Sport
Africa’s opportunities at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, five African nations will be competing. According to The Africa Report’s, there will be several countries and players to watch. What was once a field of close to 50 African teams has now been narrowed down to a final five for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as the year drew to a close.
The battle saw the best and worst of African football on display with exciting plays, passionate fans and also questionable refereeing that accompanies soccer in general. For example, the referees denied Ethiopia a clear goal on November 16th, after Saladin Said’s attempt was cleared away dramatically by the Nigerian defender, Godfrey Oboabona, when the ball was clearly over the line.
Not surprisingly, this was one of several contentious decisions over the two matches the teams played together. In the match between Burkina Faso and Algeria on October 12th, Zambian referee, Jani Sikazwe, awarded a penalty for a handball against Algeria’s Essaïd Belkalem. This “penalty” came only four minutes from the end of the match, even when it was obvious that Belkalem had clearly placed his arms behind his back as he went to block the shot. The penalty kick allowed Burkina Faso a 3-2 first-leg win.
Even more worrying were the match results that had to be annulled from the earlier round after seven teams inexplicably used players who were ineligible due to suspensions.
African panache
In the end, the best teams got through to the last qualifying stages, and the final round of matches showed the great qualities of African football as play swung from end to end and the continent’s skills were on display. In the end, the final round had five West African teams, three from North Africa, one from Central Africa and one East African side.
Not surprising, the qualifying round showed that African football remains heavily tilted towards the traditionally dominant regions. However, for Southern and East African teams, the lack of progress is a constant cause for worry and the national soccer federations need to go back to the drawing board to address this. But on the bright side, could this year’s 2014 World Cup be the one where African football finally comes of age?
