Why Should Africa Participate in the 2018 World Cup?

1. It is six years to the next world cup and yes, I know its early but the question needs to be asked:
 
2. Why should Africa participate in Russia's world cup?
 
3.  As is unfolding in the lead up to the European championships, it is clear there is a serious problem of racism in football in Eastern Europe, of which Russia is an integral part.
 
4.  The Russian league season has been blighted by incidents of racism. What began with the throwing of bananas at Roberto Carlos has since spread to the Ivorien born Dacosta Goore, Nigeria's Emmanuel Emenike and Peter Odenwigie, and Congo's Chris Samba. In response the Russian football authorities have set of a Task Force on Racism in Football, on paper a bold move... But it is the action of the Russian FA on reported incidents of racism that speaks louder!
 
5.  Emmanuel Emenike of Spartak Moscow was recently fined US$17,000 for an offensive gesture towards Dynamo Moscow fans who racially abused him. Here is a report on this from BBC Sports:
 
6.  "We decided it was an adequate punishment," said Vladimir Vasilyev, a Russian FA's ethics committee official.
 
7.  However Spartak coach Valery Karpin said the FA had failed to address the racist abuse.  "I have to agree that Emenike did something that he should not have done," the former Russia international told reporters.  "But at the same time I couldn't follow logic in the FA's decision as they didn't take any action against the Dynamo fans who had racially abused Emenike," he said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17572890
 
8.  This is the environment to which Issa Hayatou and CAF are willy nilly sending African footballers and fans to.
 
9.  It is easy to see in this so called Task Force, parallels to the events leading up to the 1936 Olympics Games. I imagine that as the world cup nears, local spectators and residents will be 're-educated' and primed to be at their best behavior for all of the 2-3 weeks that the foreigners are around and ready to return to the status quo once they have departed.
 
10.  This is the country whose bid Issa Hayatou is said to have supported in the 2nd round of voting for hosting the world cup.
 
11.  If such reports are true, the question needs to be asked, what was Hayatou thinking in voting for Russia? What guarantees did he seek and what was promised?
 
12.  If Issa Hayatou and CAF cannot sufficiently look out for the interests or speak out for African footballers repeatedly abused for the color of their skin, on what basis should he then be seeking yet another term?
 
13. Why should Africa participate in Russia's world cup?
 
14.  And for how long must Africa put up with the incompetence of Issa Hayatou?
 
15.  PS: The decision by UEFA on the concerns about racism at Euro 2012 reflect my concerns about this issue and especially why CAF must seek guarantees to protect African players and fans.
 
16.  UEFA has decided that incidents of racism are best left to the referees to address and that any player walking off the field, like Balotelli has threatened to do will recieve a caution via a yellow card.
 
17. Thats all well and good. But in the heat of the moment, reality is somethings are more important than football- self dignity.
 
18. Let there be no misunderstanding. What UEFA's primary goal here is, is to protect the game; their game, AND then the player, in that order. 
 
19. The anguish on the faces of Marc Zoro and Eto Fils reacting after finally having had enough is very instructive Link. The reaction of both players is evidence that somethings transcend football. 
 
20. The referees do indeed have a responsibility. But they must get on top of the situation immediately. If not, the rules will not be enough... 
 
21. As it turns out, some of the worst fears about Russian fans is proving to be true as UEFA is investigating possible racist abuse of Czech defender Theodor Gebre Selassie, who is of Ethiopian descent.
 
22. This clearly brings to sharp relief, the need for CAF and Hayatou to seek guarantees on behalf of African players and fans, as well as develop a mechanism for monitoring the work of the Russian Task Force on racism in football.  

Keshi: Troubadour or Strategist...

Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi is a mere few months on the job, and so far has played only one competitive game. This in all fairness does not provide enough data on which to assess his performance as coach, especially on field.

However he has adopted a bold strategy of rebuilding the team primarily from the domestic game and supplementing with the foreign based players. As I discussed here it is a viable long term strategy that has the potential to enhance competition and ultimately the quality of the national team. But the devil is firmly in the details...

While it is true that these are early days, the overall strategy of Mr Keshi raises some concerns about the viability of an approach that appears haphazard.

