Africa’s biggest sporting event, the Africa Cup of Nations has come and gone
but not without highs and lows. South Africa played a good host as Afcon 2013
could arguably be dubbed a success – stars were born, a new winner emerged and
the the theme song (Top of the world -Dbanj) rightly placed Africa at the top
of the footballing world — at least for the duration of the competition.
However, one couldn’t but notice the empty seats, ticket problems and poor
pitches during the games. Here's my take on the 29
th edition of the tournament.
Worthy Champions
 |
| Mikel Obi, Joseph Yobo and Austin Ejide with AFCON tropgy |
And so Nigeria’s Super Eagles were crowned Champions of Africa for the third
time in history against all the odds. Not many gave Coach Stephen Keshi’s team
a chance especially considering that Keshi’s team was unconvincing in the build
up to the tournament and several other top players like Osaze Odemwingie and
Obafemi Martin were not included. But just like the Chipolopolo of Zambia did 12
months ago; the Super Eagles proved critics wrong by getting their hands on the
trophy after a 19 year wait.
Sack Threat? Resignation?
However, it was not an easy task for Stephen Keshi in South Africa who had
to ride through criticisms both from fans and journalists back home. After two
disappointing draws, many fans had called for Keshi’s sack. In fact reports
alleged that the Nigeria Football Federation under the order of the Nigeria
Sports Ministry wanted him out. But the Sports Minister Bolaji Abdulahi denied
the allegations insisting that, “There is no such thing about planning to sack
Keshi. After the first game against Bourkina Faso, I called Keshi and told him
look, we have a choice to continue with what would have happened if we didn’t
concede that last minute goal or to focus on what we can still achieve as the
tournament is not decided by one match.”
However on Monday, Keshi stunned the world and Nigerians in particular when
he announced on a South Africa radio station, Metro FM, that he had handed his
resignation letter immediately after the final game. The news hit the airwaves
and online community and it was not surprising to see many fans that had criticized
Keshi and called for his sack during the group stages suddenly make a u-turn
asking for his stay. In the early hours of Tuesday, Coach Stephen Keshi decided
to rescind his decision after meeting with Nigeria’s sports minister Bolaji
Abdulahi.
 |
| Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi |
“My attention has been drawn to reports in the media that I have resigned my
appointment as the Head Coach of Super Eagles of Nigeria,” Keshi said in the
statement. “While I have had cause to express my displeasure over some issues
that happened in the course of our participation in the AFCON 2013, which my
team won by the grace of God, especially concerning my relationship with the
Nigerian Football Federation, I have since had opportunity to discuss the
various issues with all concerned. I am therefore pleased to say that I have
reconsidered my position and have decided to continue with my job.”
Turning Point
Despite the alleged sack threat as well as the resignation saga, the turning
point for the Super Eagles seems to be the quarter finals clash with the
Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire. Quite a number of people never gave the team a
chance against the Ivoirians who were the tournament favourites. And
considering the lackadaisical play of the team in the group stages, many
believed it was the end of the road for The Super Eagles. However, Keshi’s team
played the game of their lives with Warri Wolves striker Sunday Mba netting the
winner. A week later, Mba repeated the feat as his only goal proved enough to
defeat The Stallions of Bourkina Faso.
Well, success they say have many relatives and so despite the alleged sack
threat saga, Nigeria’s Super Eagles will receive a heroic welcome on Tuesday
when they return to Nigeria. As I write this, many cash gifts are already being
promised goodies with business mogul Michael Adenuga reportedly promising the
team one million pounds. Well, expect more in the days ahead.
LOC and Organisation
Looking at the organisation proper of the tournament, hosts South Africa can
be given a pass mark for a job well done especially considering the fact they
only had a year to prepare for the competition. The Confederation of Africa
Football (CAF) had to make a quick decision to take the hosting rights off post
Arab Spring Libya who will now host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2017.
Even though rains almost marred the opening ceremonies, the closing event was
colourful and showcased the rich African heritage.
More so, the country witnessed an influx of well over 40, 000 visitors into
the country in the one month long event. Mvuzo Mbebe, the CEO of the Local
Organising Committee (LOC) says this means South African tourism, which the
government has identified as having the potential to boost the sluggish
economy, experienced an influx of visitors from all over the country who
visited most of the tourist sites in the country. Also, according to Mbebe,
“More than R920 million has been invested in South Africa” and an estimated 2.3
billion viewers watched the tournament on television.
Bafana Bafana on a High?
In a related development, South Africans did have a chance to see their
darling Bafana Bafana reach the knock-out stages of any competition for the
first time since 2002. Coach Gordon Igesund’s team were five minutes away from
being knocked out trailing 2:1 to the Atlas Lions of Morrocco but came back
strong to draw the game 2:2. Even though Igesund failed to reach the set target
by the South Africa Football Association, the football body was impressed with
his showing and has voted to see him carry on with the World Cup qualifiers
resuming next month.
