Presentation of different perspectives to the issue

By Shaban Barani Alpha

The long winding and seemingly unending argument about how European football is gradually killing the game in Africa has again come to the fore, especially in the light of structural changes by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to what used to be the CAF African player of the year.

The changes are on two major fronts in respect of organization of the African Cup of Nations tournament and the award ceremony that follows thereafter.

CAN/CHAN
Having organized the African Cup of Nations (CAN) for about 20 editions and counting, the tournament, meant to be for African players, was gradually turning into a game that was mostly dominated by African players plying their trade elsewhere, hence calls for another tournament for Africans playing within the African continent.

Then came the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) - a biennial tournament – the first edition of which was held a year ago in the Ivory Coast, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) running out as winners against Ghana’s local Black Stars.

Note must however, be taken of the teething challenges that CAF has faced since introducing the tournament, understandably so with the tournament heading for its second edition in Libya later next year. A country like Egypt who have used a predominantly locally based squad to annex the CAN title on seven editions, have refused to partake in the games as well as the very low level of patronage in the first edition.

Yes, it may have been the first edition and the challenges were expected but the reality of issues as have played out is that, the CAN in itself receives the high patronage on the back of the involvement of African players playing in Europe, coupled with the general lack of interest in African Champions League comparative to the European version.

CAF AFRICAN PLAYER AWARD SCHEME
The CAF sine taking over the organization of the African Player of The Year award ceremony from French Football magazine as far back as 1992, has awarded largely only European based players for the top prize in African football.

The situation yet again led to calls by pundits of African football to task CAF to institute an awards system which also gave recognition to Africa-based footballers whose chances, if any, of winning the most coveted trophy, however hard they tried, kept waning with time.

The statistics as they stand from when CAF took over (1992) the organization of the awards, at least till the last edition in 2009 has seen the award going strictly to European based players, a trend that looked to be the case for only God knows till when.

The calls were deepened when Egypt and Al Ahly playmaker, Mohammed Aboutrika, who had a fantastic 2008 football season, perhaps single handedly carrying his country and club to club competition glories, lost the award to Togolese striker, Emmanuel Adebayor, then with Arsenal.

The award, even though voted for by coaches of African national teams, has not been short on controversy post the awards event. A typical case in point being when Samuel Kufuor was denied in favour of Senegalese El Hadji Diuof in the 2001 edition of the event. Then was the infamous Didier Drogba outburst after he had lost out to Samuel Eto’o years back.

Of the 17 times that CAF has handed out the award, it has been to European-based players -the winner closest to Africa on the list was Emmanuel Amunike (1994), who was playing for Portuguese side Sporting CP but later transferred to Egyptian side, Zamalek, during his reign as winner.

Strikingly yet again is the dominance of West African-based players who have won the award 16 out of the 17 times, with the exception to the list being Moroccan ace, Mustapha Hadji who plied his trade at the time of picking the award with Spanish side, Deportivo la Coruna.

With the CAF shortlist for this year, all indications are that another West African is lining up to take up the award with Ghanaian duo, Andre Dede Ayew (Marseille, France) and Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland, England) coming up the Ivorian duo of Yahyah Toure (Manchester City, England) and the current African best, Didier Drogba (Chelsea, England) the fifth contender being three times winner, Samuel Eto’o Fils (Inter Milan, Italy).

BBC AFRICAN PLAYER AWARD
Another African player award scheme that seeks to recognize African player over the last decade has been the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) African Service’s African Player of The Year.

The main difference between the BBC and CAF’s award being that whiles the former is voted for by football fans across the globe, the latter as earlier stated, is voted for by managers of national team managers of all the African countries.

Contrary to the outwardly one-way style that the CAF award has gone, the BBC award has on two occasions gone to players who are not playing outside of the continent, although the Europe based players have somewhat dominated the list. Twice, Egyptian players have risen to the occasion and made the push for the award.

First it was Mohammed Barakat of Al Ahly who picked up the accolade in 2005 before fellow Ahly team mate Moahammed Aboutrika annexed it in the year he (Aboutrika) lost the CAF award to Adebayor, 2008, missing out on the chance to have won a double in the same season.
CLUB vs. COUNTRY ROW
In the midst of African players bagging all the rave review on the continent, even though they play 95% of their season miles away from the soil lurks a small storm which occurs - maybe recurs - every other year when the CAN is ongoing.