Watching his team lose gallantly to an experienced Egyptian team again confirmed my belief in the availability of talent in the domestic game. It is expected that roughly the same team will be used to prosecute the friendly against Peru in Lima on May 23.

While there are a few players worthy of further looks, you have to wonder about the wisdom of persisting on a much larger number whose immediate viability for the Super Eagles is at best doubtful, especially in comparison with several emerging foreign based players. Where for instance is the merit in spending time and resources on such raw talents as Sunday Mbah, Kalu Uche, Obinna Nwachukwu or Salami, given the vastly superior options we have in attack from the foreign based legion?

According to Austin Okocha, while 'players from the domestic league are the future of the Super Eagles, they are at least three years away from being ready' Link.

It seems to me that what should be a target specific approach to address areas of weakness in the Super Eagles is being converted into an endless rebuilding exercise, with the national team coach as a troubadour, traversing the land in search of all manner of players like the severely average fullbacks, Oshaniwa and Oboabona.

And even among the foreign legion, there is as yet no clear sense of a strategic plan behind the invitation of players. Where does a reborn John Utaka fit in the strategic order according to Stephen Keshi? Yes a revived John Utaka merits a recall, but as what? Where does he fit in an overall plan, both now and in the future?

Why is this question important? Take the case of Yakubu Aiyegbeni:

On the back of several goals in the English Premier League, he was recalled in what is the twilight of a nomadic career to lead the line against Rwanda, in preference to such younger players as Emenike, Ideye and Ehiosun who were already being integrated into the team by former coach Siasia. Now he is relegated to the Championship!  He is then dropped for the next round of games and an opportunity to build on existing foundations is wasted.

So what happens next? What happens to Ideye, Emenike and Ehiosun? Who is the next ghost to be resurrected?

As I said at the beginning of Keshi's tenure (Link) he inherited a team in much better stage of development than his predecessor was bequeathed;  a younger, more mobile and faster team, which created more chances per game than previously, but which was also tactically imbalanced.

What was needed was a well thought out strategy to build on these foundations, while learning from the failures of Siasia, not a strategy that amounts to chasing rats in an empty cassava farm during the annual bush burning!

When are we going to reintegrate Apam into the team following his return to first team football? When are we going to invite Terna Suswan who has broken into the first team at Setubal? When are we going to look at Omeruo as an option at right back following his impressive displays for ADO; after Oboabona implodes in a competitive game?

Like me, Okocha agrees that the future is at home: "Definitely the future lies in those new players, but for the moment they cannot be as consistent as where we want to be." He goes on to state that it would take 3-4 years to get them ready, except in the case of exceptional talent.

What in effect Stephen Keshi is doing is confusing a long term and a short term strategy.

"A troubadour, I traverse all my land
exploring all her wide flung parts with zest..." (Dennis Brutus)

Barca, Nigerian Fans and Zombies...

I have just returned from a trip to Nigeria for the burial of my beloved sister, whose sad, sad story (http://www.ogorip.com/) has ignited the internet and brought new focus to women issues in Nigeria.

But thats not what am about here.

In the midst of the pain and the sadness though, I had some small window to follow football, specifically the UEFA champions league (UCL) semi finals.

What particularly struck me was the passion of huge sections of Nigerian football fans against Barca, which led me to repeatedly asking- why do Nigerian football fans hate Barcelona so much?

Why do Nigerian football fans, who are famed for their love of beautiful football, the same fans who rebelled against Amodu and his depressing team, hate a Barcelona team that has set new standards for art football and redifined time-space dynamics in football, while being extremely successful?

As if this was not enough, even the pundits have joined in the act!

Every foul call in favor of Barca (they pronounce it 'Barka') is greeted with derisive chants of 'PDP'..., and the players labellled divers, even for the most obvious fouls! Every yellow card for a Barcelona player should've been a red card! And Messi? The only thing they did not wish was the pox on him! To many of them, the Ronaldo v Messi debate was long settled in favor of the Madrid player...

In writing this, I know that I will come under attack from the horde of Chelsea/EPL androids out there. And for full disclosure I am a longtime Liverpool fan.

