African football briefs on Sunday:

Esperance sink Stade

TUNIS: Perennial champions Esperance stretched their Tunisian league lead over AS Marsa to ten points by defeating third-placed Stade Tunisien 3-1 in a Tunis derby.

Happy birthday for Pirates

JOHANNESBURG: Leading South African club Orlando Pirates celebrated their 65th birthday in fitting fashion with a 2-0 win over Dynamos that maintained a 100 percent record and moved them within one point of leaders Sundowns.

Egypt to play France

CAIRO: Egypt will play a friendly against former world champions France at Stade de France in Saint Denis on April 30, Egyptian Football Federation officials said.

Students lead the way

DAKAR: Dakar University are the only club boasting a 100 percent record just two rounds into the Senegal title race. A 2-0 victory over AS Police earned the students a two-point advantage over five rivals.

Triumphant Algerian coach quits

ALGIERS: Former champions Chabab Belouizdad are the latest Algerian club seeking a new coach after Kamel Mouassa quit unexpectedly following a 1-0 league triumph over JS Kabylie.

Burkinabe assure Ivorians of warm welcome

OUAGADOUGOU: Hosts Burkina Faso have assured Ivory Coast of a warm welcome at the African youth championships during January. Relations between the West African neighbours soured after a recent military mutiny in Ivory Coast.

UEFA aid boosts Sao Tome

PRAIA: The Sao Tome e Principe football federation has opened offices in a suburb of Sao Tome thanks to financial aid from European governing body UEFA. The federation was previously housed in the sports ministry.

Angolan champions woo top striker

LUANDA: Angolan champions AS Aviacao want to sign national team striker Joaquim 'Quinzinho' Silva from Portuguese club Estoril as part of a rebuilding programme for the 2003 African Champions League.

Kenya bolster squad

NAIROBI: Kenya have included two professionals, Belgium-based midfielder John Muiruri and Sweden-based striker Paul Oyuga, in their squad for the East and Central Africa Senior Challenge Cup in Tanzania, starting Saturday.

Matlama put soldiers to flight

MASERU: Matlama ended the unbeaten record of Lesotho league pacesetters Defence Force with a 2-1 victory, but the soldiers still have a healthy five-point early season advantage.

Zimbabwe giantkillers come unstuck

HARARE: The giantkilling run of social football club Highdon Raylton in the Zimbabwe FA Cup came to an abrupt halt in the quarter-finals as they crashed 5-0 against army outfit Black Rhinos.

Nigeria to host coaches

LAGOS: The Confederation of African Football will run a coaching workshop here between December 16-19 in conjunction with the English Football Association.

Malawi leave it late

BLANTYRE: Patrick Forlogonya scored two late goals as the Malawi Olympic team pipped the Kenya junior side 2-1 in a warm-up match for a Games qualifier in Rwanda.