Bad Pitches
Despite these, the 2013 AFCON was also besieged with several issues one of
which was terrible playing surfaces. The pitch at Mbombela Stadium in
Nelspruit where most of the Group C games were played as well as the semi
finals between Ghana and Bourkina Faso left quite a lot to be desired. Truth be
told, it was an embarrassment. Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor was furious with
CAF for even allowing football games to go on.
 |
| Mbobela Stadium, Nelspruit |
“Once again we are in Africa – AFCON is a big tournament for Africa – the
whole world is watching this. You can’t play on a pitch like this,” Adebayor
said. “The stadium is one of the best I have played in, but to be honest with you,
I’m very sorry, but it’s a disgrace for our continent to be playing on this
pitch when it’s on the TV around the world. CAF have to sort things out, to
solve the problem. At the end of the day we are all African and we have to be
honest with ourselves. It’s a beautiful stadium but the pitch is not
happening.”
Even the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg where the finals was played
still had bad patches. So much so that the Stadium Management South Africa
(SMSA) had to issue a statement days before Sunday’s final that the pitch would
be in good question. However, why American rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers
was allowed to perform at the arena last weekend, days before AFCON’s final
still beats the imagination.
Empty Seats
 |
| Cross section of fans |
Ticketing and empty stadiums was also a big problem. Aside the finals which
had well over 80, 000 spectators and games involving the hosts with an
appreciable number, most games had quite a few people in the stands. With a few
days to the semi finals, about half of the tickets for the game in Nelspruit
which has a capacity of 43, 000 remained unsold. On the other hand, the stadium
in Durban had about 19, 000 available seats still left unsold. In all, the
competition witnessed an average of 20, 000 spectators. Not a bad number but
considering the success of the 2010 World Cup, maybe South Africa could have
done better.
Officiating
 |
| Tunisian ref Slim Jdidi |
Now if there’s one area of disappointment from the competition, it’s the
level of officiating. There were several terrible calls from officials. Ghana’s
Black Stars were recipient of three questionable penalty calls against Cape
Verde, Mali and Bourkina Faso. Nigerians felt hard done by when Zambia forced
them to a 1:1 draw after another questionable penalty call. The outcry for the
poor officiating reached a crescendo that CAF were forced to
suspend Tunisian referee Slim Jdidi after too much blunders in the Ghana
versus Bourkina Faso semi final game. More so, Jdidi admitted he made a mistake
sending off Bourkina Faso’s Jonathan Pitroipa allowing CAF to rescind Jdidi’s
decision.
No More Minnows
The 2013 AFCON did start on a slow note with the first four games of the
competition ending in draws. But after Mali’s Seydou Keita scored an 86
th minute
winner for The Eagles against Niger, the tournament kicked off in earnest.
Countries like Cape Verde, Ethiopia and Bourkina Faso proved that indeed there
are no more minnows in African football. Cape Verde were particularly inspiring
as the country with just over a million people stunned the watching world with
an amazing run and proved that ousting Cameroun in the qualifiers was no fluke.
Broadcast Rights
Unfortunately, most Nigerians were unable to view matches of the 2012 AFCON
in the comfort of their homes as a result of the disagreements between the
Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria and media rights owner LC2-AFNEX. The
French owned company demanded about 8 million Euros from BON unlike the reported
1.5 million for Ghana. Broadcasting Rights Manager of LC2-AFNEX, Mr. Rédouane
Amraoui had said in a statement that in proportion to market size and
population, Nigeria was not being asked to contribute more than any other
African Country.
However, BON insisted that it will only pay 1.2 million pounds. When this
was rejected by LC2, BON Chairman Abubakar Jijiwa stated that a selected
broadcast may be the only option now. According to him in the days leading to
the tournament, “we are suggesting to them now is that they should give us
selected matches involving Nigeria including the opening ceremony and the
closing ceremony of the 2013 AFCON, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and
final matches of the competition at $300, 000.” Much to the dismay of Nigerians,
this offer as well as an improved offer of 2.5 million pounds by BON was
rejected by LC2-AFNEX. It took the qualification of The Super Eagles for
Sunday’s final to get the 2013 AFCON on local television.
North Africans Lagging Behind?
The 80’s and 90’s did witness quite a number of North African countries
dominating football in the continent. However, aside Egypt’s 3 consecutive wins
from 2006 to 2010, other countries have somehow failed to click. Morocco,
Algeria and Tunisia came to this year’s tournament with lots of hype but could
not even make it out of the group stages. With Morocco set to ready to host the
next edition of Africa’s biggest football showpiece, maybe that will be an
opportunity to get North African domination back on track?