But even if the roles were changed and Liverpool was in the same position as Chelsea this week, while I would be happy with the win, I would simultaneously be saddened by the spectre of a multi-million dollar team, replete with experienced internationals resort to prehistoric football to win a match, however important that match may be.  The sight of a Didier Drogba repeatedly chasing huge punts downfield from Petr Cech, left me wondering if I was somehow caught in a time warp, trapped in Wimbledon in the 80s. Worse still, to see the talents of our Jon Mikel Obi, a close contemporary of Messi at the world youth championships in 2005, reduced to chasing shadows, was physically painful.

And as the game wore on and Chelsea brought football frther to its knees, the English commentators would explain each downfield punt as, just another way of playing football. True that...

Its also another sure way to kill football. John Lennon asked us to imagine...so imagine a football in which all critical games were reduced to the Chelsea approach at the Nou Camp...We would either all become androids or fans of netball!

I pondered these on my long flight back to the States, through the flight from Abuja to Amsterdam; then during the long layover and through the connecting flight to Memphis..Late at night as my last flight made its way to Philadelphia, it finally struck me....

The EPL has made football zombies of Nigerians...

Keshi: A Dangerous Precedence

1. I am a supporter of Keshi's bold approach to rebuilding the Super Eagles on the foundations of the domestic league players and supplementing with the euro-based players.
2. This support however is based on the assumption that such players are first and foremost competitive in the positions they play.
3. And in addition that the factor of their greater availability, vis a vis the euro-based players, would offer the coaching crew ample time to train and thus formulate a more cohesive team than is typically the case with the euro-based players.
4. I am however concerned by certain indications emerging from the match in Kigali. In assessing the team's performance, of the Chairman of the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chris Green, said at least five of the foreign-based stars will be axed for the Eagles subsequent games as they failed to live up to expectations.
5. Green said: "I am disappointed at the showing of some of this our foreign players. Some of them were totally not in this game. In the same vein, Keshi said: "I am not very impressed with the performance of some players. I would not mention names but I have learnt lot from this game," “The home boys gave a good account of themselves and I must commend their guts but all together we have to return to the drawing board and there I would review a whole lot including future invitation of foreign-based players." (Source).
6. While it is imperative that a coach review's his team's performance following any match, it is important that we do not look at the Super Eagles through the false dichotomy of 'home-based' and 'foreign-based', but rather good and bad players on any given day.
7. This kind of talk can only lead to a dangerous precedence and ultimately a major impediment to team spirit. One also has to also wonder about the propriety of Mr Green's public involvement in what is the remit of the coach...
8. Let there be no misunderstanding! The use of home-based players as articulated by Mr Keshi is a viable long term strategy that has the potential to enhance competition and the quality of the national team. But it is not an end in itself, neither is it a magic wand that solves all problems.
9. For one, there must be a well formulated playing philosophy around which Stephen Keshi's decisions are made, including the choice of players to invite and the tactical organization of the team. What does this mean?
10. A philosophy based primarily on the counterattack for instance, would place primacy on the invitation of players in midfield with the discipline to seat deep in their defensive zones or the speed to translate defence to attack quickly, as well as wingers and strikers with the explosive speed to transition quickly into attack.
11. So far no definitive playing philosophy can be discerned from the games so far supervised by Keshi or players invited by him. But these are very early days...

