Afcon 2021: Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper offered Michael Jackson glove

Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Jesus Owono has has been given a chance to own a piece of pop music history.

Owono, 20, has been offered a glove worn by Michael Jackson if he can help the team go on and lift the trophy on Sunday, 6 February.

The country’s vice-president Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, who was handed a three-year suspended jail term for corruption by a French court in 2017, is the man who has put his memorabilia on the line.

Equatorial Guinea, ranked 114th in the world, are in quarterfinal action against Senegal.

“The results of the Nzalang National have us all euphoric, but I want to focus on our young goalkeeper, Jesus Owono,” Obiang tweeted.

“If [Equatorial Guinea] wins the Nations Cup, I’ll give him one of Michael Jackson’s gloves for his impressive work during the competition.”

Owono, who plays for Spanish side Deportivo Alaves, has kept three clean sheets at the tournament in Cameroon and proved to be a penalty-saving expert.

Obiang is the son of Equatorial Guinea president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Africa’s longest-serving leader, who seized power in 1979.