occer-Hosts Ghana win African Youth Cup


ACCRA, March 7 (Reuters) - Hosts Ghana won the African Youth (Under-20) Cup on
Sunday, defeating pre-tournament favourites Nigeria 1-0 in the final.

A goal by midfielder Kingston Laryea in the 40th minute was enough to earn
Ghana the cup for the second time. They won it first in 1993.

Cameroon took third place, defeating Zambia 2-1 in a play-off on Sunday.

Nigeria, who host the World Youth Cup finals in April, fought back in the
second half and found the back of the net in the 59th minute but the referee
disallowed the goal.

Ghana, Cameroon and Zambia all qualified for the World Cup by reaching the
semifinals of the African competition. Nigeria qualify automatically as hosts.
Mali won the final African slot defeating Guinea in a play-off on Wednesday.

Defending African champions Morocco failed to qualify for the final stages of
the competition in Ghana.

The president of world soccer's governing body FIFA, Joseph Sepp Blatter,
watched Sunday's final.

14:23 03-07-99


Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.  All rights reserved.  Republication or
redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is
expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.  Reuters
shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any
actions taken in reliance thereon.  All active hyperlinks have been inserted
by AOL.