Luanda — José Luis Prata, the chairperson of the football club ASA, has blamed the Angolan Football Federation (FAF) for the country's failure in the Africa Cup of Nations held in Morocco due to a lack of better administrative strategy.
According to the former vice-president of the National Teams, the failure to meet the objective of equaling or surpassing the quarterfinals of the previous edition in Côte d'Ivoire should not be attributed to the coaching staff or the players, who are considered victims of the lack of adequate planning.
Speaking to ANGOP, the sport agent defended the adoption of a unifying posture by the governing body of the sport, which would include those who truly understand football.
Prata questioned why prominent figures, who continue to contribute to sport, are excluded from the country's major decisions, unlike in other countries in Africa and on other continents.
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According to Prata, some countries always include prominent figures in decision-making processes, contributing their knowledge and achieving success. In contrast, Angola's Football Federation prefers an exclusionary approach.
"Success is based on solidarity and the collaboration of all sectors of the federation's management, including the National Teams Department, the technical committee, the medical team, and the athletes. All of this, well organized and well-oiled, results in success," he said.
Reflecting on the current state of national football, Luis Prata stated that French coach Patrice Beaumelle should be dismissed for failing to qualify for this year's World Cup, in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, despite not being the main person responsible for the less positive performance in the Africa Cup of Nations, as happened with his predecessor.
Angola has never lacked quality players, the sports manager said, rejecting the federation's narrative that improvement of the domestic competition depends on better results in international competitions.
The manager recalled that during the golden age of Angolan football, when he served as vice president of national teams from 1986 to 1990, the country achieved success thanks to better strategies and a unifying approach.
"We have a team that can beat any African team. I have no doubt, but for that to happen, things need to be done with discipline and organization. There needs to be a high-quality, large-scale collective effort," he reiterated.
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Regarding the next Africa Cup of Nations, which will take place in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya from June 19 to July 18, 2027, he advocated making better use of Angola's exemption from the initial qualifying phase.
According to the official, Angola's exemption is due to its ranking in the CAF and FIFA rankings. This exemption should be used to avoid mistakes such as dismissing and appointing a new coach just two months before the African competition.
He said it was a grave error to dismiss the former Portuguese coach Pedro Gonçalves, who was doing a good job, and to appoint French coach Patrice Beaumelle just before the continental competition began.
It's important to note that Angola will enter the qualifying group stage of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations directly, bypassing the preliminary tournament.
The qualifiers begin with a preliminary tournament involving countries with the lowest CAF and FIFA rankings. There will be home and away matches between March 23 and 31.
The winners of the Djibouti-South Sudan, Chad-Burundi, Somalia-Mauritius, Seychelles-Lesotho, Eritrea-Eswatini, and São Tomé and Príncipe-Ethiopia matches will join the other 42 teams, including Angola, in the main qualifying phase. This phase will take place between September 21 and 30, October 1 and 6, and November 9 and 17.
This will be the last Africa Cup of Nations held every two years with 24 teams before the new format is implemented in 2028, when the continental competition will be held every four years. MC/AMP
