18th-24th May 2025: Top Picks in African Sport This Week

As we enter the final week of May 2025, the African sports landscape is a hive of exciting competitions and events.

Sport Blot brings you a summary of the week's most noteworthy African sporting events.

Salah's Record Chase Continues as Premier League Season Reaches Finale

Mohamed Salah is still waiting to shatter the Premier League's goal involvement record.

However, he ought to have been celebrating equalling the score on his 400th Liverpool appearance.

He appeared poised to shatter Premier League records and have the most successful attacking individual season in the history of the league two months ago.

Salah's double against Southampton on 8 March took him to 27 goals and 17 assists in 29 matches, only three goal involvements short of the Premier League record of 47, held jointly by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole.

Additionally, he appeared certain to surpass the record of 20 Premier League assists in a season, which is shared by Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City and Thierry Henry of Arsenal.

Salah has now only managed one goal and one assist in eight games, falling two short of the assist record and one short of the goal involvement record.

Zimbabwe Forced to Follow On Despite Stokes-Bennett Stand

On the second day of the unique Test match at Trent Bridge, England forced Zimbabwe to follow after Brian Bennett scored a brilliant century and Ben Stokes gave hints of a comeback to his best.

In a thrilling 3.2-over burst, England captain Stokes, who is playing for the first time since undergoing hamstring surgery, took 2-11.

When opener Bennett scored Zimbabwe's fastest Test hundred from 97 balls, he electrified the dancing visiting crowd in Nottingham. The foundation of the visitors' 265 all-out was his 139.

While Josh Tongue, representing England, urged Zimbabwe to bat again and bowled for the second time to get 10 overs in before the end, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir claimed 3-62.

Gus Atkinson caught Bennett's leg before he could replicate his heroics, and Craig Ervine lobbed Tongue to short leg, leaving Zimbabwe 30-2, but still 270 behind.

Everton's Doucouré to Depart Club When Contract Expires This Summer

Abdoulaye Doucoure, a midfielder for Everton, has declared his intention to depart the team at the end of the current campaign when his contract ends.

After spending £20 million to join the Toffees from Watford in September 2020, the 32-year-old Malian player has made 165 appearances.

Doucoure has scored 21 goals for Everton, including a game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth on the last day of the 2022–2023 campaign, which helped the team escape relegation.

His departure follows that of goalkeepers Asmir Begovic and Joao Virginia, midfielder Ashley Young, and forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin, midfielder Idrissa Gueye, as well as defenders Michael Keane and Seamus Coleman, whose contracts expire this summer.

ALSO CHECK OUT: 11th-17th May 2025: Top Picks in African Sport This Week

Cheptegei to run in Antrim Coast Half Marathon

On Sunday, August 24, Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei will run in the Antrim Coast Half Marathon.

The 28-year-old Ugandan owns the global records for both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and won gold in the 10,000 meters at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, breaking a new Olympic record in the process.

He is the current three-time 10,000-meter world champion and an Olympic gold medallist in the 5,000-meter event from 2020.

According to Cheptegei, he is "very excited" to participate in the event for the first time.

Nigeria's Attack Blunted as Osimhen and Lookman Skip Unity Cup Clash Against Ghana

Nigeria has revealed their Unity Cup team, with a number of important players expected to miss the much-anticipated matchup with rivals Ghana.

Ahead of the four-nation competition in London, the Nigeria Football Federation made public the roster, revealing that Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen, two forwards, would not be travelling with the team.

Other internationals Alex Iwobi, Joe Aribo, and Calvin Bassey are also listed as absentees alongside Osimhen and Lookman.

The G-Tech Community Stadium, home of Brentford FC, will host the Unity Cup from May 28 to May 31.

In addition to serving as a competitive warm-up, the event will feature competition from Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Ghana, and Nigeria. On May 28, Ghana will play Nigeria.

Senior midfielders Frank Onyeka and Wilfred Ndidi have been called up, and the attack is spearheaded by Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon, and Kelechi Iheanacho.

African Football Mourns as Lions Hero Emmanuel Kundé Dies Aged 68

The Cameroonian football association announced the death of Emmanuel Kundé, the defensive anchor for the first African team to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals. He was sixty-eight.

In the last eight of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Kundé scored a penalty against England before the Indomitable Lions were defeated in extra time. He also participated in the 1982 World Cup, the year Cameroon made its tournament debut.

On Friday last week, the nation’s football federation, in a statement, said that his death is a “huge loss” for Cameroonian soccer.

Samuel Eto'o, president of the Federation, praised Kundé as the "defensive wall" and "control tower" on the pitch.

He represented the country in more than 100 games.

Kundé passed away in his residence on May 16th, 2025, following a cardiac arrest.

Mohamed Salah Wins 2024-25 EPL Player of the Season Award

Mohamed Salah, a forward for Liverpool, wins the English Premier League player of the Season for the second time in his career. He did so in 2017–18, following his incredible debut season with the team.

Salah has led the Reds to a title triumph this season, which was won with four games remaining in April, with one of the best individual Premier League seasons ever.

Before Sunday's final match, at home against Crystal Palace, he has contributed 28 goals and 18 assists for Arne Slot's team in the top division.

Due to those numbers, the Egyptian is expected to top the charts as the division's best creator and goal scorer.

He defeated colleagues Ryan Gravenberch and Virgil van Dijk, as well as players from other teams Morgan Gibbs-White, Alexander Isak, Bryan Mbeumo, Declan Rice, and Chris Wood, for the Player of the Season award.