A Nations Cup without sparkle
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- Category: Sports
- Written by David Ngobua
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At the risk of appearing hyper-critical, it can be said that from the organization, spectators attendance, standard of play and quality of facilities offered by the hosts, the tournament is near empty.
Despite the glaring lapses which have taken the shine off the championship, matches have continued but followers of proceedings in both Gabon and Equatorial Guinea are certainly not impressed because breath-taking actions are few and far in between.
It is pertinent to say here that even as the championship is lacking in quality, matches played have already provided fans with talking points. Fans can either argue or discuss issues like surprise team of the tournament, the biggest flop so far, best goal scored and much more.
Equatorial Guinea: Surprise team of the Tournament:
Co-Host Equatorial Guinea has emerged as the surprise team of the tournament by being the first to pick a quarter final ticket on Wednesday night after a shocking 2-1 defeat of the Teranga Lions of Senegal. After a barren first half, the Nzalang Nacional returned in the second half to stun Senegal with goals from Iban Randy Iyanga and David Alvarez. But this stunning victory would have made no meaning without the 1-0 win over ambitious Libya in the opening match of the tournament. Equatorial Guinea is beginning to dream big and nobody can ask why.
Teranga Lions of Senegal: Big flop
With the absence of the ‘big four’ football pundits did not hesitate to name Senegal among the favourites for the title at stake. However, names do not play football, so Senegal’s ‘big names’ like captain Mamadou Niang, Dame Ndoye, Demba Ba, Moussa Sow and Papiss Demba Cisse faltered in two matches and that was enough to send the Teranga Lions home even with a game in hand. The shock exit of the Lions would serve as serious warning for pre-tournament favourites like Coted’voire and Ghana who struggled to win their opening matches.
Best Goals: Though the championship is ongoing and yet to produce the desired goals and spectacle, it is not out of place to take note of some of the goals scored based on importance and quality. Thus goals scored by Javier Balboa ( Eq.Guinea) against Libya; Alain Traore of Burkina Faso against Angola, Manucho of Angola against Burkina Faso, Pierre Emenick Aubameyang of Gabon against Niger and Youssef Msakni of Tunisia against Morocco are some of the goals that have stood out so far for special mention.
Water-logged pitch: With obviously defective drainage systems, it was a bad commentary on African football when players literally swum like fish in water when Zambia played against Libya and Co-Host Equatorial Guinea took on Senegal at the Estadio de Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea. After a heavy down-pour moment before the opening match of the evening, the pitch became water-logged making free flowing football impossible. It was indeed an eye sore.
Poor attendance at matches: It is obvious that matches of the ongoing AFCON in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea have been characterized by poor spectator turn out. Except when the host nations are playing, the stands are usually empty. This is not surprising because some of the stars on the continent that would have wooed the fans to the stadiums are missing due to non-qualification of their countries.
Boring Nations Cup?
Some of the football fans in Abuja who spoke to SHOT! on the standard of play so far seen at the championship have said it is more of sleep inducing games than the usual breathing performances when countries like Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa are in attendance.
Manasseh Akoso, a die-hard supporter of Super Eagles and Chelsea of England said: “Even before the championship started, I knew the performances of the participating nations would not live up to my expectations. I am therefore not disappointed because the teams are giving what they can offer”.
On his part, Daniel Agorom said with the absence of the ‘big four’, Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, he expected Ivory Coast and Ghana to shine but so far they have not lived up to his expectations.
“The standard is generally low. I thought in the absence of some of the big guns like Egypt and Cameroon, countries like Coted’voire, Ghana and Guinea would take the centre stage but so far, they are yet to prove their mettle”.
However, Victor Kolawole feels the participating countries should be given as chance as he said the teams are still seizing up one another.
“It is still early in the day to write off the championship. I know that the standard is not as high as what was witnessed at previous ones but the countries can still step up their game. We don’t have to castigate the teams simply because some of the top nations are not there”, he argued.
From the foregoing, it is evident that the 25th edition of the Nations Cup is going according to schedule but it would be inappropriate to say everything is falling into place. There are sore points which might be remedied by the organizers before the championship ends. But for now, the matches are not sparkling and the fans too have not helped matters by leaving the stands empty.
