This weekend, the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will kicks off in Equatorial Guinea. Sixteen nations will compete in what is considered the continent’s most prestigious international tournament. Preparations for the 2015 AFCON have been especially tumultuous due to administrative hullabaloo.
Just a few months before the tournament was set to kick-off in Morocco, their Minister of Youth and Sport, Mohamed Ouzzine, announced that Morocco were requesting a delay in proceedings due to the Ebola outbreak, which has now claimed over 8,000 lives.
The Confederation of African Football denied the request, and when both camps grew increasingly entrenched in their respective positions, the African governing body decided to defer hosting rights to Equatorial Guinea who had helped co-host in 2012.
Though this disruption seems exclusively bureaucratic, the knock-on ramifications are massively influential.
For example, before the change in locale, Algeria were overwhelming favourites to win the tournament. Supporters of Les Fennecs were expected to spill over the Western border in droves to give their team an emotional boost. Morocco’s footballing infrastructure is also conducive to the attacking, possession football the North Africans have mastered. But the relocating of the 2015 AFCON tournament has spoiled the Algerian party.
The federation, the team, and the players all know that no teams from the Maghreb have ever won an AFCON in sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaking at a press conference in November, Algerian head coach Christian Gourcuff said, “It’s a shame the tournament won’t take place in Morocco. We were really hoping it would take place there.” Nevertheless, Gourcuff’s men have continued to prepare serenely, not allowing external factors dent morale.
If Algeria’s preparations for the 2015 AFCON were serene, Equatorial Guinea’s were anything but.
In late December the Football Federation’s president denied rumours of a coaching replacement, saying, “We cannot replace a coach with less than one month to the competition.We have a contract with Goikoetxea which expires on December 31, 2014 but due to time factor, we have decided to extend it to cover the AFCON.”
Yet, just a week before final squad lists were due, the Equatoguinean Football Federation fired Basque coach Andoni Goikoetxea, and replaced him with Argentine Esteban Becker, who, at the time was a Technical Director.
Becker has found considerable success with the national women’s team leading them to an African Women’s Championship in 2012. Getting out of Group A may be equally tough, but as hosts he will hold a precious advantage – no hosts have failed to get out of the group since 1992.
After Equatorial Guinea, Mali had the worst pre-tournament preparation. Les Aigles scheduled training camp in Gabon, for climactic purposes, but they didn’t arrive in Libreville until 10 days before the start of the tournament. Even then several players had travel trouble, as Soumeila Diakite was held up without a visa for a couple more days.
In Gabon, coach Henryk Kasperczak audibly complained about the state of the pitch at the Stade de L’Amitie. Such a choppy program will not increase Mali’s already slim chances of getting out of a tight Group D.
If Mali’s problems were logistical in nature, Senegal are struggling with personnel.
An injury curse seems to have been cast on the Teranga Lions as Sadio Mane and Diafra Sakho will both miss out due to injury. There was also a smidgeon of indiscipline as Demba Ba took to twitter to voice his displeasure with Alain Giresse’s decision to leave him out of the 23-man squad.
In his tirade, Ba called insinuated Giresse was nothing but a marionette for high powers, and he could not “wait to hear his excuses so I can destroy them.”
If Ba had bottled his outburst, he would have held very good odds to be one of Sadio Mane’s or Diafra Sakho’s replacement, but young Moussa Konate was understandably preferred.
Ba’s exclusion might hurt Senegal on the pitch, but the effects of his comments on team morale may be much more detrimental. He is a player who is liked in the group and if a sense of injustice is allowed to permeate, it could prove dangerous for the Group C heavyweights.
Cote D’Ivoire preferred to prepare in the spotlight, setting up glamorous friendlies in the United Arab Emirates against Nigeria and Sweden. As neither of those nations qualified to the 2015 AFCON, they were forced to call on local players to fill their ranks. It is therefore valid to question if Cote D’Ivoire were really put through their paces, and what effect a lackadaisical preparation might have on their campaign.
Avram Grant assembled his first Ghanaian squad in Spain where the pitch and climate conditions do not resemble Equatorial Guinea’s. Many of the Black Stars’ superstars were excluded including Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, Prince Boateng, and Kwadwo Asamoah misses out through injury. Without some of these bigger names, it is difficult to tell if Grant has developed a cohesive, insular group by isolating the team in Spain, or if this another link to the chain of questionable decisions the Ghanain Federation has made since the World Cup.
Now all 16 teams have flown into Malabo for mandatory health checks. The time for pre-tournament preparation is over. Some nations, like Algeria, South Africa have carried out their plans with few interruptions. Others like Mali or Equatorial Guinea will hope their disruptive training camps won’t reflect poorly on their results at the 2015 AFCON.
