cue huge celebrations in abidjan as the ivorians moved level with nigeria on three titles apiece.the former ivory

cue huge celebrations in abidjan as the ivorians moved level with nigeria on three titles apiece.olo toure and the former manchester city defender nedum 0nuoha, who were both

let's speak to our sports reporter mimi fawaz, who's live in abidjan in the ivory coast.n in the lead up to the afcon finals. describe the mood there. the lead up to the afcon finals. describe the mood there. the mood is incredible. ivory _ describe the mood there. the mood is incredible. ivory coast _ describe the mood there. the mood is incredible. ivory coast is _ describe the mood there. the mood is incredible. ivory coast is a _ describe the mood there. the mood is incredible. ivory coast is a country - incredible. ivory coast is a country that definitely loves its football, and everywhere you go people are turning out for the final today. let me tell you something, i went to try to get an ivory coastjersey as a bit of memorabilia, as a journalist i try to get the jerseys of countries i have been to, it is sold out everywhere. the stadiums are always packed whenever ivory coast are playing. i went for the senegal match where ivory coast knocked out champions senegal and it was a sea of orange in the stadium. time of nigerian heritage, so around town people were sayin

jon bennett has more on two fascinating semi—finals from abidjan.ve had miracles, we've had drama. we've had big slices of luck during this tournament for ivory coast. but this performance was all about quality and control. they were superb against dr congo. at times, it didn't look as though their opponents knew how to attack this ivory coast team. sebastien haller, the striker, is the face on all the billboards in abidjan and across ivory coast. he was already a hero. he's an even bigger hero now. after scoring the goal, which has put ivory coast in the africa cup of nations final, a shot which hit the turf and looped over the goalkeeper into the back of the net. he made his first start of the tournament. he's been recovering from injury. so did brighton's simon dhingra. and they both made a real difference. ivory coast suddenly looked like a brilliant team just a couple of weeks after sacking their manager. meanwhile, nigeria needed a penalty shoot—out to make it to the final after drama right on 90 minutes. victor osimhen thought he made it 2—0

many thanks tojohn, life from abidjan.an and defending champions qatar who beat iran 3—2 this afternoon. iran struck first, sardar azmoun gave his side an early lead with a spectacular strike after just four minutes. but that seemed to wake the hosts up and they went into a 2—1 lead with goals from jassem gaber and akram afif. iran pulled level with a penalty only for almoez ali to make it 3—2 late on and book qatar's place in the final. there's planty of knockout football closer to home, it's the last of the fa cup fourth round replays this evening. championship side bristol city are at nottingham forest and chelsea go to aston villa. since their goaless draw at stamford bridge last month, the blues have gone backwards in the league, slipping into the bottom half of the table. patrick gearey reports. argentina is not bringing the results — argentina is not bringing the results we need. the world's performances _ results we need. the world's performances are _ results we need. the world's performances are horrible. l resul

it's early in the second half in abidjan — currently 1—0 to nigeria.score for arsenal today, as they thrashed west ham 6—0 for their biggest away win in the premier league. amongst the scorers, england's bukayo saka got two, taking him past his half century goal tally for the club. former west ham star declan rice ignored earlier boos and scored arsenal's sixth goal, although he didn't celebrate. the result leaves arsenal still in third place butjust two points now behind leaders liverpool. while the pressure is mounting on west ham who are winless in six matches in all competitions. it shows the consistency that we have to hit and we have to demand of ourselves and today we have done it. and now we have to do it again against burnley. really pleased the way we performed, the way we played, the approach we had right from the beginning and the team wanted it more, they showed a lot of quality in the right moments because it's not easy to do what they have done against this team. it was only a month ago that we won at the emirates 2—0, and missed a penal

and this is the reaction in abidjan on monday.of thousands taking to the streets to celebrate ivory coast's first afcon title since 2015, and third in total for the first tournament host to win the nations cup. to win the nations cup since egypt lifted the trophy in 2006, ivory coast spent more than $1 billion on hosting the tournament. the government saying it's investing a similar amount on improving infrastructure in the country. now tributes have been pouring in from the world of athletics following the sad news that kelvyn kipton, the marathon record holder, has been killed in a car accident. the 24—year—old kenyan is said to have been with his coach, who also died in the crash on a road in western kenya where there's a training base for long distance runners. it comes just five days after the world governing body world athletics ratified kipton�*s record time from his win at the chicago marathon last october. he smashed the world record by more than half a minutes, running it in a time of 2 hours and 35 seconds. he also won

