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JOHANNESBURG, July 31 (Reuters) - A digest of African soccer stories in recent days:

GHANA - Emmanuel Afranie, the coach of Ghana's under-20 side who were runners-up at the world championships in Argentina earlier this month, has been sacked as part of a series of sweeping changes to the coaching structure at the Ghana Football Association. No reason was given for Afranie's dismissal, which comes despite widespread acclaim for the team reaching the final of the world youth championship against Argentina. Malik Jabir, a former coach of Ghana's national team, replaces him. The changes follow the election of Ben Koufie as the new president of the Ghana Football Association.

ALGERIA - Algeria will play a friendly against Portugal in Lisbon on September 25. It will be the first game in charge for coach Rabah Madjer, who has taken over for a second spell. Madjer spent most of his playing career at FC Porto in Portugal, scoring their European Cup final win over Bayern Munich in Vienna in 1987. Algeria, preparing for next year's African Nations Cup finals, also play world champions France in Paris on October 6.

MOROCCO - Morocco are the first country to formally declare their intention to bid for the 2006 African Nations Cup finals. The decision was made at a meeting of the bureau of the Moroccan Football Federation at the weekend. It is also expected that Egypt will declare their candidacy. The Confederation of African Football will name the hosts next year. The next Nations Cup finals take place in Mali in January, with 2004 awarded to Tunisia.

ZIMBABWE - Controversial Dutch coach Clemens Westerhof was given a standing ovation by fans after steering Harare club Dynamos into the final of the League Cup on Sunday. Westerhof, the former Nigerian national coach, is working with the team on a short-term basis, receiving a petrol allowance in return for a three-month stint with the club. The applause came after Dynamos beat Buffaloes 3-0 in Harare on Sunday. They will play either Shabanie or Masvingo United in the final. Their semifinal was abandoned on Sunday because of crowd trouble and is set to be replayed.