BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE TIME TABLE FOR FEBRUARY 2012

Saturday 4th February

13:00 Arsenal vs Blackburn

15:00 Norwich vs Bolton

15:00 QPR vs Wolves

15:00 Stoke City vs Sunderland

15: West Brom vs Swansea

15:00 Wigan vs Everton

17:30 Man City vs Fulham

Sunday 5th February

13:30 Newcastle vs A Villa

16:00 Chelsea vs Man Utd

Monday 6th February

20:00 Liverpool vs Tottenham

Saturday 11th February

12:45 Man Utd vs Liverpool

15:00 Blackburn vs QPR

15:00 Bolton vs Wigan

15:00 Everton vs Chelsea

15:00 Fulham vs Stoke City

15:00 Sunderland vs Arsenal

15:00 Swansea vs Norwich

17:30 Tottenham vs Newcastle

Sunday 12th February

13:30 Wolves vs West Brom

16:00 A Villa vs Man City

Saturday 25th February

15:00 Chelsea vs Bolton

15:00 Newcastle vs Wolves

15:00 QPR vs Fulham

15:00 West Brom vs Sunderland

15:00 Wigan vs A Villa

17:30 Man City vs Blackburn

Sunday 26th February

13:30 Arsenal vs Tottenham

13:30 Norwich vs Man Utd

Terry to learn England fate

FA chairman Bernstein and board considering captaincy

John Terry's position as England captain is being considered by senior Football Association officials and he could discover on Friday if he is to be stripped of the armband.

FA chairman David Bernstein on Thursday contacted all the other members of the 12-strong board to seek their views on Terry'scaptaincy after the announcement that the Chelsea defender's court case, where he is accused of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand, will not take place until 9th July - after Euro 2012.

More than one board member argued strongly that Terry should not be the England figurehead with such a serious charge hanging over him, and that the FA should act immediately rather than putting off a decision until the next board meeting on 23rd February.

The spectre of England this summer being forced to make a complaint about racist abuse from the crowd when playing matches in Ukraine has been raised - it would be difficult for the FA to take the moral high ground if England's captain is himself facing a criminal charge for racism.

Other board members believe the FA is in a no-win situation and that if it removes the England captaincy from Terry it will be accused of pre-judging the case and ignoring the principle of innocent-until-proven guilty. Terry's barrister on Wednesday entered a formal 'not guilty' plea at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Circumstances

England manager Fabio Capello is another factor and the Italian has previously insisted he should be the one making the decisions over the captain.

Some significant voices have been raised calling for Terry to stand aside.

Damian Collins, a Tory MP who sits on the culture, media and sport committee and who has made a name for himself as a campaigner for FIFA reform, said: "He is in a public position as England captain.

"Anyone else in a public position faced with such a criminal charge would stand aside from their position and then if cleared be able to return to that position.

"This has gone beyond being an allegation. He has been charged and has to appear in court and I don't think under those circumstances he can fulfil his duties.

"It is also what it means for communities across the country if people just close their eyes to the situation until after the court case."

Africa Cup of Nations 2012(Afcon)

The 28th Africa Cup of Nations, jointly hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, kicks off in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on January 21, 2012 and will run till the finals on February 12, 2012, in Libreville, Gabon.
Duration
Afcon 2012 will be held over a 22-day period from the opening match to the finals. There will be six match-free days in-between, meaning, there will be 16 match days. For the most part, there will be two matches daily on those days. All matches will be televised live on SuperSport 4. See our broadcast schedule for details.
Teams and Groups:
Sixteen countries will be taking part in the tournament, with Gabon and Equatorial Guinea qualified as hosts. They are joined by 14 countries from the qualifying rounds that have produced casualties in a proportion never seen in the history of the tournament.
Missing in Action
The traditional powerhouses of the tournament will be missing, including defending champions Egypt, who have won the last three tournaments and seven in total (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010), Cameroon (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002), Nigeria (1980 and 1994), 2010 World cup hosts, South Africa ( 1996), Algeria (1990) and Congo DR (1968, 1974).
Sweet Sixteen
The 16 teams have been grouped into four groups; two in the Gabonese cites of Libreville and France Ville and two in the Equatorial Guinea cities of Malabo and Bata.
Group A: Malabo - Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Senegal, Zambia
Group B: Bata - Cote d’Ivoire, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Angola
Group C: Libreville- Gabon, Niger, Morocco, Tunisia
Group D: France Ville - Ghana, Botswana, Mali, Guinea
Format and Regulations
The 16 teams have been drawn into four groups of four each and will play a round-robin with mini-league groups. The top two teams from each group will progress to the quarterfinals. There will be six matches in each group and 24 in total during the group stage.
Article 72 of the Caf nations cup regulations clarify the parameters that will determine who progresses from the group in event of a tie .This will ease the pains of the qualifying rounds when there was a lot of misinterpretation.
In case of equality of points between two or more teams, at the conclusion of the group matches, the ranking of the teams shall be established according to the following criteria:
72.1. Greater number of points obtained in the matches between the teams in question;
72.2. The best goal difference in the matches between the teams in question;
72.3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
72.4. Goal difference in all group matches;
72.5. Greatest number of goals scored in all the group matches;
72.6. Fair Play points system taking into account the number of yellow and red cards;
72.7. Drawing of lots by CAF Organising Committee.
Knockout stage
This will be a straight elimination series with games played out for 90 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of extra-time and, ultimately, if no winner emerges after full-time and extra-time, they will go straight to penalty shootouts (five kicks each) and thereafter, sudden death penalty kicks until a winner emerges.
Article 73
73.1. At the conclusion of the four group matches, the first and the second of each group shall be qualified for the quarter finals.
The quarterfinal matches shall be played in the following order:
i. Winner Group A/Second Group B
ii. Winner Group B/Second Group A
iii. Winner Group C/Second Group D
iv. Winner Group D/Second Group C
73.2. The quarterfinal matches shall be played in accordance with the direct elimination system of the loser. An extra time of 2 x 15 minutes shall be eventually played in case of a draw after the regular time. If, after extra time, the result is still not decisive, the winner shall be determined by the taking of kicks from the penalty mark.
73.3. The winners of the quarterfinals shall qualify for the semifinals. They shall be played in the following order:
- Winner of match (i) Winner of match (iii) or (iv)
- Winner of match (ii) Winner of match (iii) or (iv)
73.4. The semifinals shall be played in accordance with the same direct elimination system as applied in the quarter finals.
73.5. The losers of the semifinals shall play a match for the third place. In case of a draw after the end of the regular time, the winner shall be determined by the taking of kicks from the penalty mark.
73.6. The final shall be played between the winners of the semifinals. In case of a draw after the end of the regular time, an extra time of 2 x 15 minutes shall be played. If, after the extra time, the result is still not decisive, the winner shall be determined by the taking of kicks from the penalty mark.