fans in abidjan took to the streets to celebrate as they became the first host nation to reach the finalnearly been eliminated at the group stage. the hosts will face nigeria in the final after they overcame south africa on penalties in bouake. the super eagles are looking to clinch their fourth afcon title and a first since 2013. the final is a rematch of the group stage fixture which nigeria won 1—0. at the final, anybody who comes we will trash them. trusty. the players have done well. they have made nigeria proud. this have done well. they have made nigeria proud-— nigeria proud. this is our tournament. _ nigeria proud. this is our tournament. this - nigeria proud. this is our tournament. this turn . nigeria proud. this is our tournament. this turn it | nigeria proud. this is our| tournament. this turn it is nigeria proud. this is our- tournament. this turn it is our tournament. this turn it is our tournament and i'm

the team were paraded around the streets of abidjan with the trophy, which they won for a third timeia 2—1 in sunday's final. their victory is all the more remarkable after they were almost knocked out of the group stages of their own tournament and then sacked their coach. the elephants dramatically recovered to add to their 1992 and 2015 titles. in cricket, the west indies completed their three match t20 series against australia with a win. batting first, the west indies finished 220 for six. andre russell top—scoring with 71 offjust 29 balls. in reply australia could only make 183 for the loss of five wickets from their 20 overs. david warner hit 81 off 49 balls. australia won the series 2—1. the kansas city chiefs' overtime win against the san francisco 49ers on super bowl sunday was the most—watched television programme in us history. the chiefs have returned home victorious. their plane landed with the team flag flying out of the pilot's window. then they disembarked holding aloft the trophy. kansas city's 25—22 overtime victory over san francisco on sunday night averaged 123.4

sebastian haller, the striker is the face on all the billboards in abidjan and across ivory coast.s already a hero. he's a bigger hero now after scoring the goal which has put ivory coast in the africa cup of nations final, a shot which they looped over the goalkeeper into the back of the net. he made his first start of the tournament. he's been recovering from injury. so did brighton simon dhingra and they both made a real difference. ivory coast suddenly looked like a brilliant team just a couple of weeks after sacking their manager. meanwhile, nigeria needed a penalty shootout to make it to the final after drama right on 90 minutes. victor osman thought he made it 2-0 victor osman thought he made it 2—0 for the super eagles right at the end of the game but the video assistant ref vee spot add foul in the build—up all the way in the nigeria penalty area, he awarded south africa a spot kick and it was scored by mokwena. so it went all the way to the shootout and this time ronwen williams, the south africa goalkeeper and captain, couldn't be the hero. the winner was scored and in t

i think the fans here in the city of abidjan almost feel it's destiny for them to win this trophy afternts, dr congo, are a very strong team with lots of motivation. they want revenge because they were knocked out by ivory coast the last time they reached the semifinals back in 2015. so, expect some drama, some twists and turns, because we always get that when ivory coast are in action. nigeria, we would probably say, are favourites to reach the final, aren't they? but south africa have had luck on their side so far, don't you think? yeah, and some really good performances as well. i mean, beating morocco in the last 16. morocco, who reached the world cup semifinals. then, the luck you mentioned, perhaps, in the penalty shoot—out in the last round when they beat cape verde, although their goalkeeper was in fantastic form, making four saves in the penalty shoot—out, which is unheard of. they're up against nigeria, who will be favourites, particularly after the good news they've had today — victor ossoman, their star striker, was suffering from illness over the last 48 hours. the news we'

cue huge celebrations in abidjan as the ivorians moved level with nigeria on three titles apiece.l, here's more reaction from the former ivory coast international, kolo toure and the former manchester city defender, nedum onuoha, who were both watching the game for the bbc. and i think as you look at it from a perspective standpoint, the biggest player, the biggest place for nigeria on this day, they're all defenders, you know, whereas for ivory coast, you're talking about dhingra. you're talking about how they're scoring that goal. what an incredible goal that was as well. and you're seeing kessie driving from midfield and is a sense of excitement because they're very much on the front foot. and i think as a consequence, like you want them to step up like, you want them to step up in those big occasions, give the crowd something to get behind. and they did do that. you know, ivory coast football is about dominating the ball and it's about attacking. we always have really good wingers. i think i was it was fantastic. today, it's the one who bring the goal. but one thing i have to

