Eric Odanga
16 February 2002
opinion
For the past five editions of the African Nations Cup, not a single country from the group that makes up the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (Cecafa) has featured in the Nations Cup finals.
As this region's soccer fans were closely monitoring the fortunes of Cameroon and Senegal in Mali, soccer federations were pondering what went wrong along the way.
Our miserable record on the continent can be blamed on poor planning and lack of accountability coupled with financial and administrative indiscipline.
Kenya last qualified for the finals in 1992 while Tanzania made their only appearance way back in 1980.
The nearest any East African country has come close to winning the tournament was in 1978 when Uganda was beaten in the final by Ghana.
Kenya's case is that of misplaced priorities. There is no proper youth programme in place even after Fifa released funds for the purpose.
It is well known that before Fifa started disbursing funds, Kenya was able to develop young players through a partnership with the Germany. The result? Kenya's appearance at the African Nations Cup three times.
The initiative has long since died and feeble attempts to resurrect it have hit a hard rock.
Kenya's coach Reinhard Fabisch presented the Kenya Football Federation with a detailed five-year programme which should stir up the football scene. He suggested that teams participating in the Premier League should have youth sides to ensure a steady flow to the senior level.
Teams' cash woes
The drawback, however, is that Premier League teams have a heavy financial burden. Most clubs barely manage to scrape through the season and asking them to sustain a youth side is out of question, especially when paying their current unit their allowances, salaries and bonus is such a big problem.
Kenya's scenario is repeated in the three East African countries and the entire Cecafa region. Only war-ravaged Sudan, Eritrea, Rwanda and Ethiopia seem to have put their junior houses in order.
The failure by Uganda and Kenya to qualify for the finals was a big blow to East Africa. Football officials are quick to look for a scapegoat whenever the national team fails. The technical bench is most often shown the door.
This is what happened when Uganda were locked out of the finals.
Harrison Okagbue, a Nigerian who was at the helm, although sent to Uganda by the Nigeria government under a co-operation agreement, was sacked.
Okagbue was briefly deployed to the National Sports Council to do what he was meant to, developing a youth programme in sports in Uganda.
Guentar Zittel, the head of Fufa development committee for the Uganda under-20 team, has suggested that the only way forward for Uganda was for all the 15 teams in the Premier League to have under-14 teams by 2002 season.
Poorly organised leagues
Already, Uganda have $6 million (Sh468 million) coming from Fifa for the establishing of football academies. With this money, Uganda expects to build 12 pitches and a good foundation for the youth programme.
One has to look closely at the absence of a pyramidal structure in the region to conclude why the countries have not been able to make an impact.
The league at the club level is not well organised. It at this level that national team players are eventually picked from.
Yet, many clubs are struggling to make ends meet. Non-institutional clubs depend on patronage where rich individuals virtually pay for players' upkeep and in the process dictate how the club should be run.
Personal enrichment is another big obstacle. The shady character of football managers, who do not think twice before dipping their hands in the till to line their pockets with revenue meant to go to players and the technical bench is rampant.
But, the underlying factor is the rapidity by which coaches are hired and fired. The employers have no respect for contracts and professionalism. "They don't know patience, there has to be immediate success."
Farrah Ado, the Cecafa president, does not see East Africa making a joint bid for hosting the tournament. "I do not see East Africa jointly hosting ACN because to do that, you have to build four stadiums of 20,000 to 25,000 capacity. The telecommunication network, hotels and other amenities have to measure up to very high standards.
Within this region, there are some very good hotels, but the stadiums are not there. Kenya has Kasarani and Nyayo only and would meed to put up two more big stadiums. Is the government willing to invest in this direction?
Mali spent a staggering £100 million (Sh11 billion) for the Nations Cup tournament with the opening ceremony alone costing £1 million (Sh111 million).
This colossal sum to host the most prestigious tournament in Africa came against a backdrop of non-payment of salaries to civil servants.
From the onset, there was a strong message that Africans have to stop relying on foreign aid and instead look for funds from within.
This is what Mali did. South Africa chipped in heavily with a cash donation to Mali of £1 million. Besides, they gave 15 buses, 36 vans and an aeroplane. Algeria also gave one aeroplane while Morocco had a good input in rural electrification.
One big plus for the tournament is the overwhelming support it received from within Africa. "There is nobody who is going to do this for us. It upt to the Africans to stand up and be counted for such a worthy cause," a journalist argued.
But even as the Africans are doing it for themselves, the contracts for TV rights was not awarded to an African country. This is an area that the continent needs to work on, for all the megabucks, as Europe discovered long ago, are found in television rights.
Players have caught themselves in a vicious country and club circle. Such is the commitment by players to their clubs that some bluntly refuse the national call.
However, a few patriotic ones like Nigeria's Nwanko Kanu and Celestine Babayaro, who play for English Premier league sides Arsenal and Chelsea, deserve a big pat on the back. They put their feet down and decided to answer to national duty.
For the Cecafa region to make a make a mark on the continental scene, all the countries have to begin building their base from the grassroots.
The solution lies in a long term programme to nurture players at each age level. Such players should be exposed at every level with the Football Associations budgeting for their upkeep rather than concentrate on the senior teams.
Somalia cannot do it! It will be difficult for Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Maybe Sudan would try, but who wants to go to Sudan with all the problems they have? For Tanzania and Uganda, an emphatic no would do.
Kenya coach, Reinhard Fabisch does not agree. "There are a number of views which I don't share with Farah Addo. Instead of issuing such statements, he should get his act together and find out how he can help these African countries to improve their situation and improve their logistics and not just say Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania cannot organise the Africa Nations Cup finals. In his capacity as the Cecafa boss, he should have more to contribute than just criticise these countries."
The newly-elected Football Association of Tanzania under the chairmanship of Muhiddin Ndolanga promise to revolutionise the way soccer has been managed. Late last year, they named a three-man panel to oversee the national team preparations.
Barely three months later, only Mshindo Msola remains after the then head coach. Syllersaid Mziray and Charles Boniface Mkwasa were relieved of their duties. A Kenyan, James Siang'a, has been elevated to the post of assistant coach.
The changes may have been inevitable, especially after Taifa Stars failed to make their presence felt at the Senior Challenge Cup in Kigali, Rwanda last December. But it is these frequent changes that afflict the region's soccer.
Tito Mwavulanda, who was in charge of Tanzania's Young Africans when they qualified for the group stage of the Champions League in 1998, says the real problem with Tanzania soccer is not coaches but rather a system that needs to be overhauled.
He argues that Tanzania lacks quality facilities and long term development plans focusing on developing budding players. Their poorly organised league is also having a negative impact on the Tanzanian game.
The Minister for Labour, Youth Development and Sports, Juma Kapuya, says the solution for Tanzania soccer was for clubs to hire foreign coaches.
Even on the Islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, which provide token players for the Tanzania's national team Taifa Stars, have been embroiled in politics at the expense of the sport.
The solution is a viable long term programme to nurture players at each level. Such players should be exposed at every level with the Football Associations budgeting for their upkeep rather than concentrate on the senior teams.(ACONS)
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