LIGI KUU YA VODACOM KUANZA JUMAMOSI

Bw.Boniface Wambura Ofisa HabariShirikisho la Mpira wa Miguu Tanzania (TFF)

Mzunguko wa pili wa Ligi Kuu ya Vodacom kuwania ubingwa wa Tanzania Bara unaanza keshokutwa (Januari 21 mwaka huu) kwa mechi nne. Moro United itaikaribisha Yanga kwenye Uwanja wa Taifa, Dar es Salaam na Mtibwa Sugar itaoneshana kazi na Oljoro JKT kwenye Uwanja wa Manungu, Turiani.

Nayo Toto Africans itakuwa mgeni wa Ruvu Shooting kwenye Uwanja wa Mlandizi mkoani Pwani na Villa Squad itapambana na Kagera Sugar katika Uwanja wa Azam Chamazi, Dar es Salaam.

Januari 22 mwaka huu JKT Ruvu na Polisi Dodoma zitapepetana Uwanja wa Azam Chamazi wakati Januari 22 mwaka huu Dar es Salaam itakuwa na mechi mbili; African Lyon na Azam (Uwanja wa Azam Chamazi) na Simba na Coastal Union (Uwanja wa Taifa).

Ratiba kwa ajili ya waamuzi na makamishna kwa mechi 35 za mwanzo tayari imeshatoka. Waamuzi wa kati 16 wameteuliwa kuchezesha mechi hizo huku watatu wakiwa wenye beji za Shirikisho la Kimataifa la Mpira wa Miguu (FIFA).

Makamishna ni 28 huku watathmini wa waamuzi (referees assessors) wakiwa kwenye mechi tano. Watathmini hao ni Charles Mchau, Soud Abdi, Emmanuel Chaula, Army Sentimea na Joseph Mapunda.

HAKI ZA MATANGAZO YA TELEVISHENI

Mpaka sasa hakuna kituo cha televisheni ambacho kimeomba na kushinda tenda ya kuonesha moja kwa moja (live) mechi za Ligi Kuu ya Vodacom. Kwa upande wa vituo vya redio, vyote vimepewa haki ya kutangaza moja kwa moja mechi za ligi hiyo kwa masharti yafuatayo;

Kuitambulisha ligi hiyo kwa jina lake (Ligi Kuu ya Vodacom) wakati wa matangazo hayo ya moja kwa moja, na pia kuweka matangazo ya mdhamini (Vodacom) wakati wakitangaza mechi husika. Hata hivyo, vituo vya redio bado vinaruhusiwa kuendelea kutafuta/kutumia matangazo ya wadhamini wao, lakini ambao si washindani wa kibiashara wa Vodacom.

MECHI YA TOTO AFRICANS VS AFRICAN LYON

Mechi kati ya Toto Africans na African Lyon ambayo kwa mujibu wa ratiba ilikuwa ichezwe Uwanja wa CCM Kirumba jijini Mwanza haitakuwepo, na sasa itapangiwa tarehe nyingine.

Juzi Shirikisho la Mpira wa Miguu Tanzania (TFF) lilipokea barua kutoka kwa wamiliki wa Uwanja wa CCM Kirumba ikieleza kuwa Februari 5 mwaka huu uwanja huo utatumika kwa sherehe za kitaifa za kuzaliwa Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), hivyo hautaweza kutumika kwa Februari 4, 5 na 6 mwaka huu.

imetolewa na Boniface Wambura

Ofisa Habari

Shirikisho la Mpira wa Miguu Tanzania (TFF)