Alhaji Righteous De Ambitious: World Cup 2010 Blog: “If A Tree Falls In An Angolan Wood…” plus 1 more

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

World Cup 2010 Blog: “If A Tree Falls In An Angolan Wood…” plus 1 more

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 09:51 AM PST

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Every news story to come from the actual games will likely come second to anything involving Togo, as it should. So easily the second biggest of the CAN’s second day is the thrashing Malawi gave Algeria, proving World Cup participation means nothing. But on the grander scale, the game itself may mean nothing compared to the gate.

Look at the photo above. No, that is not the team shoot days before the game, nor is it a back file photo from yesteryear. The photo was taken today, mere moments before Malawi and Algeria kicked off at the Estadio 11 de Novembro in, as the caption says, “ghostly silence”.

The caption claims the stadium was dotted with a few hundred spectators, while a match report claims it at a solid 1,000. To get a definitive answer, let’s see if you can count in the highlights – shouldn’t take too long:

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At least this gave them an opportunity to flash the lovely seating designs.

This is, as you would expect, something of a mini financial disaster for Angola, who built the stadium in time for the tournament and opened it all of weeks ago. It housed plenty who were treated to a wonderful show Sunday (well, depending on which side they were on), but ticket revenue is supremely important to the tournament organizers whose initial outlay was undoubtedly huge, and they’ll need that turnover from every game, not just a few here and there.

Yet now, watching Burkina Fase and Cote d’Ivoire do battle, the stadium is thoroughly packed to the brim. That match review nailed it on the head, then: the “unpredictability” of this tournament. Was there a reason why that stadium looked at though it was on timeout? Did everyone expect Algeria to win that easily? Are precious moneys being saved for the bigger games – the Angolan games?

Given the games, the off-pitch happenings and everything in between, perhaps there’s a new motto for this tournament: expect the unexpected.

And as we tail off, Didier Drogba has been left scoreless in a nil-nil draw with Burkina Faso, only confirming the theory. Here’s to future champions Mozambique.

Togo’s Request to Return to Angola 2010 Apparently Rejected

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 06:53 AM PST

15518709 The question of whether Togo will play in the Africa Cup of Nations following the fatal attack on their team bus in Cabinda has taken another turn, with the team’s request to re-enter the tournament after a three day mourning period apparently being rejected by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

“We have ordered a three-day [period of] mourning,” said Togolese Sports Minister Christophe Tchao. “The players are leaving with the bodies of their fallen brothers and we have asked the Confederation of African Football to find an arrangement so we can catch up with the competition later.”

According to reports cited in both The Guardian and The Times, CAF has rejected this request, presumably because it wold require rescheduling a few games.

Togo are/were in Group B with Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Ghana, which is due to kick off today. Togo were scheduled to play Ghana at 19:30 local time, but obviously won’t be competing as the team is home and observing a three day national mourning period. Without Togo, Group B will simply go ahead with three teams.

But if Togo are willing to play, then surely CAF should make the effort, pull out the stops, and find a way to let Togo catch up and play their games. Yes, it would take some rescheduling and yes that would be a pain in the arse. But after the events of the past few days, rescheduling should be the least of everyone’s worries.

Update: Breaking news as I type this post, the Prime Minister of Togo Gilbert Huongbo is now saying that Togo do not want to return to the tournament. He’s also pretty scathing about the way CAF has handled the whole thing.

“We will have hoped that one can have serene discussion with the host country, with the Confederation, to assess what has happened, assess what one has to do. We received no co-operation from the Confederation in terms of any kind of assessment.
“Our analysis is that they want it [the shooting] to be seen as a non-event and the show must go on as planned; there mustn’t be an official change and Togo is causing problems to the festival.”

All of which leaves me feeling very conflicted. In many ways I’d like to try and get past the shooting and just enjoy the tournament. But it feels unfair to Togo to just brush aside what happened, which – if Gilbert Huongbo is right – is what CAF wants us to do.