Butler’s Africa blast
THE Premier League elite should stop complaining about losing their players to the Africa Cup of Nations.
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 former boss of Malawi, Sudan and Botswana.
Both will be looking on as the month-long tournament kicks off in Cameroon today, along with legions of scouts from Europe, all waiting to spot African football’s next big thing.
Butler said: “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.
“They’re completely disrespectful to a tournament which is so colourful and means so much in terms of bridge building and community building.” The likes of Liverpool stars Mo Salah and Sadio Mane (left), will be representing Egypt and Senegal in the coming weeks.
Other players, meanwhile, will be hoping to use the tournament as a launchpad to a career in European football.