The African Cup of Nations escapes bumps – Liberation

Algeria puts its crown back on the line: the 33rd African Cup of Nations opens on Sunday in Yaoundé (Cameroon). Who can name the next king of the continent? Anybody. The level of the competition increases with each edition and the contenders are numerous – Senegal, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia, etc. The importance is elsewhere. The Africa Cup is like no other. It is played at the heart of the season – a calendar that annoys European clubs who see their players fly thousands of kilometers to walk on (often dented) lawns in scorching heat. Conditions that leave traces.

The powerful have jostled to push back the mass by instrumentalizing the health situation. Africa rocked but resisted. This competition has told the same story for ages. Teams often show up half-prepared or not at all – European clubs (with the complicity of international bodies) release players at the last moment. Some get to know their team-mates a week before kick-off; sometimes they don’t speak the same language. The dialects are as numerous as the sons of immigrants and the naturalized. Everything is mixed around the ball: exile, the return to the land, traditions and destiny. In 2019, for example, Algerian striker Andy Delort became African champion despite never having put a toe in the country. He discovered Algiers on returning from Cairo with the trophy.

Infinite tenderness

It is never trivial to participate in the African Cup. The stars (Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez…) have nothing to fear: they have strong contracts and top ratings. But it’s not the same biscuit for average players in the elite or lower divisions. A return with an injury and it’s a contract renewal that flies away. A substitute who shines in his absence and he is dismissed on his return. Not much room for feelings. The anecdotes are numerous. They are sometimes funny but not always. Long journeys; the Adventures ; negotiations with the federations to receive a bonus or to be reimbursed for plane tickets.

In recent years, we have crossed paths with a few players who have played in the African Cup. They all talk about it with infinite tenderness. Memories galore. Not a single one regrets. They all keep the best in mind. One afternoon, in Brittany, a West African attacker – who was having lunch incognito in a restaurant – told us: “Since I scored two goals in the African Cup, the President of the Republic receives me every time I return to the country and all the mothers consider me their son. My colleagues in the locker room find it hard to believe me, but it’s the truth. The African Cup of Nations is a fairy tale.