In a little over six weeks’ time, the curtain will fall on the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, ushering in the 28th edition of the continent’s showpiece international tournament.
While the event is an undeniably joyous, vibrant celebration of football in the region, it has steadily evolved into a biennial bugbear among club managers in Europe.
The timing of the tournament, which falls in the middle of the European club season, has long been a bone of contention – its scheduling means that players often miss up to six or seven domestic fixtures.
Former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley publicly voiced his dismay at the scheduling of the tournament in 2005, angry at the prospect of having to do without Moroccan defender Talal El Karkouri. He admitted that “African players are now realising it is prohibitive for themselves to come into the Premiership if this [the timing of the tournament] carries on”.
Curbishley’s sentiments echo the feelings of many of his fellow managers, although annoyance at the timing of the tournament seems to have extended to participating players too.
“To compete in the Africa Cup of Nations is catastrophic for a player these days. Coaches no longer want to sign players because of it,” bemoaned Côte d’Ivoire international Kolo Touré.
“I feel it’s going to be more difficult for the Africans in football in the future. African players are the victim of discrimination.”
Although the Manchester City centre-back has since claimed that his comments were misinterpreted, the above statement, as reported by the French press, does seem to raise a valid point.
The upcoming Cup of Nations, which runs from January 21 to February 12, could see as many as 16 players from a total of eight Premier League clubs leave for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea for a period of up to six weeks (the tournament itself lasts for four weeks, but FIFA regulations require players to be released two weeks before the opening day of the competition). This number does not include long-term injury victims, such as Ghana’s Michael Essien and Mali’s Mamady Sidibe, who would almost certainly figure for their countries next month if fitness permitted.
Indeed, several Premier League managers can consider themselves to be luckier than some of their counterparts. The failure of three of Africa’s big guns – Cameroon, Nigeria and last year’s World Cup hosts South Africa – to qualify for January’s event means that the Premier League will not be deprived of the services of up to 13 further players. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will be particularly grateful – had Cameroon and South Africa qualified, he could’ve faced the absences of Benoît Assou-Ekotto, Sébastien Bassong and Steven Pienaar.
Notwithstanding the absence itself and the threat of potential injuries, the pressure cooker environment of international tournaments often leads to physical and emotional damage. Players scarred by contentious decisions and early exits may be adversely affected when the time comes to rejoin their clubs.
With so much at stake, clubs and managers surely can’t be blamed for stringently considering whether or not to sign African players. When signing a player from the continent, clubs surely bear in mind the fact that such an acquisition is likely to entail six weeks’ absence from Premier League every two years – a substantial chunk of domestic football action.
It’s utterly ridiculous that it is every two years, and in the European winter, and even more ridiculous that there’s another one in 2013 too!
Top African players will still be bought by top European teams, so I don’t think they are discriminated against. But the tournament is played too often and should be moved to the European summer like the Euros, Copa Americas, Gold Cups and World Cups are.