It’s that time again on Sunday. Then the Africa Cup of Nations starts in Cameroon. When I started coaching the ‘Indomitable Lions’ with Patrick Kluivert in 2018, Cameroon was already automatically qualified as the host country of the 2019 African Championship. We wanted to realize the dream of the Cameroonians there. But due to, among other things, hotels and training complexes not being ready on time and security concerns in Cameroon, Egypt took over the event, albeit five months later.
That move was also disappointing for us, because we had co-signed our contract in the knowledge that we would experience a final tournament as coaches of the host country. We left after the Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon immediately got a new opportunity to organize the biggest sporting event on the continent.
Since the absolute top players participate in the tournament that starts with Cameroon-Burkina Faso, you would expect that there would be much more international interest beforehand. That attention is very disappointing. In particular, the fact that this championship is usually played in January and February makes it difficult to get more media and sponsors interested in it.
For the time being, FIFA has no intention of having the final tournaments of all continents played in June and July. If it did, footballers worldwide would have an equal opportunity to join top clubs, especially in European countries. The fact that clubs lose players every two years at an important stage of the competition may factor into their decision to sign (as few) Africans as possible; very disruptive and not worth the investment, is sometimes the conclusion in club boardrooms.
It is my belief that more African footballers would sign for top clubs if the Africa Cup of Nations is moved to June-July. The whole African football would be better for it. Just like it happened in South America, especially Argentina and Brazil, where the Copa America is played in June-July. Equal opportunities can only exist if there is a level playing field, hence my plea to organize all final tournaments on the different continents in those months.
I do not know what forces are causing the African Championship to still be held at the beginning of the calendar year, but it is clear that it hinders the development of African football. If the right conditions are created, the media and therefore automatically the sponsors will pay more attention – airtime, articles and money – to the African Championship, and the African football associations can from now on make better planning towards the World Cup. The latter especially in the financial field; now the major African football countries play two major championships in one year from the same annual budget.
For us as viewers, a more logically planned African Championship would have the advantage of allowing us to enjoy even more of the pure football talent that this continent has to offer. But primarily for its own development, Africa deserves a better playing field.
Clarence Seedorf is a former football player. Now he is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and guest speaker.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC Handelsblad on 8 January 2022
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of January 8, 2022
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