31, May 2020
Africa Cup of Nations could be postponed until January or summer of 2022 0
The Africa Cup of Nations could be postponed until 2022 to avoid clashes with other competitions and buy the Confederation of African Football more time to stage qualifiers and play-offs for the continental tournament.
The event had been scheduled for January 2021 in Cameroon but French station, Radio Monte Carlo, quoted a CAF source who said the event could either be postponed until January 2022, or even the summer of that year, to create more room for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
“There is almost no chance for the African Cup of Nations 2021 to be held next January,” the source said.
“It’s also possible to make it in the summer of 2022, because the World Cup will take place in November 2022.”
“But we have to study this idea very well so as not to destabilise the African teams participating in the World Cup,” the source added.
Postponing the event until 2022 would buy CAF more time to complete the four full rounds of qualifiers and a round of play-offs for the tournament that still need to be completed.
An event in the summer of 2022 would prove more popular with the leading European teams who will be loath to lose their best African players mid-season.
The leading European clubs would like Fifa to discuss the harmonisation of the calendar so that all confederation tournaments take place at the same time, two years after the Fifa World Cup, allowing a rest period every other summer for the leading players.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has also proposed that the Africa Cup of Nations be held every four years rather than biennially when the global governing body took control of CAF to clean up its governance practices and financial controls.
CAF initially awarded hosting rights for the 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions of its showpiece tournament to Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Guinea, respectively, back in 2014. However, a subsequent decision to expand the competition from 16 to 24 teams for the 2019 Cup of Nations led to significant infrastructure challenges for host nations.
Cameroon was stripped of hosting rights for the 2019 Cup of Nations amid delays in stadium construction and the event was awarded to Egypt. Cameroon was subsequently handed the 2021 tournament meaning that the Ivory Coast’s hosting rights were put back to 2023.
The last tournament in Egypt in 2019 was held in the summer but CAF moved the 2021 tournament back to January to avoid a scheduling clash with Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup. However, the latter tournament has now been postponed indefinitely to accommodate Uefa’s rescheduled Euro 2020 and Conmebol’s Copa America national team tournaments.
Source: Sports Business
31, May 2020
Football: Ex-Bayern Munich star Sammy Kuffour says Eto’o is Africa’s greatest 0
The Ghanaian has placed the Cameroonian at the top of his list of outstanding footballers from the continent
Cameroon and Barcelona legend Samuel Eto’o Fils is the greatest man from Africa to have played the beautiful game, former Ghana and Bayern Munich star Samuel Osei Kuffour believes.
Eto’o is indeed a celebrated football icon globally, having won the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on two occasions (2000 and 2002), a 2000 Olympic Games gold medal and the Champions League on three occasions.
Adjudged African Footballer of the Year four times, the former striker also has a 2010 Fifa Club World Cup title in his cabinet.
“It’s difficult to say [who is the greatest African Footballer of all-time] because it’s a different generation now,” Kuffour, himself a 2001 Champions League winner, a Fifa U17 World Cup champion and an Olympic bronze medallist, told Goal in an African Legends Series interview.
“When you look at my generation, people may say [Augustine] Jay-Jay Okocha [of Nigeria] was brilliant. When you go to another generation, people may say Eto’o was brilliant.
“For the generation ahead of me, people may say George Weah [of Liberia] was good, Kalusha [Bwalya of Zambia]] was good.
“When you go to the next one, they would say Rabah Madjer [of Algeria] was great. Some people may also say Mahmoud El Khatib from Egypt was good. [You also have] Lakhdar Belloumi [from Algeria]… different, different generations.
“But for me, if you tell me to choose one, I will choose [based on] consistency. I don’t hate anybody, but I have to be strong and firm and choose.
“He may not have won the world player of the year but for me, I think because of the consistency, I’ll give you Samuel Eto’o [as my best of all-time].”
At club level, Eto’o’s first major success was winning the Spanish Copa del Rey with Real Mallorca in 2002-03, having cut ties with Real Madrid who brought him from Cameroon as a youth team player. While with Real, he also had loan stints with Leganes and Espanyol.
Eto’o joined Barcelona in 2004 and would go on to win the Spanish league title on three occasions, the Copa del Rey in 2009, the Spanish Super Cup twice and the Champions League in 2005-06 and 2008-09.
In 2009, the 39-year-old transferred to Italian fold Inter Milan, with whom he won a quintuple of trophies (Serie A title, Coppa Italia, Italian Super Cup, Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup) in 2010.
He has also played for English outfits Chelsea and Everton, Sampdoria in Italy, Turkish duo Antalyaspor and Konyaspor as well as Qatari side Qatar SC.
On an individual level, Eto’o, who stands as the all-time top scorer at Afcon with 18 goals, and also as the all-time top scorer for Cameroon and Real Mallorca, won the African Footballer of the Year awards in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010. He finished third in the race for the 2005 Fifa World Best Player award. These are only few of his many individual accolades.
Source: Goal.com