Articles
A Nations Cup without sparkle
Category: Sports Written by David Ngobua Hits: 941
Even before the commencement of the ongoing 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, pundits had accurately predicted a drab championship following the failure of the ‘big four’, namely Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon and South Africa to qualify. As predicted, the tournament has commenced but the glamour which normally characterizes the continental showpiece is clearly missing. In as much as football on the continent has witnessed tremendous progress, it will be wrong to say all the nations boast of the same pedigree. This has clearly manifested in the less than impressive performances of debutant Niger and others who struggling to make a mark at the competition which ends on February 12.At the risk of appearing hyper-critical, it can be said that from the organization, spectators attendance, standard of play and quality of facilities offered by the hosts, the tournament is near empty.
Despite the glaring lapses which have taken the shine off the championship, matches have continued but followers of proceedings in both Gabon and Equatorial Guinea are certainly not impressed because breath-taking actions are few and far in between.
It is pertinent to say here that even as the championship is lacking in quality, matches played have already provided fans with talking points. Fans can either argue or discuss issues like surprise team of the tournament, the biggest flop so far, best goal scored and much more.
Equatorial Guinea: Surprise team of the Tournament:
Co-Host Equatorial Guinea has emerged as the surprise team of the tournament by being the first to pick a quarter final ticket on Wednesday night after a shocking 2-1 defeat of the Teranga Lions of Senegal. After a barren first half, the Nzalang Nacional returned in the second half to stun Senegal with goals from Iban Randy Iyanga and David Alvarez. But this stunning victory would have made no meaning without the 1-0 win over ambitious Libya in the opening match of the tournament. Equatorial Guinea is beginning to dream big and nobody can ask why.
Teranga Lions of Senegal: Big flop
With the absence of the ‘big four’ football pundits did not hesitate to name Senegal among the favourites for the title at stake. However, names do not play football, so Senegal’s ‘big names’ like captain Mamadou Niang, Dame Ndoye, Demba Ba, Moussa Sow and Papiss Demba Cisse faltered in two matches and that was enough to send the Teranga Lions home even with a game in hand. The shock exit of the Lions would serve as serious warning for pre-tournament favourites like Coted’voire and Ghana who struggled to win their opening matches.
Best Goals: Though the championship is ongoing and yet to produce the desired goals and spectacle, it is not out of place to take note of some of the goals scored based on importance and quality. Thus goals scored by Javier Balboa ( Eq.Guinea) against Libya; Alain Traore of Burkina Faso against Angola, Manucho of Angola against Burkina Faso, Pierre Emenick Aubameyang of Gabon against Niger and Youssef Msakni of Tunisia against Morocco are some of the goals that have stood out so far for special mention.
Water-logged pitch: With obviously defective drainage systems, it was a bad commentary on African football when players literally swum like fish in water when Zambia played against Libya and Co-Host Equatorial Guinea took on Senegal at the Estadio de Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea. After a heavy down-pour moment before the opening match of the evening, the pitch became water-logged making free flowing football impossible. It was indeed an eye sore.
Poor attendance at matches: It is obvious that matches of the ongoing AFCON in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea have been characterized by poor spectator turn out. Except when the host nations are playing, the stands are usually empty. This is not surprising because some of the stars on the continent that would have wooed the fans to the stadiums are missing due to non-qualification of their countries.
Boring Nations Cup?
Some of the football fans in Abuja who spoke to SHOT! on the standard of play so far seen at the championship have said it is more of sleep inducing games than the usual breathing performances when countries like Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria and South Africa are in attendance.
Manasseh Akoso, a die-hard supporter of Super Eagles and Chelsea of England said: “Even before the championship started, I knew the performances of the participating nations would not live up to my expectations. I am therefore not disappointed because the teams are giving what they can offer”.
On his part, Daniel Agorom said with the absence of the ‘big four’, Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, he expected Ivory Coast and Ghana to shine but so far they have not lived up to his expectations.
“The standard is generally low. I thought in the absence of some of the big guns like Egypt and Cameroon, countries like Coted’voire, Ghana and Guinea would take the centre stage but so far, they are yet to prove their mettle”.
However, Victor Kolawole feels the participating countries should be given as chance as he said the teams are still seizing up one another.
“It is still early in the day to write off the championship. I know that the standard is not as high as what was witnessed at previous ones but the countries can still step up their game. We don’t have to castigate the teams simply because some of the top nations are not there”, he argued.
From the foregoing, it is evident that the 25th edition of the Nations Cup is going according to schedule but it would be inappropriate to say everything is falling into place. There are sore points which might be remedied by the organizers before the championship ends. But for now, the matches are not sparkling and the fans too have not helped matters by leaving the stands empty.