Is Africa ready to make waves at the 2014 FIFA World Cup?
By Farai Diza
Like sand grains through the hour glass, 2014 must be the year for African football! Say it loud to other teams in Africa and beyond because the high octane series of qualifiers held across the continent suggest that the five representatives mean business.
Africa’s pride is at stake at next year’s World Cup soccer finals in Brazil with four of the continents five qualifiers out to make amends for flopping at South Africa 2010. Ghana were the continents standard bearers four years ago after reaching the quarter finals to equal Africa’s best ever World Cup performance by Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002.
After years of disarray and disappointment at the FIFA World Cup, African representatives will be hoping to put glory on the continent’s football map for the first time ever following a high octane series of qualifiers. No African nation has ever gone beyond the quarter finals at the tournament.
With the domination of West African nations on the continent, it is no surprise that 4 of the 5 slots have been grabbed up West African nations with the exception of North African giant Algeria. The other 4 are Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria and the perennial under achievers Ivory Coast.