However, there are a few cases where the
federations are not able to get the necessary
support - and funding for that matter - to
host the tournament. That initial hosts
Cameroon for the 2019 edifice could not get
their act together was not a wonder. Egypt
did manage a fair value as the substitute
but only with the infrastructure and the
logistics of hosting such an event.
While it maybe argued that CAF is hoping
to grow the game faster to catch up with
the continental counterparts in Europe and
South America, it will do a great disservice
to its national teams not getting enough
time to recover from one tournament to the
next.
The headache of hosting the tournament will
also continue haunting the CAF honchos in
the interim with only a select few countries
able to turn around the tournament within
the 3 years from one to the next.
It will also keep the divide between
‘emerging nations’ in the game - the likes
of Madagascar, Rwanda and Ethiopia wider
instead of creating competitiveness with
established footballing nations such as
Egypt, Nigeria and Cote de ’Ivoire.
Fans
While Egypt was able to host the
tournament, the worrying state has been
the missing fans from the stadia. African
audiences are known to love their football
and are still hungry for some live action.
This has not been the case in Egypt and
this was exacerbated by the departure of the
Pharaohs in the second round.
The ‘empty seat syndrome’ has been prevalent
with the average fan attendance being
between 5000 - 7000 even for traditional
rivalries such as Nigeria v/s Cameroon
among others. The argument has been for
football fans voting with eyes and not their
feet - the power of TV and viewing.
Having the necessary infrastructure
to enable travelling fans is another
consideration that must be made for future
host nations. Egypt is a mixed basket for
visitors as is most African nations. The
recently signed trade pact needs to explore
such challenges as visas for travelers, be they
business, entrepreneurs, leisure, or sports
fans.
Europe and South American fans are
known to travel hundreds if not thousands
of miles to catch their national teams. The
recent Copa America is testimony to this.
92 MAL31/19 ISSUE
While it maybe argued that CAF is hop-
ing to grow the game faster to catch up
with the continental counterparts in Eu-
rope and South America, it will do a great
disservice to its national teams not getting
enough time to recover from one tourna-
ment to the next.
Look too at not just the European Nations
Cup but also club championships, there is
provision and ease of travel across borders.
Broadcasting
While the tournament may not hold
a candle among other continental
championships across the world, it would
still claim a fair share of its broadcast
audience compared to other such
continental championships.
One of the main reasons for moving it
from the first quarter of the calendar year
was to not only reduce the interruption
of players plying their trade in Europe
but also to reduce the competition for
audiences.
A survey by GeoPoll carried out in June
2019 indicated that the African Cup
of Nations attracts great interest across
African audiences only second to the
World Cup. The survey covered 6 nations
fairly spread from East, West, Southern
and North Africa. The findings indicated
83% of the respondents would follow the
tournament in some form or other.
TV emerged as by far the most favored
form of media to follow the tournament
- 85% while mobile and online trailed at
30% and 18% respectively. This shows the
potent of this form of media in this part
of the world.
On social media platforms, Facebook
was the favored option with 65% of the
respondents indicating using it to follow
the tournament. Does this support their
entreaties into the world of live sports
and specifically football? Remember
Facebook will be screening select games
of the English Premier League live in the
2019/20 season...
The crux of matters media is the challenge
of broadcast rights. As of April 2019,
there had not been a clear summary of
the broadcasting partners. While some of
the Pay TVs on the continent had already
grabbed a sizeable amount of rights to
screen the games, it was left late for
most national broadcasters. They put in
a last-minute bid for select games (as
was the case in Kenya and perhaps most
of the nations especially those that did
not qualify).
Competing Tournaments
Concurrent to the Africa Cup of Nations
at some point were the Women’s World
Cup which was quite a marvel compared
to the men’s game... no faking fouls, no
diving, lots of goals and controversies
surrounding the VAR ‘animal’...
In there too was the Copa America for
the South American nations and two
guest nations invited from across seas -
Qatar and Japan gracing the 12-nation
display.
That these two would run during the
Africa Cup of Nations meant there
were competing audiences and shift of
attention even for the media covering
the tournaments. While it may not
be in CAF’s power, they can make a
compelling case to have some exclusivity
in having the tournament with none of
a similar magnitude held at the same
time.
It can also help CAF’s Organizing Team
to secure globally competitive sponsors
who would find value for money in
sponsoring the tourney. The sponsors
would also be safe to find ad spots that
are competitive and favorable to the
continental and global targets.
Corruption – Real or
Suspected
It was a spectacle to behold that CAF’s
President would be hauled to the courts
even before managing his first Africa
Cup of Nations. It was press - and
bad press for that for the tournament
organizers.