the team were paraded around the streets of abidjan with the trophy, which they won for a third timeeating nigeria 2—1 in sunday's final. their victory is all the more remarkable after they were almost knocked out of the group stages of their own tournament and then sacked their coach. the elephants dramatically recovered to add to their 1992 and 2015 titles. england could play two seamers for the third test against india with spinner rehan ahmed perhaps the most likely to miss out. ahmed, 19, was at training on tuesday after experiencing a "discrepancy" with his visa as england, returned to india following a break in abu dhabi. batter ollie pope says it hasn't affected the leg—spinner. i think we are getting around, he was in good spirits training today, i think it was sorted fairly quickly yesterday. it is all going on behind—the—scenes and hopefully in the next day or so, hopefully it is all sorted. he is in good spirits, ball is getting around him, he is happy to be out here training. and that's all the sport for now. breaking news. three people have been found guilty at westmins

the team were paraded around the streets of abidjan with the trophy, which they won for a third timefter they were almost knocked out of the group stages of their own tournament and then sacked their coach. the elephants staged a dramatic recovery to add to their 1992 and 2015 titles. to cricket and more visa problems for england players. rehan ahmed was denied entry to india after the england team returned to the country, following a mid—series break in the arab emirates. it's thought the problem was due to ahmed only holding a single entrance electronic visa. he's been granted an emergency two—day visa, allowing him to train with his england team—mates in rajkot. he's now applied for a multi—entrance visa. the issue is different to the one shoaib bashir encountered last month. england team mate ollie pope says it hasn't affected him. he sounds pretty positive. he is in good spirits and is training today. it was sorted fairly quickly yesterday and it is all going on behind the scenes and hopefully within the next day or so, hopefully it is also to. no, he isn't good spirits and the

fans in abidjan took to the streets to celebrate as they became the first host nation to reach the finalince egypt in 2006. this from a team having nearly been eliminated at the group stage. the hosts will face nigeria in the final after they overcame south africa on penalties in bouake. the super eagles are looking to clinch their fourth afcon title and a first since 2013. the final is a rematch of the group stage fixture which nigeria won 1—0. at the final, anybody who comes we will trash them. trusty. the players have done well. they have made nigeria proud. this have done well. they have made nigeria proud-— nigeria proud. this is our tournament. _ nigeria proud. this is our tournament. this - nigeria proud. this is our tournament. this turn . nigeria proud. this is our tournament. this turn it | nigeria proud. this is our| tournament. this turn it is nigeria proud. this is our- tournament. this turn it is our tournament. this turn it is our tournament and i'm very sure it will io tournament and i'm very sure it will go to— tournament and i'm very sure it will go to nigeria. you tour

ian williams is in abidjan. this result completes a fairy tale nations cup for ivory coast.ir head coach before the end of the group stage, following a 4—0 defeat. several times in this competition they looked dead and buried, like they looked dead and buried, like they would go up, and somehow they always found a way to come back and survive, and that is exactly what they did again tonight, because they were behind in the first half, and nigeria were perhaps the better side in the opening period. but they equalised in the second period, dominated by ivory coast, then the borussia dortmund striker who less than two years ago was battling testicular cancer, capped a fairy tale story of his own and found an exquisite touch at the near post to score the winner in the 81st minute. it means it is heartbreak, of course, for nigeria. ivory coast join them on three continental titles, and it means the hosts become the first side to win this tournament on home soil since 2006, and kick off a party here that i think will go on for many hours yet. the world of athletics is reeling foll

and the finals of the africa cup of nations is under way in abidjan, with hosts ivory coast taking onory coast and nigeria for this year's africa cup of nations final. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri. welcome to the programme. we begin with israel's planned offensive in rafah. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has insisted it will go ahead — despite the fact that more than half of gaza's population has taken shelter there. he says israel will give civilians safe passage to areas they've cleared north of rafah. and he claims israel's army has killed one hamas

