A Little Ranting Before the ANC

With the African Nations Cup set to kick off tomorrow we have a ton of coverage here at the Cote d’Ivorie blog as well as the main with Daryl giving us a strong introduction to all the teams competing in this edition of the tournament. As you read the previews you begin to get a real sense of how much talent resides in Africa, and how much real talent will be on display at this tournament. As you begin to get exciting for matches such as the IC vs. Nigeria, and potentials games involving the likes of Ghana and Cameroon you say to yourself, “I can’t wait to watch these games.” Oh wait you can’t.

I am personally really struggling with the fact that the big boys of American/World Soccer TV ie Gol TV, FSC, and Setanta did make huge bids for these games, but I am even more upset that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) did not work in conjunction with these broadcasting entities to make sure that the ANC would be broadcast globally into people’s homes. At a time when many African superstars such as Drogba, Essien, Eto, and Mikel are becoming household names, and pivotal pieces of our favorite teams, I think it is unfair to that we can not watch these games on our TV’s but have to turn to the internet. The CAF should have worked long and hard with the likes of Gol TV and FSC to make sure a deal was struck to get their product out there. I have not been able to pinpoint the details, but the boys at World Soccer Daily, and Fox Football Fone In made it very clear that there was an extensive effort by the TV moguls to the CAF.

It is no mystery that corruption exists in all football associations, and CAF is no exception but it is no one’s fault but their own that their showpiece tournament is only available through the world wide web, possibly leaving millions of dollars on the table for a simple lack of negotiation or agreement between nations. Even a simple Setanta PPV package would have been fantastic, heck I would have paid a few hundred to get every game on DVR to watch at my leisure. Founded in 1956 the CAF’s mission was to bring competitive football Africa, which was deemed a success since their inclusion in the 1970 World Cup and beyond. With their recent ability to export top class to Europe and beyond their mission should now be for exposure to, in my opinion, the budding soccer powers of the African continent.

In a continent whose progress has been mired in many avenues both socially and economically this was their one chance to announce to the world we are here, and we want to show you we can do, a proverbial test run before their World Cup debut in 2010. CAF is not the only federation to blame, as FIFA has also been less supportive of Africa and CAF than federations such as Asia and their favorite son of UEFA. It is not enough to exploit the country for the talent and award them a World Cup which is still considered to be a possible mistake by some FIFA members who feel that they will not be ready in time to make this happen. Instead of criticizing they can reach into their pockets and give the CAF the help they need to build their federation, promote, and deliver their product. I will be among the many huddled around the computer to watch my Elephant’s kick some ass, but shouldn’t any soccer fan be afforded the same privilege?

I apologize for the soap box rant in this post, but I a feel strongly about African as a continent, and the collective World’s lack of assistance in all fronts, football included. The next 2 years are a real chance for African to take some serious steps forward through football legitimizing them as a footballing federation but also as a continent on the rise, and in my opinion no amount of help is to little or enough.