Sport
Africa’s opportunities at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil
Four years ago, Ghana was close to becoming the first African team to reach the final four but was undone by the lottery of the penalty shoot-out. Of the six African representatives in South Africa in 2010, several teams arrived in disarray after making last-minute coaching changes.
To address this, Nigeria hurriedly brought in Lars Lagerbäck, and Côte d’Ivoire appointed Sven-Göran Eriksson to the coach their respective teams. However, such mayhem before a major tournament is hardly a recipe for success but the teams may have learned their lessons this time around.
Each World Cup brings its fair share of hope and aspirations and this is nowhere more true than on the African continent, where millions of Africans who face the hardships of day-to-day life live their dreams through their football teams. But if only their level of enthusiasm and commitment was matched by African football’s leaders, Africa’s World Cup ambitions would be further down the road than they are today.
Source: The Africa Report
