Leon McKenzie? No? Well he's a former Norwich striker who's now carving out a career in music as some kind of Craig David sound-alike... Okay, so he doesn't exactly sound like Craig David but, you know, Garbage (sic) music is all the same right? Well apparently he has also covered King's of Leon (like everyone) [.

The following table shows the average age of player that each of the competing nations fielded during the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations 2012 in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea. As expected Cote D'Ivoire's fading golden generation who are attempting to win their nation their first major trophy since 1992 is one of the oldest squads at the tournament.

What's stopping you, Kenya? is a post from: Just Football

Sudan aside, there's a glaring geographical gap at this year's African Cup of Nations. Andrew Crawford has a few ideas why:

Watching the current African Cup Of Nations (ACON), it is somewhat tellingly awkward how there isn't a stronger presence from countries from East Africa, although the same could be said for almost every ACON and since it began.

Since its founding in 1907, Al Ahly S.C. has been known as ‘the people's club,' representing resistance against the many forms of colonialism that have long plagued the African continent. Initially the first sporting club to allow Egyptians to join, Al Ahly remains the most popular of Egyptian teams, wearing to this day the red kits that honour the pre-colonial Egyptian flag.

An Egyptian TV station managed an interview with Bob Bradley in the aftermath of yesterday's horrible tragedy at Al-Masry. As you can see above, he and his wife took part in a march against such things today - you certainly have got to admire the toughness of that clan.First though, I just have one thing to ask.