CAF is to blame for Nations Cup crisis
Jan 10, 2010
THE gruesome attack on Togo’s national soccer side that left three dead and others seriously injured, raises questions about Angola’s readiness to stage the African Cup of Nations.
'I SAY SO' - By James Bakama
THE gruesome attack on Togo’s national soccer side that left three dead and others seriously injured, raises questions about Angola’s readiness to stage the African Cup of Nations.
Africa’s soccer governing body CAF in 2006 unanimously chose Angola as host of the tournament.
But was Angola, which a week to the event was still constructing stadia and roads, really a better choice than the other tournament applicants Libya, Nigeria and Guinea with Gambia?
If the Cabinda incident is anything to go by, then it is time CAF told the world what criteria it used to vet the central African state.
Angola’s choice of Cabinda was like having Gulu as a venue for an international tournament at the height of the northern region’s insurgency.
True, Togo should have informed the organisers of their travel arrangements for the team to be flown in just like all the other teams in Cabinda. But was air travel any safer?
And even if it was, what about other people who may not afford air travel or those preferring to move on land into Cabinda? Maybe footballers’ lives are more precious.
To properly grasp the risks associated with Cabinda, you must first get to grips with its geography and history.
It is an enclave of Angola. This status has been disputed by several groups in Cabinda who insist the occupation of the territory by Angola is illegal.
Blame it on the greed of Angola’s colonial masters Portugal to plunder some of the world’s biggest oil reserves.
While the Angolan civil war largely ended in 2002, an armed struggle persists in the enclave, where some of the factions have proclaimed an independent Republic of Cabinda
That doesn’t sound like the kind of environment in which you host a continental event.
Even an army would think twice before venturing in Cabinda. That is exactly what Ivory Coast general team manager Kaba Kone found out.
Stunned by the attack Kone said: “We did not come here to play with death but to play football.â€
Could an international body of CAF’s repute really have not been aware of the risks?
jbakama@newvision.co.ug
THE gruesome attack on Togo’s national soccer side that left three dead and others seriously injured, raises questions about Angola’s readiness to stage the African Cup of Nations.
Africa’s soccer governing body CAF in 2006 unanimously chose Angola as host of the tournament.
But was Angola, which a week to the event was still constructing stadia and roads, really a better choice than the other tournament applicants Libya, Nigeria and Guinea with Gambia?
If the Cabinda incident is anything to go by, then it is time CAF told the world what criteria it used to vet the central African state.
Angola’s choice of Cabinda was like having Gulu as a venue for an international tournament at the height of the northern region’s insurgency.
True, Togo should have informed the organisers of their travel arrangements for the team to be flown in just like all the other teams in Cabinda. But was air travel any safer?
And even if it was, what about other people who may not afford air travel or those preferring to move on land into Cabinda? Maybe footballers’ lives are more precious.
To properly grasp the risks associated with Cabinda, you must first get to grips with its geography and history.
It is an enclave of Angola. This status has been disputed by several groups in Cabinda who insist the occupation of the territory by Angola is illegal.
Blame it on the greed of Angola’s colonial masters Portugal to plunder some of the world’s biggest oil reserves.
While the Angolan civil war largely ended in 2002, an armed struggle persists in the enclave, where some of the factions have proclaimed an independent Republic of Cabinda
That doesn’t sound like the kind of environment in which you host a continental event.
Even an army would think twice before venturing in Cabinda. That is exactly what Ivory Coast general team manager Kaba Kone found out.
Stunned by the attack Kone said: “We did not come here to play with death but to play football.â€
Could an international body of CAF’s repute really have not been aware of the risks?
jbakama@newvision.co.ug