Africa’s Showpiece

Before we get to the crux of this article’s chosen discussed topic, a significant milestone has been reached ladies and gentlemen. What am I alluding to? Well here’s a clue, 50 not out. Yes folks, in just over eighteen months the Frankly Speaking column is celebrating post number fifty. Boy time does sure fly by. Well to commemorate this landmark and being a sucker for sentiment, it would be only right to go back to how it all started in post number one, and review a major international football tournament held on the continent of Africa. 

Okay so the Africa Cup of Nations, or African Nations Cup if you are old skool like me, is not quite the South African 2010 World Cup. But let us be honest, what football tournament is? However, this year’s tournament to crown Africa’s finest culminated with a battle of the Oranges, as the pre-tournament favourites of Ivory Coast faced the surprised outfit of Zambia in the showpiece final. Hearty congratulations are in order for the triumphant Zambian team, who in a tight match secured their first African title. With neither team registering a goal after 90 minutes and in extra time, the dreaded drama of a penalty shoot-out had to separate the teams, with the Zambians taking it with a score of 8-7 in the shoot-out.

Speaking of which was I the only one who thought that the shoot-out was more like a masterclass of how to take penalties? I could not believe how expertly both teams were taking their respective spot-kicks under so much pressure, and the accolade that stood before the winners. From a selfish point of view I would hope both Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan, and the players of the England national team were watching!! For that matter the Liverpool football team also, they have been terrible at taking penalties so far this season.

Looking at the competition itself, the co-hosts of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon put on a wonderful event. From an armchair perspective, both countries staged the near month-long tournament well, and can be proud of their efforts in maintaining that African football is firmly in the public’s sporting consciousness when this tournament is played. However, as good as its staging was and being known as a bit of a critic by some of my closest friends (this is not true by the way); this year’s finals left me a little bit flat and disappointed.

I along with quite a few fans of African football was excited by the prospect of a collection of new and unfashionable teams competing for the continent’s biggest prize. For me the non-appearance of the long established superpowers, whose names resonate firmly in the mind of the average football fan that is knowledgeable in African football, was a stimulating prospect and a big plus going forward for the game in Africa. The seven times winners Egypt, who held a monopoly in winning the last three previous tournaments were absent. In addition the might of Nigeria, Cameroon, and South Africa all missed out the latest African Nations Cup festivities, including Algeria who put a decent showing in the 2010 World Cup.

I was animated by the prospect of seeing new players come to the football party, and show their skills on the big stage of a tournament that is now being seen as a key arena to European clubs looking to discover upcoming talent. From my viewpoint the 2012 African Nations Cup did not produce either one of these two mentioned features, and in general flattered to deceive.

The aspiring teams who had successfully challenged the recognized football order in the tournament’s qualifiers, failed to reproduce their efforts during these finals. What was on display was an event high on promise but woefully low on quality. The pre-competition favourites of Ivory Coast and Ghana, who successfully avoided the big reputation trapdoor in the qualifiers, could barley utilize their undoubted collective talent in the competition. Both teams really stumbled to the later stages with uninspiring performances. The event just seemed passive, which was a real shame because it did not show African football at its full potential to a growing international audience.

I attended the 2008 tournament held in Ghana, and putting my ties with the host country aside, that year’s edition was full of gusto and verve. The well-known teams of African football were present and playing to their fullest, and the perceived lesser nations who had qualified were competing strongly also. Some of Africa’s crown jewels from a player perspective such as Didier Drogaba, Samuel Eto’o, Salomon Kalou, Steven Pienaar, and Michael Essien just to name a few all left their mark on the tournament. A staggering 99 goals were scored in the 32 matches played over the three weeks, with a worthy winner in Egypt taking the title. In its aftermath, I along with many others concluded that this was African football reaching a new quality peak standard, and fulfilling the intended aim that CAF and its football members had been working to achieve.

But since that particular tournament held four years ago, African football seems to have stood still or has even gone backwards within this period. Some of may think that this is a harsh statement to make, but you only have to look at the 2010 World Cup. Held on home soil, arguably the six teams that competed was the strongest lineup to best represent Africa going into any World Cup. What resulted was failure to readdress the status of only one African country going forward to the tournament’s knockout stages in each of the 4 World Cups, when the tournament had been expanded to 32 nations in 1998. 

A statistic that I have found disappointing considering that after UEFA and Europe holding the most allotted berths at a World Cup, CAF and Africa has the second highest guaranteed spots for a given. A worrying and lingering trend that may need to be focused on further, but a matter perhaps a discussion that can be saved for another day. What cannot be argued is how Zambia’s performances were one of the very few plus points over the last three weeks, with a display that perhaps was destined for glory in beating both Ivory Coast and Ghana en route. More symbolically and fittingly paying the ultimate honour for the Zambian team that died in a plane crash in 1993 in Libreville, the very same city in Gabon where the current Zambian squad held the African Nations Cup aloft on Sunday night.

With all that said, it is South Africa 2013 we roll on to. Hopefully the next tournament shall fair better in providing my request for a higher level of quality shown, and a place where newer memories are forged. I am looking forward to the colourful antics of the watching fans in attendance. Vuvuzelas are at the ready!