The State of African Football

1. The Nations Cup has come to a fairytale end with the triumph of Zambia and its march to the tune of destiny. Congratulations to Zambia on a deserved victory...Its conclusion in many ways defines the state of African football, in a manner that allows us to look at its immediate future. But I do suspect that the 2013 Nations Cup will be more definitive in its conclusions than this one...
2. The qualification and performance of such teams as Niger, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, etc has also been heralded as the dawn of a new era of progress in African football, a claim I have sought to disprove here. 
3. However the pattern that has continued since Egypt's three consecutive titles is the influence of the proximity and availability of players on team spirit and chemistry, and the impact that has had on success, in sharp contrast to countries that have the difficult task of building teams through the limited crack of the FIFA international games window.
4. The defining factor behind this changing dynamic in my opinion has been the influence of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), which began in 2009 and exclusively limited to players from their respective domestic championships and qualified to play in the ongoing season. The competition, along with the CAF Champions League, has allowed several countries, especially but not limited to the lower tier teams such as Sudan, Niger, Libya, but also Tunisia and Zambia etc, a chance to build their national teams from home, and use the Euro-based players to supplement.
5. Winning the 2011 CHAN was the decisive factor in Tunisia presenting a vastly improved team at the ANC, as is the case with Gabon, Sudan and Niger. But it has also impacted the ability of top tier countries like Ghana and Zambia to replenish their teams, and I suspect will help Congo DR rebound in the future.
6. The abiding lesson of Egypt's trifecta of ANC titles, Zambia's triumph and the performances of Sudan, Niger, Libya and Tunisia is the importance of a viable domestic game as the foundation for the national team, irrespective of the number of players in Europe, and how many feature for the likes of Barcelona, Madrid, Bayern or Chelsea...
7. Zambia's unlikely triumph is evidence most of all of a superior team spirit, even if the talent was not always superior...For many in this team, this will have to be the last hurray and Zambia will have to begin the difficult road of transition.
8. The failure of CIV to win the ANC is evidence of a road not taken. It is testimony to a coaching decision to play in a manner that was as constraining as it was tentative. And especially against Zambia, it was evidence of a deliberate decision to tailor tactics, not to one's strengths, but that of the opponent. It was reactive rather than proactive....In the end the sight of a vastly superior Ivorien team with the likes of Yaya Toure, Tiote and Zokora unable to even control the game in midfield, and cowering instead into a deep defensive line, was the worst case of cowardice I've seen since a Berti Vogts led Nigerian team went into a defensive shell after Ghana had John Mensah sent off in the 2008 ANC quarter finals.
9. The result is that this generation of Ivoriens have still not won anything nearly a decade since emerging on the continental scene. Going forward, the Ivoriens must prioritize the rebuilding of badly damaged morale from the loss to Zambia. This would begin with securing the commitment of Yaya Toure who is making small noises about retiring from international football. But the good news is the Ivoriens have a reservoir of talent to seamlessly replace the likes of Zokora, Drogba and Kolo Toure.
10. The Black Stars came to the ANC with a swagger and left with a whimper! A bold prediction by coach Goran Stevanovic would ironically feed into a mindset of entitlement and overconfidence, and a team lacking cutting edge in the last third from the first game, would paper over cracks from a combination of weak opposition and good fortune until luck deserted them against Zambia, and they neither had the bench nor a Plan B to mount a credible fight back.
11. Whatever his explanation might be, especially reading through his technical report, Stevanovic must take responsibility for the lack of creativity in this Black Stars team, especially from a midfield with more destructive than creative players. Whats more, his use of Andre Ayew in the tournament lacked imagination.
12. Looking forward, Ghana will continue to benefit from the stability in management of the team and evolution of playing personnel. However, players like Muntari, John Mensah, Asamoah Gyan, Pantsil, Vorsah and Tagoe need to be replaced, and a credible right back identified. Vital too should be securing the return to international football of Kevin Prince Boateng, as well as creating a pathway for emerging young players like  the Parlemo and Fiorentina midfielders, Afriyie Acquah and Maxwell Acosty to get a look in. The lack of creativity in the final third was critical to the failure of this team.
13. Among the teams that failed to qualify for the ANC, the case of Nigeria and Cameroon remains especially dire. The reasons behind the failures of both countries have been long in coming and draw substantially from administrative failures in the management of football, including poor hiring decisions as well as coaching failures. These administrative failures remain and in the case of Nigeria may be getting worse.
14. The legal issues surrounding the name of the NFF is being addressed by the National Assembly. But the governance problems remain, unless you are like FIFA willing to stick your head in the sand and pretend that government interference is simply about who controls the FA board and its election, even when such a board is almost entirely funded by government, its staff civil servants, and its legal existence based on an act of congress!
15. But the core of a competitive team still remains. It is against this background that coach Stephen Keshi is implementing a bold approach to rebuilding the Super Eagles from the domestic game outwards (Link). Such an approach has the potential to vastly expand the options available to him, both in personnel and the tactical organization of the team. 
16. The uncertain political climate in Egypt was always going to impact its football, but the recent violence has simply made a bad situation worse. Three successive ANC titles and failure to qualify for the world cup in South Africa meant that an era in Egyptian football had come to an end. But the potential for developing a viable new team is very strong, especially against the performance of the U-20 team in Colombia and more recently the U-23 team.
17. Of the three North African powers, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the latter appears best positioned for the future, having presented a well balanced team at the ANC. After a dominating first half performance against Ghana in the quarter-finals, old habits would die hard and the familiar cynical tactics promptly returned in the second period of the game. The biggest challenge for the future would be replacing Karim Haggui at center back in the next few years. The future looks bright for Tunisia.
18. With another ANC scheduled in 2013, I expect the current trend of competitiveness to continue but with diminishing likelihood of upsets, and the return of more familiar faces to the competition.

