Charles Nyende
17 October 2008
column
Nairobi — I just love African football. Where else do you get such riveting stories.
Take the case of Kenya. At the last qualifiers (2008), we were thumped twice by minnows Eritrea to sink to an all-time low of 137 in the Fifa world rankings. Then came the 2010 qualifiers, where we took in Francis Kimanzi as a stop gap coach in the first group phase.
Kimanzi, with no prior experience at coaching at the international level, guided Kenya to one of their best runs in recent years.
We are now amongst the top 20 sides in Africa that qualified for the final phase of elimination. We are one step away from going to the World Cup in South Africa and the Nations Cup in Angola.
So who will it be to take us to the promised land? I know I spoke of this last week but I just cannot resist repeating it.
The handlers of football - based on Kimanzi's performance - should now be falling all over themselves to get his signature to lead us forward. Or openly say they do not need him and are hiring, however. Instead we continue with the waiting game. Who, who who?
Not so the football administrators in Senegal, and understandably so. The coach of the Teranga Lions, Lamine Ndiaye, was sacked this week following the teams failure to reach the final phase of qualifiers. It did not matter that Ndiaye had a contract that was due to end at the end of this month.
What a whimper from the Teranga Lions, the home fans were so mad after they drew 1-1 with Gambia in their last group match that they rioted in the streets of Dakar.
Angola, first-time participants at the 2006 World Cup, could not even get to the final phase of qualifiers this time round.
South Africa are going to be the hosts of the 2010 World Cup. Playing in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations would be a good way to rehearse for the big one, right?
But, poor Bafana Bafana; they got eliminated in the qualifiers at the half way stage. How, I ask?
Interestingly, while some of the considered heavyweights in football were mourning for failing to advance, one country was delirious despite getting eliminated.
Gambia finished second in Group Two but missed out on clinching a qualification spot as one of the best runners-up. It mattered not. President Yahya Jammeh declared a public holiday in Gambia to "properly" celebrate.
Apparently, the Gambians, who had been taunted by Senegal, were so euphoric when they drew 1-1 in Dakar, countrywide partying was in order. The avoided defeat to the highly-regarded Senegal in Dakar for the first time since 1962 and knocked them out of the World Cup/Nations Cup in the process.
Ghana was, meanwhile, having crowd problems, a troubling feature in African football.
The Black Star defeated Lesotho 3-0 to top Group Five but the match was marred by a badly overcrowded stadium in Sekondi. Fans forced the main gates open, leading to a dangerous stampede with two unconfirmed deaths.
It was in Ghana seven years ago that 126 fans lost their lives in a riot during a match between local rivals Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko.
The final phase of qualification comes up next year and I can't wait to talk about the next chapter. It promises to be more captivating with World Cup berths, huge reputations and even huger ego's at stake.
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