ACoN

Newest blog – African Cup of Nations, have read lads at http://the-beautiful-game.org/

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Although the competition occurred nearly 3 months ago, it has had a significant bearing on the outcome of teams in England’s top division. Taking my club for example, Newcastle had to do without the likes of Cheik Tiote, Demba Ba, and Papiss Cisse to for a period of games. Three of our most valuable assets taken away for the best part of a month, despite a hectic domestic campaign where games were coming thick and fast, could have been extremely detrimental to our season, albeit our form didn’t suffer too much.

As much as I respect a competition to decide the top dog on the continent, much like as we have the European Championships. I do however have an issue, as I’m sure many fans with their club-hats on would do.

Firstly, the competition is scheduled in the winter of European clubs. This causes havoc for the domestic calendar, with many top players missing important league and cup games. I’m not sure what the reasoning behind the timing of such an event, but why can they not just push the tournament into the summer like the rest of the world. Little do the organisers care that the ACoN has a large bearing on the outcome of many clubs season, simply due to the timing of the competition. For example, our top scorer Demba Ba has looked a shadow of the player pre-tournament, albeit playing in a more reserved position.

Secondly, the frequency of the tournament is extremely frustrating. It apparently is scheduled to occur every other year. This is twice the frequency of every other continental competition such as the European Championships, Copa America etc. And now the news is that the ACoN will occur next year too. Reasoning? To not clash in the same year as the Euro’s so it will not be occurring in ‘odd years’. One would think that the winter and summer time don’t usually clash in terms of a footballing calendar, especially when the players involved aren’t involved in both tournaments.

I can’t think of many justifications for the scheduling of the competition, with the only factors I can think of is the financial implications and the weather. There may be a possibility that the tournament would receive less coverage, and thus less finance from television and a worldwide audience had it clashed with other major tournaments. With regards to the weather, I’m no geographer but one could only imagine that the soaring heat in the African summers would potentially be dangerous to the players’ welfare – fair enough. But surely a continent of such magnitude would have a variation in the temperatures. A little research into the average climate of Gabon (co-host of ACoN 2012), is that it is statically warmer in the winter than the summer.

Don’t get me wrong, the African Cup of Nations is a continental tournament withholding the same prestige and honours as the European Championships, showcasing some of the world’s best players – it is a spectacle for all. I avidly keep check of matches in the competition, paying particular attention to the games my boys are involved in.

As much as I can understand a nation’s pride in being the best in the continent – it can wait until the summer surely?

Comments welcome.

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