Rwanda vs Nigeria: Keshi's Bold Experiment

1. When Nigeria take on Rwanda in Kigali in the 2013 Africa Nations cup qualifiers, there is a strong chance that the team list will be made up of more than the token homebased player.
2. With eleven players called up from Europe and the entire 20-man homebased squad which just defeated Liberia in Monrovia also invited, there is every chance of that happening, especially in central defence and right back. But that is not really the issue here...
3. It appears from the events leading up to this game that Keshi has reversed the order in which the Super Eagles teams have been developed in recent times, by beginning the process from the domestic league and using the Euro-based players to supplement. Time will tell how much the final lineup bears this out...But why is this important?
4. As in all things football, any approach is as good as the validation that results from the field provides, and this approach will be no different.
5. As I have stated before, the domestic league is a jewel of inestimable value; you never know what you are going to get (Link)! But make no mistake, Nigeria's best natural talents lie in the domestic game and not in the leagues of Europe. They represent a viable way to refresh a stale national team or expand the tactical options available to national team coaches.
6. A player like Ejike Uzoenyi is a viable option at left midfield to provide width to the team and stretch opposing defences, as well as use his pace to get behind defences.
7. Regarding the contingent from Europe, it is dissapointing to see the return of Sani Kaita. But let there be no misunderstanding! I am a strong believer in the rights of a coach, any coach to freely select any player of his choosing as long as he lives or dies by his results. So I do not question Keshi's rights to select Kaita.
8. Truth be said, Sani Kaita has been a loyal servant of the national team at every level and every game he has played in, the red card nothithstanding.
9. But I am dissapointed nonetheless because it is the responsibility of a national team coach to set performance standards for our players, at whatever level they practice their trade, and enforce such. Sani Kaita at the moment does not begin to meet any concievable positive performance standard. I like Sani Kaita; I think he deserves to be in the Super Eagles, but we should challenge him to earn it, not give him a pass....
10. But if the case of Kaita is a little understandable, the invitation of Yakubu Aiyegbeni is downright dubious. The problem with the Super Eagles that Keshi inherited from Siasia was not the attack. If anything, the data shows a vast improvement in attack and the performance of the strikers. We have multiple options in attack that meet our immediate needs and are viable for the long term. The time to fully integrate them into the team is now, not in one or two years when Yakubu might have made the inevitable descent to the English Championship!
11. On the other hand Victor Moses is invited and hopefully makes a long awaited debut for Nigeria. His pace and especially his ability to play between the lines, either centrally in midfield or running diagonally from wide areas, should bring something new to the team. 

Nigeria Squad:

Euro-based: Vincent Enyeama, Taye Taiwo, Joseph Yobo; Joel Obi, Dickson Etuhu, Sani Kaita, Victor Moses;  Ikechukwu Uche, Osaze Odemwingie, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Ahmed Musa.

Home-based:Chigozie Agbim, Godfrey Oboabona, Juwon Oshaniwa, Gabriel Reuben, Uche Ossai, Sunday Mba, Kalu Uche, Papa Idris, Henry Uche, Osasco Omamo, Obinna Nwachukwu, Izu Azuka, Ejike Uzoenyi, Sunday Emmanuel, Kabir Umar, Kingsley Salami, Uche Oguchi, Okemute Odah, Bartholomew Ibenegbu, Azubuike Egwueke

A Nations Cup Final in the Shadow of Tragedy....

