Samuel Etoo, Cameroon’s former player and one of Afcon’s top scorers 
Courtesy of Instagram
Even before the conception of the 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations I was overcome by intense anxiety. Something of a sugar rush but instead for Mama Africa. I felt a buzz as I could not contain myself thinking which team I was gonna jump onto – by this time my shopping cart was full. What was so weird about it is that it seemed to only be me in my entire forty mil of a nation. Who would blame them, right? Our team’s performance was always a bop for other African nations to laugh at and just for giggles they would rank us highly so that when we failed, the whole globe could have a go at it.
Some even asked me, Why Afcon? Most of them had enjoyed the other continental showdowns, the European Cup (the Euros) and the Copa America. I wouldn’t deny I also had an awfully great time watching some of the games here. I was an avid Italy supporter from before even the tourney started. And as for Copa America I was behind Lionel Messi’s outfit as always. When both teams got the big prize I felt like I was there. For most part I was. You see Italian is not just a nationality, nah, it is a personality and a mentality. If you love football then you have to fight for it. I defended Italy to all my friends who kept singing “It’s coming home!” As unpopular as the slogan “It’s coming Rome” sounded, I kept on. I knew this was a tough wall I was climbing but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
As soon as Afcon got round, my expectations were set high. This time I didn’t have a strong care for who won. I was gonna support Senegal just because they had never carried the prestigious trophy. And I felt that; despite oozing Italian from inside I had never gotten the girl. Hence my money was on Senegal, not literally ofcourse. Plus they were ranked first and had reached the previous final then lost so there was that. And did I mention they had depth in squad? Therefore I would be behind them till the end. The rest of the tournament was fair game.
As I watched the pre-tournament shows I was flooded by amazing stats from the previous editions. I could see the history of our continent Africa as told by twenty two storytellers and written by a ball. There were some moments of glory and moments of true genuine African artistry. These all made me proud of Mama Africa and our football at large.
When it started, I found it entertaining every step of the way. From the opening ceremony with Fally Ipupa to some dances that were inspired by deep African heritage, I could see it being the pride of Africa. I started watching the very first games and admittedly became fatigued. The games were stagnant and lucked that extra oomph that I seeked. That was however going to change as the tourney picked pace. Above all there was an influx of drama which made the games even more enjoyable.
“I knew this was a tough wall I was climbing but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day”
People like my brother would ridicule every big error that happened in Afcon. Case in point the game between Tunisia and Mali. I shut my ears not wanting to listen to the bad rep we were getting. Others mocked our football saying we had a long way to go. Still others would state ,‘What do you expect of Africa?’ The funniest thing is the more the backlash, the more I supported it. I continued watching as big team after big team got kicked out. This served to pile to the jest and motivation I had of watching the games.
I think the biggest problem with Afcon is that we Africans have had our minds colonized so much we can’t appreciate what we have achieved. Afcon is great and our footballers need to be appreciated for the work they do. I come from a country highly ranked by FIFA but whose showing is subpar and dismal. Call me the kettle for besmirching my country but losing the Afcon qualifiers to a small country who to our 40 mil of a population only front 900000-ish. This same country as a debutant got to reach the leg of 16 where they were sentenced to death at the hands of the current hosts but it was a magnificent showing. My country would have gotten butchered left, right and centre if we were there.
Another thing that amazed me is the pockets of talent our continent has in football. A majority of the nations don’t depend on players who are on the international stage. Many players usually partake in the local leagues and get chosen. This is quite unlike other continents where you find a nation with 80% of its national team having players who enjoy their football outside the country, whereas those players who partake in the national league and secondary leagues get blindsided. The rest of the globe can learn from Africa!
Afcon will continue to surprise us by the day but one thing is for sure; there’s so much room for growth – which is a good thing.
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