There has been an unmistakable glass ceiling over Africa at football World Cups.
In reaching the quarter-finals in the 1990 World Cup, Cameroon set a benchmark that has not been bettered yet. Senegal and Ghana also reached the last-eight, in 2002 and 2010 respectively, but the continent’s tale of the tape on the global stage has been one of relative underachievement.
Powered by Roger Milla’s swivelling hips and a fearless athleticism, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions were the shining light of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Wins over holders Argentina, Romania and Colombia set the bar high and, for the first time, an African side claimed three wins at a World Cup.
That performance was widely expected to herald a new age of achievement. It also seemed to justify Pele’s assertion that an African team would win the World Cup by 2000.
However, that prediction would ultimately fall short.
But in 2002, Senegal staked claims for the big prize. Amid a hail of falling seeds early on, the team set out its stall by beating reigning champions France and becoming the first African team to go through a World Cup group stage undefeated.
They were ultimately undone by fatigue and a golden goal, but that success launched the mainstream appeal of Senegalese football.
In 2010, Ghana were the only one of six representatives to advance from the group stage in South Africa.
In 2010, Ghana were the only one of six representatives to advance from the group stage in South Africa.
The Black Stars, combining the experience of their debut in 2006 with the promise of their 2009 under-20 World Cup winning team, played organized, disciplined football and, after wins over Serbia and the USA, came within a handball of a place in the semi-finals.
So, has all that promise and hope disappeared?
Can an African team reach the World Cup 2022 semi-finals?
Strengthening English language quality improvement efforts in Universities across Ethiopia
Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, expressed the Embassy’s continued commitment to Ethiopia’s education sector, especially in English language instruction at universities across the country. Ambassador Jacobson and Dr. Solomon Abraha, CEO of Higher Education, Governance, and Administration at the Ministry of Education, jointly launched the nationwide conference “Enhancing English Language Teaching in Ethiopian Public Universities.”
During her remarks, Ambassador Jacobson highlighted the importance of a strong command of English to open doors to higher levels of education and career opportunities. For the Ministry of Education, Dr. Solomon expressed his appreciation for the partnership with the U.S. Embassy not only for strengthening English language capacity as a whole, but specifically for supporting the English Language Improvement Centers across Ethiopia’s public universities.
The U.S. Embassy has been contributing to English language learning in Ethiopia through diverse programs, including English Access Microscholarships (Access), English Language Fellows Program, English Language Specialists, and the Online Professional English Network Program. About two thousand students in Ethiopia have benefited from the Access program alone.
Finalists Announced For Women’s Athlete of the Year 2022
The names of the five finalists for Women’s World Athlete of the Year have been confirmed, as the countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2022 continues.
The five athletes, who represent five countries from three area associations, have achieved sensational performances across a range of athletics disciplines in 2022, at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22, one-day meeting circuits and other events around the world.
Tobi Amusan, NGR
World 100m hurdles champion
Diamond League, Commonwealth and African 100m hurdles champion
Set a world 100m hurdles record of 12.12
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, JAM
World 100m champion, claiming a fifth gold medal in the event
Diamond League 100m champion
Ran a world-leading 10.62 among her record seven sub-10.70 100m races of the season
Kimberly Garcia, PER
World 20km race walk champion, winning Peru’s first ever World Athletics Championships medal
World 35km race walk champion in a South American record to complete a race walk double
World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships 20km bronze medallist
Sydney McLaughlin, USA
World 400m hurdles and 4x400m champion
Broke the world 400m hurdles record with 51.41 at the US Championships
Further improved the world record to 50.68 to win the world title
Yulimar Rojas, VEN
World indoor and outdoor triple jump champion
Diamond League triple jump champion
Improved her world record to 15.74m in Belgrade
Training on digital skills for women instructors
The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with Huawei Ethiopia, organized a three-day digital training with the theme “empowering women with digital skills and supporting women’s leadership in technology.”
The first round of training was held from November 21 to November 23, 2022. Female instructors from various Ethiopian higher education institutions are among those taking part in the training. The second round begins on November 24, 2022. The training emphasized digital literacy (5G, AI, and cloud) as well as women in leadership.
Liming Ye, Huawei Ethiopia PR director, stated at the opening on November 21 that Huawei is exploring the value of digital technologies to improve women’s wellbeing in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education. The director said, “We are committed to helping women engage in tech and providing more opportunities and platforms for women to unleash their potential and lead our society to a more prosperous and equitable future.”
