SPORT-AFRICA: Soccer Greats Gather for Cup of Nations

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Ish Mafundikwa

TUNIS, Jan 24 2004 (IPS) - The 24th edition of Africa’s premier soccer showcase, the African Cup of Nations, kicks off Saturday in Tunisia. In the only game to be played on the first day, the hosts are tackling Nations Cup debutantes Rwanda after the opening ceremony at Rades Stadium in Tunis.

The championship gets underway in earnest Sunday when three games will be staged. Six stadiums in five cities have been earmarked for the various contests.

The biennial tournament will see sixteen teams battle it out to become the champions on Feb. 14, when the finals will be played in Tunisia’s capital. Cup holders Cameroon are expected to put up a spirited fight to retain the trophy they have won for the past two tournaments.

The championship is a far cry from the inaugural cup hosted by Sudan in February 1957, when only three countries – Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia – took part. South Africa, then under apartheid rule, was expelled from the tournament for refusing to send a mixed-race team.

The three sides were at it again in Cairo two years later when Egypt retained the cup. The third final was held in Ethiopia in 1962, when the hosts beat Egypt 4-2 after extra time.

Ghana triumphed over Sudan in the first final to be held in West Africa in 1963, and the Black Stars went on to defend their title in Tunisia two years later when they beat the hosts. All in all, the Ghanians have won the cup three times.

Over the years, West African players have ended North Africa’s dominance of the continent’s favourite sport. The last two finals were both West African affairs. Cameroon beat Nigeria in 2000 and retained the title by beating Senegal in 2002. With its strong contingent of foreign-based players, Cameroon is hotly tipped to make it three in a row.

South Africa, which stepped in to hold the championship after Kenya pulled out in 1996, is the first and only Southern African country to win the cup.

The championship has become an important platform for African players to showcase their talents to numerous scouts from the lucrative European leagues, where a growing number of African players are doing very well.

Besides Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Benin are also making their first appearance at the cup this year. The Warriors of Zimbabwe, one of the most highly rated sides, has failed to make the championship since independence in 1980.

While expectations of success are high in the Southern African country, Warriors coach Sunday Marimo is more realistic. He says simply qualifying for the tournament is a major achievement. “Making it beyond the first round will be a bonus,” he added.

Zimbabwe’s quest is made all the more daunting by the fact that it is playing cup holders Cameroon, Algeria and Egypt in the first round.

While the hosts are expected to benefit from playing at home, Tunisians are not treating the game against Rwanda lightly. Ibrahim, a Tunis taxi driver, said the fact that the team had made the last sixteen meant it must have something to offer.

“We cannot afford to be complacent. There is nothing like a small team here – the teams that are not good enough are not here,” he told IPS.

However, there is optimism that Tunisia will – at the very least – make the Valentine’s Day final. “Its Tunisia for the cup,’” said a Tunis hotel worker.

On the fringes of the championship, Issa Hayatou was re-elected president of the Confederation of African Football, which organises the cup. Hayatou, who has been at the helm of the continental soccer body for the past 16 years, beat Botswana’s Ishmail Bhakjee by 46 votes to six.

(END/IPS/AF/WA/SA/EA/MM/CR/IM/JH/04)