at a packed stadium in abidjan, they came from a goal down to beat nigeria 2—1.ttracted a record tv audience and produced a record number of goals. our reporter simi jolaoso joined fans from both teams at a bar in london. as you can imagine, a lot ofjubilation here. i'm with ivory coast fans, they have just beaten nigeria 2—1 to become the afcon champions this year. it is all thanks to two players, haller and kessie. i have some fans who have been celebrating tonight. what do you think about ivory coast winning this year's afcon? i'm just very happy about it. just very excited. ijust can't believe it. very excited indeed. i'm sure you feel the same way? i feel the same, honestly, - i knew they were going to win. nigeria, we love you lot, - but today you had to go home. what about you ? did you expect ivory coast to win? yes, i did expect that. from the beginning. i knew we were going to win. nigeria have to go home! what about you ? do you have any message for nigerian fans who are disappointed tonight? they are unlucky! unlucky indeed. nigerian fans all over the

the super eagles are aiming for a fourth afcon crown in abidjan while the ivorians are looking to add play—off final south africa beat the democratic republic of congo 6—5 on penalties. we're nowjoined by the ivory coast ambassador to the united kingdom, sara amani. thank you forjoining us. i see you are wearing your ivory coast football shirt. are wearing your ivory coast footballshirt. i imagine are wearing your ivory coast football shirt. i imagine you must be incredibly excited. as well as the football, of course your country is hosting the tournament. what do you think the impact of hosting this big championship tournament has been for ivory coast? big championship tournament has been for ivory coast?— for ivory coast? thank you first of all for having _ for ivory coast? thank you first of all for having me. _ for ivory coast? thank you first of all for having me. i— for ivory coast? thank you first of all for having me. i can _ for ivory coast? thank you first of all for having me. i can say - for ivory coast? thank you first of all for having me. i can say that i all for having

at a packed stadium in abidjan, they came from a goal down to beat nigeria 2—1.ce and produced a record number of goals. let's speak to maher mezahi, who's an african football journalist who joins us from algiers. thanks very much for your time. what did you make of that result, then? for me, it was an expected result. despite it being peaks and valleys, in the group stages they lost to equatorial guinea 4—0 at home, which was a humiliation. they seem to find their footing from the quarterfinals on, particularly with the return of some key players. i wasn't surprised to see them win1—0 yesterday night. that strike you talked about from sebastien holder, she was the hero of the game, but diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2022 — an absolutely remarkable comeback. those are the kind of human interest stories that really pull you into the africa cup of nations. diagnosed with cancerjust the africa cup of nations. diagnosed with cancer just a the africa cup of nations. diagnosed with cancerjust a couple of years back, and i want top of the world, scoring a wonderful

republic of congo in the third—fourth place play off this evening. 0ur reporterjohn bennett is out in abidjanevels are rising here for the locals, notjust the excitement levels are rising here for the locals, not just for the final but the possible party afterwards on sunday night and going into monday. the locals will get a day off if ivory coast win. 0ne day off if ivory coast win. one person who hasn't had a day off is sebastien bassong. we had two different teams. _ off is sebastien bassong. we had two different teams. ivory _ off is sebastien bassong. we had two different teams. ivory coast - off is sebastien bassong. we had two different teams. ivory coast have - off is sebastien bassong. we had two different teams. ivory coast have a i different teams. ivory coast have a really good — different teams. ivory coast have a really good team _ different teams. ivory coast have a really good team because - different teams. ivory coast have a really good team because they - different teams. ivory coast have a l really good team because they need miracles, they needed drama but in the semifina

at a packed stadium in abidjan, they came from a goal down to beat nigeria 2—1.produced a record number of goals. 0ur reporter, simijolaoso, joined fans from both teams at a bar in london. there is a lot ofjubilation here with ivory coast fans. theyjust beat nigeria two one. it is all thanks to two players. now i have got with me some fans who have all been celebrating tonight. what do you think about them winning? i am you think about them winning? i am 'ust ve you think about them winning? i am just very happy _ you think about them winning? i am just very happy about it. i was very excited _ just very happy about it. i was very excited and — just very happy about it. i was very excited and i can't believe it. very excited. excited and i can't believe it. very excited- i'm _ excited and i can't believe it. very excited. i'm sure _ excited and i can't believe it. very excited. i'm sure you _ excited and i can't believe it. very excited. i'm sure you feel- excited and i can't believe it. - excited. i'm sure you feel the same way. i excited. i'm sure you feel the

