Howard University
African Students' Association

Few neutral supporters doubt that the Egyptian Pharaohs were the deserving winners of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations - more organised and often playing stylish football.

After the final whistle we were entertained by the sight of goalkeeper Essam al-Hadari and Mohammed Zidan straddling the crossbar waving the Egyptian red, white and black flag.

The Ghanaian drummers came onto the pitch ahead of the medal ceremony and several Egyptian players danced in front of the drums, wearing bright yellow furry hats with Ghana’s flag protruding from them.

An Egyptian fan wearing a fez and strumming his lute joined in the pitch side party as the dejected Cameroonians looked on.

Some Egyptian players attempted to copy the celebratory dance which Ghana’s Michael Essien and friends had copyrighted earlier in the tournament - a hard one to put into words but with both hands jutting forward, it looks a little like a confident emu on the march.

Earlier in the day, I had watched some of Ghana’s finest young home grown talent from Nema - one of Accra’s poorest slum areas.

On dusty, stony pitches at Kawo Kudi (meaning bring money - it used to be a notorious hang out for thieves), there was little excitement about the final after the Black Stars’ defeat to Cameroon on Thursday.

“We are all looking forward to Egypt winning the cup because they play beautiful football - fantastic team and a local coach,” one 16-year-old told me, before asking if I could help him find a place in a football academy.

Another in a Real Madrid shirt added: “Ghana will not support Cameroon because they beat us.”

There were some worrying minutes for the organisers during the first half of the final as the stadium was barely half full for much of the first half.

Were Ghanaians sulking? By half time the touts outside were selling two tickets for the price of one - $2 to watch the Nations Cup final was surely a bargain.

The stadium almost filled up… eventually.

Ghana now has four beautiful new stadiums, which may rarely be filled as the local leagues take them over.

The young talent is certainly here in Ghana and I have been told more than once that the Black Stars would be the continental champions if only the best players were picked.

Success

The local league is hit hard by the phenomenon of the so-called “leg drain” and Ghana’s Black Stars are so scattered they would provide a headache for even the most experienced travel agent.

From this tournament they fly to their clubs in Russia, Spain, England, Holland, Belgium, Greece, Scotland and Norway while just three, for now, stay in Ghana.

In stark contrast, 18 of the 23-man Egyptian squad are returning to play their league football at home.

This Africa Nations Cup has been a success - more goals than ever before at an average of three a game, with plenty of memorable long-range missiles.

And plenty of noise.

In the group stages I watched a game between the Squirrels and the Elephants - not an uneven Walt Disney encounter, but a fierce contest between the teams from tiny Benin and Ivory Coast.

The long, loud plastic horns were out in full force.

Directly in front of my seat was a man whose mouth alternated between cans of beer and a horn for the entire 90 minutes.

As the beer went down, so did his energy levels and by the time Ivory Coast had scored their fourth, the attempts at a musical celebration sounded more like an elephant in distress.

Corporate tickets

The organisation of the tournament has been given a general thumbs-up, although on day one alarm bells rang as the new stadium was unveiled for Ghana’s game against Guinea.

It seemed the man with the lawnmower had gone on holiday as the players struggled in the long grass, hoping there were no hidden snakes lurking off-side.

As is the trend in football across the continent, corporate ticket allocations took up a sizeable portion of the seats - in some cases 20% of match tickets went to companies and dignitaries.

For the ticketless there were the Fan Zones - set up with giant screens where the atmosphere often matched the inside of the stadium and when Ghana won and the DJ took over, the party was complete.

Although Ghana’s team was a striker or two short, it was sad their party ended.

At 1855 on Thursday, Ghana went into mourning and we can only imagine the scenes we would have witnessed if the Black Stars had gone all the way.

For the three or four Ghanaians who do not like football, you can come out of your homes now - you are safe… for a while.

You have 850 days until the World Cup but just 109 days until the qualifying games start.

From news.bbc.co.uk

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