Local Organising Committee Danny Jordaan. Below: Fifa president Issa Hayatou, pictured in 2002
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke (left) with Chairman of the World Cup
RESOLVING THE NATIONS CUP CONUNDRUM
Committee. It’s very restrictive in terms of all the travel, you are all the time on an aeroplane, you’re stressed out all the time.” “I am 65 years old, I reckon it’s time to think about standing down and leaving, but I don’t know what Africans will think of that. But for me personally, I would like to quit,” Hayatou claimed. Apologists for the established order may
label justified criticism of Hayatou and CAF as being “part of a press campaign aimed at tarnishing the image of high personalities of African football”. But as the Latin saying goes, Res ipsa
loquitor – the facts speak for themselves. Hayatou told me seven years ago – 1 March 2004 to be precise – in the back of a London black taxi cab (Mali’s Amadou Diakhite and Tunisia’s Slim Aloulou, both recently banned by FIFA, witnessed this conversation) that he had no intention of staying in his position for 25 years. But we all know the end to that story. Without doubt, Hayatou has done
some good things for African football. But it’s high time he takes an honourable bow and exits the stage, before finding himself in the maelstrom of a popular revolt, which, inevitably, will consume him. “Te revolution of [great] ideas in Afri-
ance at the last World Cup finals were even weirder: “We were not totally disappointed by the results… Our teams were never out- rightly dominated and neither were they inferior to their rivals.” Te CAF’s president’s trend of thought
is clear evidence he is in denial about the stark, discomfiting reality of the African game, largely rudderless and adrift. Perhaps his comments in a recent in-
terview with Radio France International (RFI), claiming he is ready to quit, are genuine this time. “I want to stop because it’s restricting; it’s not easy,” he told them recently. “I’ve had 37 years in football, that’s a lot, and what’s more I am a mem- ber of FIFA and the International Olympic
can football can no longer be contained,” warns Danny Jordaan. “We can all see what has happened in North Africa and it will certainly happen in our football. A seller (CAF) has no choice but to listen to its customers.” Disgruntled and dismayed, as the Afri-
can game goes adrift, it is time for the men of intellect, vision, integrity and drive to seize the political initiative. Tey can no longer moan from the sidelines and ex- pect the old order to willingly hand over the reins of power they have wielded, to their benefit, for decades. As the legendary Kwame Nkrumah famously said, “seek ye first the political kingdom and all other things will be added to you.”
With two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, for the first time ever, being organised back-to-back – in Equatorial Guinea & Gabon in 2012 and in Libya in 2013 (assuming the country is stable by then) – how the continent’s top players, largely based in Europe, will be released for both remains unsolved. The decision to organise the two
competitions in succession was designed to switch the traditionally biannual tournament back to odd-numbered years (the last being in 1965, in Tunisia), to reduce international fixture congestion in World Cup years. But the organisation of the
tournaments within 12 months of each other means some Europe-based players could be missing from their clubs for up to three months within a one-year period. That will certainly meet with a great
deal of resistance from their clubs, who have always griped, unjustifiably, about the regular timing of the Nations Cup. Hayatou, determined to defend Africa’s
interests against the moaning European clubs, is not particularly worried about their concerns. “We will work within the framework
of the international match calendar and expect the best players on the continent to be present at the two tournaments,” he said on 25 February. Although the 2013 tournament has
not been penned into the international tournament calendar, Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s general secretary, told New African that it would certainly be included: “Look, in order to make long-term gains, some short-term pains must be endured by all. “The primary reason for the change
is to reduce the number of international games in World Cup years and the amount of time that players have to be released from their clubs, so in the long run European clubs will benefit long term from the changes.” After the 2013 tournament in Libya, Morocco will host the 2015 edition of the Nations Cup – their first since 1988 – whilst South Africa – which has, undoubtedly, the best football facilities in Africa, ranking amongst the best in the world – will host the 2017
tournament.The South Africans last hosted the tournament in 1996.
New African April 2011 | 89
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92