Editorial Comment: World Cup 2014 — Africa regressing

FOR the past three weeks, the entire world has been held spellbound by the World Cup — the biggest football extravaganza taking place in Brazil and true to prediction  — it has been magical. Zimbabweans like other football crazy people across the world have been following events in Brazil keenly even though their beloved Warriors are once again missing from the party.
The quality of football exhibited at the 2014 edition of the World Cup has at times been breathtaking and the organisation of the event itself flawless. Kudos should go to the hosts for putting together a world class event never mind the sideshows such as the protests for better service delivery and minor delays in completion of certain infrastructure.

Sweltering temperatures typical of this time of the year in Brazil have at times proved too much for some players coming from milder climates but overally, the tournament has been a demonstration of the power of the beautiful game and its ability to transcend social, religious, cultural, political and economic barriers and unite the entire world.

Football is big business and has become a multi-billion dollar industry and the spin-offs from the World Cup will undoubtedly transform the lives of ordinary Brazilians. Already, stars are emerging from this tournament with the likes of Colombia’s James Rodriguez and France’s Paul Pogba joining established stars like Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar Jr as the leading lights of this football jamboree. It has been a see saw of triumphs and disappointments with holders Spain and traditional powerhouses England and Italy crashing out in the first round while surprise packages such as Costa Rica and Chile have put on magnificent shows with little resources to confound critics.

We have also witnessed brilliant individual displays with American goalkeeper Tim Howard making an amazing 16 saves in one match (USA versus Belgium) — a world record. On the downside, the world watched in horror as Uruguayan talisman displayed his darker side by biting Italian Giorgio Chiellini in an ill-tempered match. Given the foregoing, it is reasonable to assume more twists and turns are in store as we enter the decisive quarter-final stage with the eight teams still in it expected to dish out top notch performances as the World Cup nears its climax.

Sadly, despite holding so much promise in the beginning, Africa’s hopefuls have bowed out to the disappointment of a multitude of followers on the continent. Once again, the Africa representatives have flattered to deceive and their overall performance points to a regression instead of a progression in football standards on the continent.

An analysis of the performance of the five African World Cup teams in Brazil reveals a downward spiral of such powerhouses as Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon with only Nigeria and Algeria putting up tenacious displays though on the losing end. The former bowed out in the first round with the Super Eagles and the Desert Foxes narrowly losing their second round ties against France and Germany.

The brave performance of the Algerians in particular captured the imagination of the world with their more illustrious opponents only edging them at the death in extra time. Nigeria also did the continent proud when they matched France for the better part of their game only to collapse later on. But Brazil 2014 will be remembered as the World Cup where no single African team made it into the last eight of the tournament.

African football has not made significant strides since Italia 90 where Cameroon shocked the world by defeating heavyweights such as England to reach the quarter-finals. In that tournament, Roger Milla became the oldest player to score at a World Cup and his team set the benchmark for other Africans to emulate. Since then only Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) have made it to the quarter-finals and it is a sad indication of the depths the standards of football have plumbed.

The shameful shenanigans of Ghanaian and Cameroonian players who threatened to boycott World Cup matches in protest over bonuses have no place in modern football. We also condemn the behaviour of Sully Muntari and Kevin Prince-Boateng for their shameful attacks on their coach James Kwesi Appiah and technical staff. Africa will never go anywhere with this kind of amateurish approach.

Despite a steady stream of young footballers making their way into the elite leagues in Europe, African football is not progressing fast enough to catch up with the rest of the world. Maybe it is time governments took a closer interest in football matters and ensured that there was better funding for the sport and proper structures put in place to ensure the success of their national teams. A professional approach is needed from grassroots level to ensure players take football seriously and as a career.

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