the super eagles are aiming for a fourth afcon crown in abidjan while the ivorians are looking to addment has been the best in decades. the final will be held in the city's 60,000—seater stadium. in saturday's third—place play—off final, south africa beat the democratic republic of congo 6—5 on penalties. if you're one of the millions of people who still love a vinyl record, you'll know that part of the appeal is the artwork. but, of course, they can't all be masterpieces like the beatles�* sergeant pepper or pink floyd's dark side of the moon. some album covers are truly terrible. now, a gallery in alnwick, northumberland, has put on a display of some of the worst offenders. adam powell went for a look. when it comes to our work, these album covers are most definitely flops. it these album covers are most definitely flops.— definitely flops. it is basically _ definitely flops. it is basically about - definitely flops. it is - basically about humour, the smile. many of them do make you smile, or laugh out loud.- smile, or laugh out loud. there are the weird, _ smile, or laugh out loud

our reporter ian williams is in abidjan for us.ich also featured ivory coast. now, that felt big. this feels bigger. we've got extra security, fans are being stopped and checked kilometres away from the stadium. and then early on this afternoon, having to walk those kilometres in burning heat. but it's still orange and white absolutely everywhere you look. that includes even in the media spaces because hundreds of ivorian journalists there, huge contingent that follows nigeria around international media such as the bbc. we're told this game is going to be beamed into 173 territories around the world, more than ever before. close to 2 billion people will have watched afcon at some point during the tournament. so fitting we've got such a great final. the hosts against three time winners nigeria who've been very tight during this tournament, very well organised and then of course at the other end of the field have the african footballer of the year. napoli striker victor osimhen — just one goal for him so far though, in this tournamen

all the billboards here in abidjan, he is the face of a ball of the moment.ning goal to put them in the final, the ivory coast fans are just them in the final, the ivory coast fans arejust winning them in the final, the ivory coast fans are just winning this. the? fans are “ust winning this. they are into the fans are just winning this. they are into the final, _ fans are just winning this. they are into the final, nigeria _ fans are just winning this. they are into the final, nigeria have - fans are just winning this. they are into the final, nigeria have wanted | into the final, nigeria have wanted three times in a much more than ivory coast. this will be their eighth time in the final, something like that. would you make them slight favourites, john? i can see, ali, white people _ slight favourites, john? i can see, ali, white people would _ slight favourites, john? i can see, ali, white people would argue - slight favourites, john? i can see, | ali, white people would argue they are favourites. they've already played ivory coast in this tournament, only g

and joining us from abidjan in the ivory coast is ousmane diallo, senior researcher for senegal and theahel at the amnesty international office for west and central africa. we welcome you both to democracy now! i would like to begin with ousmane diallo. if you could respond to the latest news and your assessment of why it is that president sall has postponed elections? >> i think president sall has postponed and for personal reasons, but many linked to the dealings with his political party. what has shocked many citizens whether they are politicians or simple citizens going about their daily activities, is the unilateral way in which the elections were due three weeks from now were delayed to december by using force, pushing out opposition mps from the national assembly chamber on monday in order to vote the election, the further delay of the elections. furthermore, this is a string of human rights abuses. we have seen internet access cut off between sunday and wednesday morning and many were arrested. but since march 2021, at least 56 people were killed while participating in protests

our reporterjohn bennett is out in abidjan and looks ahead to the final now in the company of formerthe possible party afterwards on sunday night and going through into monday. the locals will get a day off if ivory coast win. one person who hasn't had a day off during this africa cup of nation is seb bassong, he has seen nearly every game. thanks forjoining us. is this the best possible final for a neutral? i is this the best possible final for a neutral? ., �* , , a neutral? i wouldn't say the best ossible a neutral? i wouldn't say the best possible but _ a neutral? i wouldn't say the best possible but it _ a neutral? i wouldn't say the best possible but it is _ a neutral? i wouldn't say the best possible but it is a _ a neutral? i wouldn't say the best possible but it is a great - a neutral? iwouldn't say the best possible but it is a great final- possible but it is a great final with two great nations of football, two great teams with different journeys in the tournament. ivory coast have _ journeys in the tournament. ivory coast have a _ journeys in the tournament. ivory coast h