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Ebola fears infiltrate African sports

By WTOP Staff

GERALD IMRAY
AP Sports Writer

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — It started when the small Indian Ocean island of Seychelles refused entry to Sierra Leone’s soccer squad, fearing that the deadly Ebola virus would arrive from West Africa along with the players.

The decision by Seychelles health authorities two weeks ago gave its team no choice but to forfeit the game against Sierra Leone and withdraw from qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations, the continent’s main football competition.

“We cannot let down our guard,” Seychelles health commissioner Dr. Jude Gedeon said after Sierra Leone’s players were prevented from leaving Kenya for the flight to the Seychelles. Some had already boarded their plane before being informed they wouldn’t be allowed to make the flight.

The Confederation of African Football was powerless to act.

Sierra Leone and Liberia, two of the four soccer-mad West African countries affected by the worst Ebola outbreak ever recorded, have now stopped all football in their countries. Health officials say there is a lethal risk in allowing people to gather in large groups.

Togo said it would not travel to Guinea, another Ebola-affected country, for a game at the start of the final round of Africa Cup qualifying in the first week of September. That forced CAF to relocate that match.

The disease has no licensed vaccine, has killed over 1,000 people in West Africa at the World Health Organization’s latest count and has spread through three countries and into a fourth, Nigeria. Controlling it takes priority over sport.

But if other nations follow the lead of Seychelles and Togo, as many as 18 games in the final qualifying competition starting next month could be affected. The qualifiers determine which teams get the 16 spots in the tournament, which is held every two years.

The 2015 Africa Cup will be held in Morocco in January and February.

The CAF is facing a logistical nightmare over the fixtures involving Guinea, Sierra Leone and African champion Nigeria in September, October and November. Liberia is not part of the qualifiers.

Those games might have to be moved to other sites or canceled.

“We continue to monitor the situation of the Ebola outbreak,” CAF said in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday, promising to clarify in the coming days its revised plans for the qualifiers.

CAF said it was in contact with WHO and authorities in the countries affected. The CAF confirmed that Sierra Leone, where over 300 people have died in the outbreak, can’t host games.

Sierra Leone’s government banned all football there until further notice. Sierra Leone wants to play its ‘home’ matches against Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Congo in Accra, Ghana, CAF said.

Ghana hasn’t yet confirmed if it’ll allow that to happen. Some countries don’t want to allow people from Ebola-affected countries to enter.

Sierra Leone Football Association spokesman Abu Bakarr Kamara told the AP that it would get WHO emergency health certificates for home-based players to show they had not contracted Ebola.

Unlike Sierra Leone, Guinea, the suspected source of the Ebola outbreak, says it still wants to play host to matches.

Guinea is the only one of the four countries not to have declared a public health emergency despite the deaths of 373 people there — the most of all the countries.

Opponents say they don’t want to travel to Guinea.

“We are scared by the situation prevailing in that zone,” the Togo Football Federation said.

Guinea’s football federation said on Tuesday that it had been instructed by CAF to move its home game against Togo, although it said it hasn’t chosen a venue.

The move by the Seychelles government last month to block Sierra Leone’s squad set a possible precedent for countries to refuse to host the Sierra Leone and Guinea teams. The bans could spread to Nigeria if Ebola spreads rapidly there.

The nine countries set to host teams from Ebola-hit areas haven’t yet said they’ll refuse to let players and officials into their country. If they banned players from the four nations, it would throw the Africa Cup into complete chaos.

The CAF doesn’t want to wait, and says it will announce later this week details of a plan to keep the qualifiers going.

___

Associated Press writers Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia, Liberia, Clarence Roy-Macaulay in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Boubacar Diallo in Conakry, Guinea, Blame Ekoue in Lome, Togo and Francis Kokutse in Accra, Ghana contributed to this report.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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