WHEN the 35th edition African Cup of Nations (AFCON) comes to a close on Sunday at the 69,500 capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, capital of Morocco, it will either be Senegal repeating the dose of their AFCON 2021, to be crowned twice winners in the history of the competition, or host Nation, Morocco, will crown their glittering performance in recent past by winning the cup for the second time since 1976, following their prowess at the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they achieved the first Africa Semi-Finalist at the nearly 100th anniversary of the global soccer tournament.
And one significant point soccer connoisseurs will be looking forward to is, which sub region reigns supreme in the AFCON history. Indeed, Senegal and Morocco will settle that.
Coincidentally, both teams share the nickname Lion. So, who roars loudest and fiercely will unfold on Sunday. And very significantly, when two Lions fight, it takes a good judge with high sense of responsibility, and fairness to score the fight.
Until recently, The Teranga Lions of Senegal were not known powerhouse in West African football; unlike Ghana, Nigeria, La Cote d’Iviore, and, so to speak Cameroon (partly in West African) were the powerhouse of African football.
Indeed, among these West African countries Ghana, Nigeria, La Cote D’Iviore, Senegal, Cameroon (partly West Africa) the sub-region have won the AFCON 16 times out of the 34 editions since 1957 when the competition commenced in Egypt. This represents 47.06 per cent of West Africa success at the AFCON.
And without ‘West Africa,’ Cameroon, ‘Substantive’ West Africa has won AFCON 11 times, representing 32.35 per cent success rate at AFCON, at par with their counterparts from the North Africa, Egypt , Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, who among them have also won the AFCON 11 times, representing the same percentage of 32.35 per cent success rate at AFCON.
Clearly, West Africa and their counterpart in the north are the strongest contenders at AFCON, and that rivalry will unfold fiercely on Sunday in Morocco before an estimated crowd of 70,000 to settle the score as to who reigns supreme in football on the African continent.
Both Teranga Lions and the Atlas Lions have very strong squads and either of them is good to win the cup.
The Teranga Lions have been consistent in their performance lately, after likes of El-Hajj Diouf, Pape Cisse, immediate past Coach of the Teranga Lions, Khalilu Fhadiga, Tony Sylva, Henri Camara, who took the world by storm at their maiden World Cup at Japan/ Korea 2002, where they stunned their colonial masters, France, 1-0 at the opening match, courtesy the late Pape Bouba Diouf.
Senegal were beaten by host, Algeria, at the AFCON 2019, and they had a better come back in the subsequent edition in Cameroon to clinch the ultimate. They are now up and strong again in Morocco, daring to beat the host country to win the cup for the second time to bring honours to their country.
Morocco have something under their sleeves, and will prove that on Sunday, after all they are not up to joke and having gone that far in the completion, especially after surviving a crunch penalty shootout against Nigeria at the semi-finals, the ultimate is their goal!
King Mohammed V has invested a lot in infrastructure to get the right to host the tournament single-handedly, so the country will not let the chance slip by because, the benefit of this huge infrastructure to the Atlas Mountains and the people of the Kingdom is to let the cup remain in the kingdom to compensate for the cost of the infrastructure and the years of preparation.
There are perceptions and suspicions that Morocco, as host country, derives favours from officiating. Arguably and to be fair, the FIFA World Cup Qatar ’22 Africa Semi-Finalist, featuring one of the best defenders in the World, Hakimi Achraf, have performed so well to reach this level. Indeed, they are inspired by their outing at FIFA World cup Qatar ’22 and the massive home support not to allow the Golden Fleece slip from home soil.
Indeed, it is going to be fireworks! History beckons either team: Senegal leading West Africa superiority in AFCON success, or Morocco winning the Cup for the first time in 50 years as individual national glory, or boast that the best comes from the Maghreb.
Finals held in even-numbered years 1968–2012; held in odd-numbered years from 2013.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 tournament was held in 2022.
BY ALHAJI SALIFU ABDUL-RAHAMAN
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