The simple reasons are the infiltration of influential African football potential into top European leagues, plus the fact that the European season heats up around January, especially in England. Club managers are usually incensed with losing their African Stars for what has been described as a “critical one and half month” – during which time it is believed teams can gunner as much points based on their strength.

For a European team with nine regulars all leaving for a tournament, the depletion of such a squad is as clear as their results will be when the tournament is over, then comes the argument about players picking up injuries on national assignments.

All of this has culminated in accusations that most players, in order to skip the tournament, have feigned injuries and recovered when their teams are booted out. It has resulted in most African players being tagged as unpatriotic and putting club before country.

The question to be asked though is, why is a country like Egypt be insulated from this “devil and deep blue sea” quagmire? Simple answer; the larger chunk of their men play at home, albeit records have it that European football is very popular in Egypt.

Another question is, why wouldn’t fine talents like Aboutrika and Barakat fancy playing outside of their country? Pretty straight forward answer yet again; the Egyptian system of running football is well carved out, patronized by locals and largely looks to bettering the lives of stakeholders, most especially the players, which is the exact difference that underlines the up and forward match of Egyptian football.

WEST AFRICAN DOMINANCE AND GENETICS
Genetics, as posited by Sports Scientist, Tim Noakes, accounts for the West African dominance in African football as he explained to BBC Sports journalist Piers Edwards. “Such dominance always comes down to genetics and environmental arguments; West Africans are bigger and stronger than the rest of the continent - with the world's best sprinters originating from the area.”
The genetic advantage for East Africans he outlined as follows, "East Africans are of course the distance runners - with a much smaller, lighter frame and the southern and northern Africans largely share that build. But West Africans' physical attributes would mean nothing unless there's also the right environment and sportsmen train hard."
Whereas West African players play in most of the top league across Europe and in the prestigious Champions League/Europa Cup competitions, the number of North, West, and South African players is woefully scanty.
Additionally, aside the genetics, perhaps in an attempt to put credit where it is due, West Africa is replete with football academies through which most players have ended up in Europe. That aside, player managers and agents have virtually deserted other parts of the continent to practise in West Africa.
For the records, no Egyptian has won the African player of the year - at least in the years it has been organized by CAF - and just once in the pre-CAF years when Mohammed Al Khatib of Al Ahly picked up the award as far back as 1983.
Africa is now head-over-heels when European football is mentioned from the North, South, East and West. Amongst the reasons that have precipitated the crave for European football are the local media – regrettably so, and the international media, especially the online factor.
The African legion in the top European leagues, super star players who most Africans and people around the world crave to watch and of course, the poor standard of most African leagues has led to this sad state of affairs and the relative “enslavement of African football” left in the gallows of (African football) interest, destitute and orphaned. The statistics of nations whose players have picked the award since 1993 are as follows; Cameroon (4), Nigeria (4), Ivory Coast (2), Senegal (2), Togo, Mali, Liberia, Morocco and Ghana have all picked it up once.

The 5 BBC award nominees, except Yahya Toure (middle), all make the CAF shortlist.


PAST winners of the BBC Award
2009 - Didier Drogba (Chelsea & Ivory Coast)
2008 - Mohamed Aboutrika (Al Ahly & Egypt)
2007 - Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal & Togo)
2006 - Michael Essien (Chelsea & Ghana)
2005 - Mohamed Barakat (Al Ahly & Egypt)
2004 - Jay Jay Okocha (Bolton & Nigeria)
2003 - Jay Jay Okocha (Bolton & Nigeria)
2002 - El Hadji Diouf (Liverpool & Senegal)
2001 - Sammy Kuffour (Bayern Munich & Ghana)
2000 - Patrick Mboma (Parma & Cameroon)


PAST winners of the CAF Award
1992 Abedi AYEW PELÉ (Ghana)
1993 Rashidi YEKINI (Nigeria)
1994 Emmanuel AMUNIKE (Nigeria)
1995 George WEAH (Liberia)
1996 Nwankwo KANU (Nigeria)
1997 Victor IKPEBA (Nigeria)
1998 Mustapha HADJI (Morocco)
1999 Nwankwo KANU (Nigeria)
2000 Patrick MBOMA (Cameroon)
2001 El-Hadji DIOUF (Senegal)
2002 El Hadji DIOUF (Senegal)
2003 Samuel ETO'O (Cameroon)
2004 Samuel ETO'O (Cameroon)
2005 Samuel ETO'O (Cameroon)
2006 Didier DROGBA (Cote d’Ivoire)
2007 Frédéric KANOUTE (Mali)
2008 Emmanuel ADEBAYOR (Togo)