The performances of the Walia are not reassuring in the country. Almost eliminated for the next Africa Cup of Nations Ivory Coast 2023, Ethiopia is going through a delicate instability within its staff undermined by injuries.
Ethiopia’s participation in the 2023 AFCON is hanging by a thread. The Walia have experienced a dull 3rd and 4th days of qualification in March. Beaten twice by Guinea (2-0, 2-3), Ethiopia will have two decisive matches to negotiate in June against Malawi and Egypt in September.
In the meantime, the performance of the Walia in the month of March has attracted much criticism in Ethiopia. Especially the lackluster performance against Guinea in the third match of the group. Currently bottom of its group D with 3 points, Ethiopia can even say goodbye to the Ivorian appointment. And for good reason, Egypt and Guinea are far ahead with 9 points each.
“We didn’t win either game as we wanted against Guinea. We didn’t do well at all, especially in the first game. In the second game, we were able to do better. Now we have a very small chance,” said coach Wubetu Abatu in the local press. However, the coach knows that the mission will be almost impossible.
The Walia of Ethiopia are closer to a logical elimination than a miracle of qualification. Especially since Wubetu admits that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find players consistent in performance. Prior to their outings last month, Ethiopia lost 11 of their best players to injury. “We have gone through different stages since the moment we took over the team,” the national coach noted.
Wubetu has coached 35 matches, including 10 friendlies with Ethiopia. But the Walia have won only six games. A very unflattering record that raises great concern in the country.

Abdisa Tola and Dera Dida achieved an Ethiopian double at the Dubai Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race.
Making his marathon debut, 22-year-old Tola clocked 2:05:42 to win the men’s race by nine seconds, while Dera, the 2019 world cross country silver medalist, ran a PB of 2:21:11 for the first marathon victory of her career.
The men’s race saw Abdisa, who is the brother of world marathon champion Tamirat Tola, pull away with around 2km remaining after briefly going off course at 39km. Having regained the lead, he went on to claim a clear win and led an Ethiopian top 11. He was followed over the finish by Deresa Geleta, who clocked 2:05:51, and Haymanot Alew, who also dipped under 2:06 with 2:05:57. Little over 15 minutes later, Dera completed a rare family triumph in a major marathon. The sister-in-law of Abdisa Tola, as she is married to world champion Tamirat, tormed to her biggest career win.
In fine weather conditions,Dida claimed a 13-second victory ahead of her compatriots Ruti Aga and Siranesh Yirga, who clocked respective times of 2:21:24 and 2:21:59, as Ethiopian athletes secured the top 10 places.
At the latest Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, also a World Athletics Gold Label road race, Ethiopia’s Fantu Jimma won the women’s title while Kenya’s Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba claimed victory in the men’s race. Fantu’s win in 2:27:50 comes after a fourth-place finish at the Ooredoo Doha Marathon in 2:23:21 last month.

World record set earlier this year by Ethiopian Emane Seifu have now been ratified.
Emane Seifu’s women-only 50km world record, Mika Sosna’s world U20 discus record from 2022, and Kaila Jackson’s equaling of the world U20 indoor 60m record are the latest to be ratified.
The Ethiopian won the 50km at the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers Ultramarathon in 3:00:30, taking almost four minutes off the previous women-only record of 3:04:24, set by South Africa’s Irvette van Zyl in Port Elizabeth on 23 May 2021.
Emane maintained a steady pace throughout, going through 10km in 36:09 before reaching the half-way mark in 1:30:28. She went through the marathon checkpoint in 2:32:21 and completed the race with a negative split for the second half.

Lemecha Girma, who set a world indoor 3000m record earlier this year, will contest that same distance at the Doha Meeting, taking on a field that includes five winners of global titles at the Wanda Diamond League opener on 5 May.
In his only appearance of the indoor season, the 22-year-old Ethiopian clocked a stunning 7:23.81 in Lievin to take more than a second off the world indoor record that had stood to Daniel Komen for 25 years. Only two men in history – Komen and Hicham El Guerrouj – have ever gone faster than that outdoors.
Lemecha, the Olympic and two-time world steeplechase silver medalist, will now make his outdoor 3000m flat debut on 5 May.
He will be one of several men vying for victory, though. His opponents include his arch rival over the barriers, world and Olympic steeplechase champion Soufiane El Bakkali, who has been unbeaten since September 2021.
“This is a big year for me as I prepare to defend my world title in Budapest and I want to get it off to a good start,” said El Bakkali. “By racing against such a strong field in this opening meeting of the Wanda Diamond League, I will see how much work I still have to do.”
The line-up also includes Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia, 2019 world 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya, two-time world indoor 3000m champion Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia, world U20 cross-country champion Ishmael Kipkirui of Kenya, and world 5000m bronze medalist Oscar Chelimo of Uganda.