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09.01.2008 Cup of Nations

EUROPE CATCHES COLD OVER GHANA 2008

By Ebo Quansah - newtimesonline.com
EUROPE CATCHES COLD OVER GHANA 2008
09.01.2008 LISTEN

IT is that time of the season when the world of sports stops and marvels at events making the African Cup of Nations tick. For the next one month at least, all attention will be focused on the centre of the earth where the 26th MTN African Cup of Nations kick-starts with a mouth-watering encounter between the Black Stars of Ghana and the Syli National of Guinea on Sunday, January 20.

From then until the last whistle is sounded to signify the end of hostilities at the refurbished Ohene Djan Sports Stadium on Sunday, February 10, the centre of the earth will vibrate with activities involving the best 16 footballing nations on the continent of Africa.

Ghana 2008, will certainly be bigger and better organised than any sporting championship Africa has ever witnessed.

The large number of crack African players putting aside their lucrative contracts with European soccer giants and ‘hitch-hiking’ to Ghana, to defend the flags of the nations of their births is making the championship resonate with the patriotism of the African.

In the money-spinning English Premier League, for instance, as many as 40 African players are leaving to link up with their national teams.

Portsmouth, the West-Coast town club in England has to battle on in the hard winter assignment without Papa Boupa Diop (Senegal), Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria), Sulley Muntari (Ghana), John Utaka (Nigeria) and Lauren (Cameroon). League leaders Arsenal are in danger of losing their grip on the leadership while Kole Toure and Emmanuel Eboue report to the centre of the earth with Cote D’Ivoire.

Midland giants Birmingham will soldier on without Richard Kingson (Ghana), Midi Nafta and Rahdi Jedi (Tunisia), while Aaron Mokena (South Africa) is absent from the line-up of Blackburn Rovers. Blackburn were given a reprieve with the strange decision by Brazilian Coach Carlos Alberto Perreira not to call striker Benny McCarthy to national duty.

Bolton Wanderers are performing throughout the period of the African championship without twice African Footballer of the Year, El-Hadji Diouf of Senegal and Abdoulaye Meita (Cote D’Ivoire).

Former English Champions Chelsea, struggling to recapture their old glory in the absence of their charismatic manager, Jose Mourihno, have lost John Obi Mikel (Nigeria), reigning African Footballer of the Year Didier Drogba, fellow Ivorian Solomon Kalou and Ghanaian midfield dynamo, Michael Essien.

Joseph Yobo, fellow Nigerian mate Yakubu Ayeagbeni and Stephen Pienaar of South Africa have left their roles in Merseyside giants Everton for national assignments in Ghana. Struggling Fulham are missing the services of Diamangsy Kamara who has reported for duty with the Terega Lions of Senegal.

Nobil El-Zhar of Morocco and Mohammed Sissoko of Mali will be missing from the line-up of Liverpool while Middlesborough will be without Mohammed Shawky and Mido, both of whom are on national duty with the Pharaohs of Egypt.

The Blue-and white strips of Reading will not have the likes of Andre Bikey (Cameroon), Ernest Fae (Cote d’Ivoire) and Ibrahim Sanko (Senegal) on duty while Sunderland have lost the services of Dickson Etuhu of Nigeria as they battle to avoid the drop.

North London club Tottenham Hotspurs will not have the crowd at White Hart Lane purring with the chants of Hossam Ghaly (Egypt) and Didier Zakora (Cote d’Ivoire). East Londoners West Ham will miss the services of in-form John Paintsil (Ghana) and Senegalese Henri Camara while Wigan are bracing themselves of fighting to avoid relegation with Solomon Olembe (Cameroon) and somersault specialist Julius Aghahowa (Nigeria) on national duty in Ghana 2008.

The importance of African players to club cause has led to English teams and their players calling for the Cup of Nations date to be shifted to the summer. Portsmouth Assistant Manager, Joe Jordan could not hide his frustration at the loss of key players when he said: 'I don’t know all the arguments behind staging it (African Cup of Nations) at this time, but from our point of view, a switch to a summer date would suit us,' according to BBC Sports. 'It would benefit a lot of clubs with African players and give the players and coaches more time to prepare.' But a former Chelsea striker and current radio pundit was more realistic. Gavin Peacock said the clubs knew the implication before signing African players.

'They know when they sign African players that every two years, a large proportion of them will be missing. I’m sure if it could have been shifted, they would have done it by now. The tournament needs to benefit African football, not European football and if that means it is played in January and February then it needs to be played then.'

This argument is played out in European circles anytime the African Cup of Nations Championship is due. African officials, including CAF President Isa Hayatou, have explained time and again that a June/July date would mean most of the matches lost to the rains and that the best period is the January/February date when most of Africa is experiencing the dry season.

In any case, the African Cup of Nations aims at promoting the African game. Its importance for European teams is that it showcases African players ripe for European adventure. That does not mean that the championship should be determined by what will suit Europe.

The African Cup of Nations owes its genesis to an invitation to a meeting of football officials from Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Africa to a FIFA congress in Portugal in 1956. There, the officials were attracted by the European championship. At a meeting at the Hotel Avenida in Lisbon, the four nations resolved to begin a championship open to independent African nations.

The first tournament took place in Khartoum, Sudan and was won by Egypt. Cairo hosted the next championship. Egypt were once again the winners. Ethiopia hosted and won the 1961 edition. South Africa were refused entry because of the apartheid nation’s failure to field a multi-racial team.

Ghana applied to host the championship in 1963 having attained independence in 1957. The Black Stars won the African Cup hosted in Accra and Kumasi and successfully defended the trophy in Tunisia in 1965. After two unsuccessful attempts at the final of finals, Ghana faded off the African scene until it hosted the continent again in 1978. Four years later the Black Stars returned from Libya with the African Cup of Nations. That was the last time the name of Ghana was engraved on the Cup. That is one reason the 26th edition to be hosted on Ghanaian soil has become a do or die affair for the Black Stars of Ghana.

But the national team face a stiff challenge from Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Morocco, Egypt and Mali, all of whom have worked tirelessly in building a cohesive force for the invasion of this country.

Cameroon’s Andre Bikey, who plies his trade for Reading in the English Premier League, says the Indomitable Lions are in Ghana to win the trophy. Read his lips: 'Samuel Eto-o is very important for Cameroon because no other striker creates chances like him.'

Key players from all the 16 national teams have made similar claims making Ghana 2008 too close to call.

Tomorrow: Read about Ghana’s preparation for the championship and the immense benefit the Cup of Nations has for the men and women at the centre of the earth.

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