1. The Zambians ride an emotional wave all the way to Libreville for the final game of the Nations Cup! What a story it will be if the win it all...
2. Congratulations to Felix Katongo and his teammates, and also to Herve Renard for guiding them through pre-tournament favorites like Senegal and Ghana. Many European coaches who work in Africa, inevitably simply pass through like tourists, observing from a distance but never assimilating the local culture. Herve Renard has done brilliantly well to channel the emotions of this team in a manner to draw inspiration from the huge tragedy of the loss of the Zambian team in that unfortunate air crash on April 26, 1993.
3. After the loss to Nigeria two years ago, Renard has reshaped his side into a more conservative and streetwise team, playing on the counterattack, based on a hardworking rather than a typically flambouyant midfield, as we have come to so often associate with Zambia.
4. Facing a superior but one dimensional opponent in Ghana, Renard's use of the versatile TP Mazembe defender, Francis Kasondo in a deep defensive position in midfield helped limit the Black Stars control of the zone in front of the defence, and constrain Asamoah Gyan's ability to win the second ball. They would ride their luck, extremely, but the Ghanaian challenge would soon petered out in the face of Zambian energy, and on the back of overconfidence, injuries and limited tactical and personnel options.
5. Zambia play a nominal 4-4-2 formation but with Katongo often dropping into midfield to serve as the link to the attack especially in the penultimate phase of the counterattack. His game so far has been energetic even if occassionally indisciplined.
6. Much of the success of this team so far has come from the powerful central midfield duo of Chisamba Lungu and Nathan Sinkala. But the team is at its most threatening form with Rainford Kalaba on the ball wide on the left. Brilliant going forward, his lack of effective support for his fullback can be a liability. Against the Ivoriens, his defensive contribution would become a significant issue if Musonda at left back is allowed to be isolated with Gervinho and Gosso overlapping from right back.
7. Against the Ivoriens, I expect both Lungu and Sinkala to come under pressure and would have to play quickly, without dwelling in possession or forced into merely kicking the ball downfield. 
8. The Ivoriens have so far conducted this campaign methodically and with great discipline in a predominantly 4-3-3 formation, playing well within themselves in the first stage and slowly expanding their domination of the opponent from the quarter final stage, but without resort to the expansive game of previous tournaments.
9. Against Zambia, I expect the Ivoriens to dominate in midfield, both numerically and tactically, and especially with territorial control to deny the East Africans opportunities on the counter.
10. I expect the Ivoriens to press hard and high upfield to minimize both time and space on the ball, especially on Lungu and Sinkala, who are both susceptible to pressure.
11. In this regard, Didier Zokora's performance in the middle of a midfield trio will be crucial in reading the game and covering undefended zones as the team presses the ball, as well as denying Katongo space in the zone in front of the defence.
12. The key matchups to look for will be between Gervinho and Musonda, and between Kalaba and Gosso; also between Drogba and Sunzu as well as Zokora and Katongo.
13. On the whole, the Zambian team has defended with great athleticism and resoluteness without ever needing any complex tactical organization, a quality best exemplified by Stophira Sunzu at right centerback. However they show great vulnerability in defending the zone on the inside of the fullbacks. But I get the distinct sense that in Ivory Coast they will be faced with much more than they can handle.
14. But what a story it will be if the Zambians triumph in Libreville...  And whether they win or not, they'll walk in the shadow of giants before them and in the background the the collective spirit of:

• Efford Chabala (goalkeeper)
• John Soko (defender)
• Whiteson Changwe (defender)
• Robert Watiyakeni (defender)
• Eston Mulenga (midfielder)
• Derby Makinka (midfielder)
• Moses Chikwalakwala (midfielder)
• Wisdom Mumba Chansa (midfielder)
• Kelvin "Malaza" Mutale (striker)
• Timothy Mwitwa (striker)
• Numba Mwila (midfielder)
• Richard Mwanza (goalkeeper)
• Samuel Chomba (defender)
• Moses Masuwa (striker)
• Kenan Simambe (defender)
• Godfrey Kangwa (midfielder)
• Winter Mumba (defender)
• Patrick "Bomber" Banda (striker)

 RIP...