The biennial Africa Soccer Cup of Nations comes to life on January 10. 2010 with great promises. It would be a showcase for most of the football talents of the African continent, from those who ply their trades in the English Premiership, the Spanish League, the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A, the Brazilian league, the Asian leagues, to those from the African leagues. .
Traditional national teams such as Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Congo, Tunisia, Algeria, Mali and Zambia would be there to entertain the many supporters of the African football party. Favorite countries to lift the trophy at the end of the tournament include Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Algeria, defending champions Egypt and host nation Angola, which is an emerging soccer giant on the African continent.
The likes of Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Salomon Kalou, Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure, Eboue, Peter Osaze Odiwingie, Vincent Enyama, Samuel Eto’o, Zidane, Mohammed Abu Tarika, Taiye Taiwo, Obafemi Martins, Dominic Adiyiah , Opoku Agyemang, etc. all would be paraded by their respective countries. Millions of football fans around the world would be glued to their televisions to feed their eyes with artistic football display during the championship period of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Samuel Eto’o would undoubtedly be the center of attraction: being the highest goalscorer of all time in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, much would be expected of him. Would he return to deliver himself this time? Or would someone else match or break his record? That would be an uphill task for any player right now. Another player who would also draw a lot of attention is Chelsea Fc’s Didier Drogba, who is currently Barclays’ top scorer in the English Premiership. With Drogba scoring close to 20 goals in the first half of the league, many soccer fans would expect him to do very well in Angola.
The question on everyone’s lips is ‘who lifts the trophy at the end’, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Egypt or Angola? The end will tell, as each of the aforementioned countries has the wherewithal to lift this year’s Africa Cup of Nations trophy. As the various teams line up to face each other and entertain their many spectators, they must remember to approach each game in the spirit of ‘fair play’, as the game of football is built on the foundation of fostering unity and love between competing nations. , and it must not be a theater of war or a matter of life and death. As the tournament finally comes to a close on January 31st. 2010, one thing is certain: there would be new African champions, but who would it be? Until then.