Thelionsroaragain

A look back at the 2017 African Cup of Nations shows a growing football industry undermined by ingrained problems

THE Cameroonian players went wild with joy when the referee blew the final whistle, ending the match against their Egyptian opponents with an unexpected 2-1 win. Thus ended the 31st edition of the African Cup of Nations (ACN), which took place in Gabon from January 14 to February 5, 2017.

The Indomitable Lions, as Cameroon’s national team is known, beat the Egyptian team and clinched the continental title for the fifth time in their history. The event was truly symbolic for the Lions, who were beaten two times before - in 1986 and 2008 - in the ACN finals against the very same Egyptian football team.

Superior both from a technical and physical point of view, Cameroon, under the leadership of Belgian coach Hugo Broos, finally managed to dispel its ACN “jinx.”

But the Lions’ resounding triumph hides a more bitter reality of African football. In this year’s ACN, as in the previous ones, deeply-ingrained systemic problems once again surfaced, undermining an otherwise fast-growing industry and distracting the players from keeping their eyes on the ball. higher daily allowances and winning bonuses, which the Zimbabwe Football Association finally accepted, according to Zimbabwean daily Newsday.

Similarly, players of the Democratic Republic of the Congo boycotted a training session on January 13, demanding the payment of bonuses promised but never paid by the Congolese Association Football Federation.

“It’s been the same thing for many years. We prepare well to play our matches but at the end of the day, there are always problems with bonuses,” team