It was all going smoothly for continental football and its showpiece Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament in Morocco until the dying moments of the month-long extravaganza.
Then came the farce that will forever cloud the tournament: images of Senegal’s players walking off in protest at a penalty awarded against them in the final against the hosts in Rabat, severely tarnishing the African game.
It was a petulant action that said much about the way falsehoods, tension and perceptions are allowed to simmer and then boil over.
The Confederation of African Football is a reactive, rather than proactive, organisation and has over the decades failed to grapple with the hot-headed scenes of pique, impatience and irritability that are a constant feature at both club and national team level.
While Senegal did return to the pitch — they went on to win 1-0 — an exceptional contest between the continent’s two best teams is now remembered as a blight on the African game, which only days earlier had been trumpeting its growing worldwide allure.
It was a double whammy for Morocco, not only desperate for on-field sporting success but also looking to put its best foot forward in cementing its status as the hub of the African game.
Morocco is a co-host for the 2030 World Cup, with Spain and Portugal. It will finally get its day in the sun after losing multiple previous bids, including to South Africa for the 2010 tournament and to the joint Canada-Mexico-US bid for this year’s tournament.
Morocco plans to use six venues in 2030, and five of them were used for Afcon, providing world-class playing surfaces and spectacular stadium facilities, comparable to the best anywhere. There was plenty of Afro-scepticism ahead of South Africa’s hosting in 2010, but after this Afcon there will be no doubts about what Morocco can offer.
The final was played at the recently completed Stade Moulay Abdellah, which has a capacity of 69,500, but even more impressive is the Grand Stade de Tanger with seating for 75,000. Stadiums in Agadir, Fes and Marrakech were also used and will be upgraded in time for the World Cup.
But the crowning glory is the proposed 115,000-capacity Grand Stade Hassan II on the outskirts of Casablanca, designed to be the biggest in the world, which Morocco hopes will be chosen over Madrid to host the 2030 World Cup final. In all, Morocco will spend $1.4bn on the six stadiums, never mind the additional infrastructure investment that will include Africa’s only high-speed rail link.
This was Morocco’s time to win Afcon, a trophy that has strangely eluded the country for half a century. Morocco have won it only once, in 1976, despite frequently starting as the favourites
Tourism is already a cornerstone of the economy, and 2030 promises to raise the country’s profile even higher.
This was Morocco’s time to win Afcon, a trophy that has strangely eluded the country for half a century. Morocco have won it only once, in 1976, despite frequently starting as the favourites.
They were favourites this year too, particularly due to home advantage, but the burden of expectation seemed to weigh too heavily. Their opening performances were nervy, with coach Walid Regragui being criticised and wolf-whistled by his own supporters despite having rarely lost a match and having taken the team to the World Cup semifinal in Qatar three years ago.
But the Moroccans improved, and their wins in the quarterfinal against Cameroon and in the semifinal against Nigeria confirmed their top ranking.
Senegal had a comfortable tournament and an array of opponents of differing strength, starting with an easy assignment against Botswana (3-0). They played all their games in Tangier before the final, sparing the players any fatigue from travel.
The Senegalese boasted an impressive squad, with star quality in their starting lineup and extensive depth on the bench. It is a hallmark of Africa’s inability to make more of an impact at the World Cup that many sides can go toe-to-toe with top European opposition, but when they turn to the bench to supplement their chances, or struggle with injury and suspension at a major tournament, they always fall short.
Senegal could be the team to fly the flag for Africa with some distinction at this year’s World Cup, especially if they overcome the histrionics and persecution complex.
The players complained bitterly about their treatment ahead of the final, though a lot of the whingeing seemed childish. They appeared to convince themselves that everything was being arranged to hobble them, hence the unsavoury scenes at the final.
Much was made of the standard of refereeing at Afcon, a lot of it due to ignorance of the laws of the game. Not only are journalists and pundits guilty, but so are the coaches. Video-assisted refereeing is still no exact science, and social media can quickly feed suspicions of skulduggery. A forensic analysis of the refereeing will reveal some mistakes on marginal calls, but no conspiracy. African referees get an unfair rap, due in large part to prejudice.
South Africa had high hopes of emulating or improving upon their bronze medal finish at the previous edition in the Ivory Coast, but they were eliminated in the first round of the play-offs, prompting much soul-searching after a disappointing campaign.
Bafana Bafana were far from impressive in edging Angola and Zimbabwe by a single goal in their group matches and lost to Egypt despite playing against 10 men for an entire half. They laid siege to the opposing goalmouth but could not forge a breakthrough. Their constant aerial attacks looked quixotic in their futility.
They did finish second in their group, as per the seedings, but were eliminated in the round of 16 by Cameroon, missing early gilt-edged chances in a bright start to the game before being overpowered. The best they could do was to net a late consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat.
South Africa’s speedy and skilful but diminutive players were easily outmuscled by players who might be technically less proficient but whose power overwhelmed them. Orlando Pirates’ 21-year-old prospect, Relebohile Mofokeng, is a case in point. His form for his club over the past seasons has marked him out among the hottest items domestically, with many pundits suggesting he is headed for a career in the European top flight. But the slightly built winger was nowhere to be seen at Afcon, seemingly intimidated by the physical challenges. When he did get his big chance to score a profile-enhancing goal, he ballooned it over the top in a scenario all too common in the domestic game.
Coach Hugo Broos also got the tactics wrong against Cameroon with three centre-backs and a single striker up front, who failed to get any decent service after the 20th minute.
The coach strangely took only 23 players to the tournament, while other countries took the full quota of 28. He also admitted he might have selected a few duds. In his mid-70s, the Belgian is set in his ways and keen to head off into retirement after the World Cup.
He has only a few preparatory games in which to try to hone South Africa’s performance, but there is cause for pessimism as Bafana look forward to being thrown straight into the cauldron against co-hosts Mexico at the imposing Azteca Stadium — renamed Estadio Banorte to please the sponsors — in their opening game on June 11.
Particular concerns are the centre-back pairing and the team’s failure to capitalise on what opportunities are created.
Qualifying for the World Cup is a boon for the domestic game, but a better showing at Afcon would have enhanced that effect even further. But Bafana can always surprise, as they did at Afcon in Ivory Coast two years ago.
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