The clout of Africa not respected
THE Premier League elite should stop complaining about losing their players to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Because when it comes to football on the continent, European clubs take far more than they give.
That’s the view of two English coaches who know African football as well as anyone – Peter Butler, the coach of Liberia, and Stephen Constantine, the ex-boss of Malawi, Sudan and Rwanda.
Both will watch as the tournament kicks off in Cameroon today, along with legions of scouts from Europe.
“I’ve just arrived back in Liberia from England and I’ve read some of the comments from the coaches and managers which I just thought were disgusting,” said Butler.
“They’re completely disrespectful to a tournament which is so colourful and means so much in terms of bridge building and community building.
“You hear stories of rival factions putting down arms to watch a game. I just think it’s really, really important for countries to be involved and for those nations to have their best players.”
Liberia is home to George Weah (below), the former World Player of the Year who is now president. His mantle of greatness has been passed to the likes of Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, the duo representing Egypt and Senegal.
Others will hope to use the event as a launchpad to a career in Europe.
“You have to remember that maybe 75 percent or more of the clubs who sign these African players have actually scouted and spotted them at the Africa
Cup of Nations,” said Constantine.
“Secondly, this is the biggest event in world football after the World Cup and maybe the Euros. Why people have a problem with players they’ve seen in the tournament and players that then return to represent the countries they were born and raised in, I just don’t understand.”
The scheduling is clearly an issue, with this year’s tournament bang in the middle of Europe’s domestic season. That said, future editions are slated for summer.
“Players like Salah and Mane aren’t seen as representing Egypt and Senegal,” Constantine added.
“They’re just seen as African. There’s a huge amount of pride that the continent has produced players of their quality.”