The Monday Miscellany – Africa Cup of Nations Special

In the history of stupid decisions made by sport’s governing bodies, it is difficult to find one which compares, for sheer crassness, with that of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to ban Togo for the next two Africa Cups of Nations.

Togo, you will surely not need reminding, were attacked by terrorists in Cabinda on the eve of the tournament.  Three men died and others were seriously injured.  Everybody, it is safe to imagine, would have been seriously traumatized by the assault.

CAF defend their ruling by saying that there was national government interference – the Togolese government kept the squad at home for a period of mourning even though the players were said to want to return to Angola to fulfill their fixtures – which football’s various governing bodies frown on.  Even so, CAF’s ruling shows dreadful inflexibility to the extent that they appear callous and lacking compassion.  If ever there were a force majeure, which all good regulation should allow for, this is it.

It was good to see Emmanuel Adebayor score yesterday and ‘celebrate’ in a suitably reflective manner; what with John Terry’s travails, it was a weekend for subdued reactions.  The Togo captain has described the ban as ‘outrageous’ and has accused Issa Hayatou – the former Cameroonian basketball international who, for some reason, has been allowed the rôle of CAF President since 1988 – of ‘completely betraying’ the Togo squad.

If Togo’s appeal fails, two things should happen.  Firstly, another confederation should invite them as guests into their next continental championship.  The 2011 Copa América would be ideal; that tournament has a history of inviting teams from other continents to make up the numbers.  Such is the public sympathy for Togo’s plight, such an unconventional move would surely be supported.

Given that this issue appears cut and dried, at least morally, it need detain us no further.  Instead, let us reflect on the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament which, even allowing for the inevitable sense of convalescence following the Togo bus attack, pales in comparison compared with the fine championship held in Ghana two years ago.  With the 2012 tournament to be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon (!), here are five ways CAF could improve the tournament:

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1) Use goal difference. FIFA should insist on this for all international tournaments organized by the various continental confederations.  The 0-0 draw between Algeria and Angola which saw both sides through left a bitter taste in the mouth not only because neither side did much to rock the boat once it was clear Mali would beat Malawi but because the whole scenario could have been easily avoided.  Mali, a better and more watchable side than Algeria (despite the Desert Foxes’ 1-0 win in the contest between the two teams), ended with a goal difference of +1 and seven scored; Algeria -2 and just one goal.  In a World Cup, Mali would have qualified.

The head-to-head rule also affected Euro 2004, when Italy cried foul after a 2-2 draw between Sweden and Denmark – though, on that occasion, clearly not a stage-managed one – took the two Scandinavian sides through.  Goal difference remains a live factor until the very last whistle, whereas head-to-head can make final group fixtures dead rubbers when they need not be.

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2) Control the clubs’ whinging. European clubs need to understand why the Cup of Nations is held every two years (to bring in enough money for CAF to carry out their various semi-humanitarian activities across the continent) and in January (to avoid the rainy season in sub-Saharan Africa and unhealthy heat in the north and equatorial regions).

If the last thing a player hears before leaving his club for the Cup of Nations in the new year is a plea to avoid injury, it will often make their play more timid.  Just look at Didier Drogba’s lackluster performances.  Clubs do well out of the competition; it makes judging the talent available in football’s most opaque continent easier.  In an age when lazy clubs wait for agents – who are hardly likely to be objective – to bring players to them rather than go and scout for themselves, crystalizing African football for a month every two years is an opportunity not to be missed.

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3) Schedule to tournament better. I would very much like to meet whichever twit it was decided to play the Final at 4pm yesterday, knowing a big Premier League match kicking-off at the same time could steal it’s thunder.  And it turned out to be Arsenal v Manchester Utd.  We know which match most of the bars of Africa were tuned in to.

Why, too, did the opening fixture happen on a Sunday evening?  Surely bringing the start forward a day would have meant more weekend fixtures, meaning bigger attendance figures and greater television exposure abroad.  As it was, the quarter finals happened over a Sunday and Monday instead of a weekend quadruple-bill.  How many could not follow the Egypt-Nigeria quarter final because they were still at work on Monday afternoon?

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4) Fill the stadia. Every two years it’s a problem and yet it never gets solved.  The tickets still cost too much, however much CAF say they are tackling the issue.  Angola, by global, never mind African, standards, is an expensive country to visit.  Too many potential travelling fans are put off by the cost of accommodation and flights, while the local working population struggle to buy tickets.

That said, the rather less than immersive atmosphere in the stands is not entirely CAF’s doing.  There is something less than impressive about those who do turn up.

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5) Get better fans. What? I hear you cry.  Surely the Africa Cup of Nations is the most colourful, atmospheric tournament of them all?  Actually, this tournament has helpfully exploded that myth.

Watching matches not involving the host nation can be a dispiriting activity.  Why, we wonder, do the fans wander in twenty-five minutes after the match kicks off only to spend the rest of the match playing the trumpet?  There is nothing wrong with a good tune; we’ve had the Great Escape as a soundtrack for England matches for over a decade now.  But when England get a good chance, the tune is broken because the band are there, primarily, to watch the game.  At the Cup of Nations, the drumming and brass bands seem to continue regardless of the excitement on the pitch.

It is a generalization, but one could be forgiven for wondering exactly how much the African public do actually like football.  Often, in the group stage double bills, fans will leave the stadium after the first match or not bother to turn up until the second if their team isn’t playing in the other fixture.  There does not appear an appetite just to enjoy a match with a liberating disinterest, whoever is playing.

They say the Americans have never really taken to the game they still irritatingly call ’soccer’ but at the USA ‘94 World Cup, when Bulgaria met Greece in hardly the most appetizing fixture of that or any other tournament’s group stage, a sell-out crowd of 63,160 curious souls turned up in time for the national anthems.  In Africa, where football is the king of team sports, it is odd that only the public give the impression they’re not really bothered.

In 2012, the grounds in Port-Gentil (Gabon), Malabo and Bata (both E. Guinea) have modest capacities.  Is it too much to hope that they are filled, thanks to sensibly priced tickets, with fans who turn up on time, get immersed in the game and create a soundtrack in sync with the ebb and flow of the match?