Glamour of the ‘little tournament’ in Africa

In a few hours from now, the curtains will fall on the most prestigious football tournament on the continent of Africa. After weeks of intense football rivalry, the finals of the 33rd edition of the tournament which started in 1957 will be contested between the Terranga Lions of Senegal and the most successful team in the history of the championship, the Pharaohs of Egypt.

Both countries were lacklustre when the competition commenced on January 9 but they have been able to put their acts together in time to reach the finals billed to be staged tonight at the magnificent Paul Biya stadium Olembe in Cameroon.

While the Pharaohs of Egypt have won seven titles in 10 final appearances, the Terranga Lions are still searching for their first title. Although they boast of a better FIFA ranking at the moment, Senegal are in just their third AFCON finals. They were there in 2002 as losers against Cameroon and 2019 in Egypt where they lost 0-1 to the Desert Foxes of Algeria.

Obviously, the finals is going to be a direct confrontation between Liverpool’s two most influential attackers, Mohamed Salah who is also the soul and spirit of the Egyptian team and Sadio Mane who is the mainstay of the Terranga Lions. We all have seen how the duo almost single handedly took their countries to this year’s finals.

Soon as the Pharaohs of Egypt exerted that revenge on the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon to set up tonight’s finals with Senegal, most of us recalled Liverpool’s manager and his controversial remarks on the Africa Cup of Nations. On November 25, 2021, Jurgen Klopp stirred the hornets’ nest when he allegedly referred to the AFCON as a “little tournament” in Africa.

What forced the careless comment from the lips of one of the world’s best football managers was nothing but frustration. Klopp knew he was going to lose three of his most influential players, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita to the championship which he felt was going to negatively impact his ambition to win another Premiership title.

His comment angered the whole of the African continent and he got more than he bargained for. A journalist of African descent, Ojora Babtunde, took on the coach frontally at a press conference as he asked him to apologise for his inappropriate remarks.

Klopp then did his best to explain what he meant by a “little tournament” but his explanation was even more confusing than the initial blunder. This was what he said “I said ‘oh there’s a little tournament in January’ and I didn’t mean a little tournament, I was just saying it’s still a tournament, it’s ironic. It’s still a tournament, a big one. We lose our best players to that tournament…” and it ended there. Did you understand what Klopp meant? Anyway, like Nigerian politicians, he said his words were taken out of context.

Whether “little tournament” or not, one of Klopp’s star players must win the trophy tonight. He is going to celebrate the AFCON trophy with either Mo Salah or Sadio Mane. This is why the moment the two finalists emerged on Thursday, many people felt happy that Klopp is going to eat his words.

Personally, I am not bothered about what anyone in Europe feels about the AFCON. The exalted tournament is progressing in the right direction and indications are strong that sooner than later, the world will come to give the AFCON the recognition it deserves.

As the curtains fall on the 33rd edition, there are important lessons to be learnt. Hitherto known as minnows, countries like debutants Guinea Bissau, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde caused major upsets in Cameroon to prove in words and deeds that there are no more small teams in the continent.

The tournament has lived up to expectations in terms of quality performances as some of the best players from Africa returned home to spice up the championship. The players who know what it means to don their national teams’ jerseys fought their clubs to be at the championship.

Even Mo Salah and Sadio Mane who are almost indispensable in Liverpool football club made it to Cameroon. This is a lesson for players like Emmanuel Dennis of the Super Eagles to learn. He plays for Watford like Ismaila Sarr who is among the players that have taken Senegal to the finals.

And despite minor hitches here and there, the championship is going to end tonight as scheduled. This is to prove that amid organisational challenges, we are making slow but steady progress. No human activity can be foolproof so CAF and the host nation must be commended for staging a successful AFCON.

However, a lot more has to be done in the area of officiating because many controversial refereeing decisions almost marred some of the matches. Referees are humans but they must do everything possible to minimize mistakes that give undue advantage to teams.

In this regard, CAF may have to beam its searchlight on the activities of errant referees like Maguette N’Diaye, the Senegalese referee who officiated the Round of 16 match between Nigeria and Tunisia. He was the same man at the centre of the controversial 2022 World Cup qualifying match between Ghana and South Africa in Cape Coast, Ghana.

So, as the world prepares for the final showdown between Mo Salah’s Egypt and Sadio Mane’s Senegal, CAF should begin to think about ways to address som