By Seth Eyiah, a journalist.
The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday, 13th January, 2023. The host nation, The Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire, will play the opening match against Guinea-Bissau. This is the second time the West African nation is hosting the biennial tournament. It first hosted the tournament in 1984. Incidentally, Côte d’Ivoire has won the championship twice, all at the expense of Ghana’s Black Stars via penalty shoot-out in Senegal in 1992 and Equatorial Guinea in 2015. There are 24 national teams from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), to battle it out to be crowned Kings of the Continent in the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations over the next month.
The Pharaohs of Egypt are the most successful nation in the cup’s history, winning the tournament seven times. They are followed by the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon five times and Ghana’s Black Stars four times. The Super Eagles of Nigeria are three-time winners of the tournament. Twenty national teams are participating in the 34th edition of the AFCON, and they have been divided into six groups with the host nation as expected in Group A with Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau. The senior national football team, the
Black Stars are in Group B along with Egypt, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. They will open their tournament match against Cape Verde, a country that is enjoying a resurgence in African football. Ghana first won the tournament in 1963 and successfully defended it in 1965. It bounced back in 1978 after 13 years to win it again, and it clinched the Libyan edition in 1982. Côte d’Ivoire hosted the 1984 AFCON tournament, and Ghana participated as the defending champions and was based in Bouake, one of the host cities. However, for the first time, the Black Stars could not progress from the group stage as they were eliminated. The disastrous performance of the Black Stars became known as the “Bouake Debacle” in Ghanaian football circles. The participation of the Black Stars in another AFCON tournament hosted by Côte d’Ivoire reminds Ghanaian footballers of the Bouake Debacle. Already, the euphoria that used to engulf the entire country whenever the Black Stars were playing in such tournaments appears to have drastically waned. The reasons may not be far-fetched. It seems Ghanaian football lovers have not totally forgiven the Black Stars for the disgrace and ridicule they subjected Ghanaians to during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Apart from that, the team’s performance since then has been nothing to write home about except losing the 2015 tournament final match to Côte d’Ivoire.
In the past, countries such as Cape Verde and Mozambique were described as minnows in African football and were no match for the likes of the Black Stars. But things have changed. Today, they have become giant killers on the African continent. Therefore, any attempt to underrate them is at one’s own peril. There have been occasions where the Black Stars have risen to the challenge when all hopes were lost. They did it in 1982 by winning the AFCON trophy and playing in the final in Angola against Egypt, though they lost one-nil.
No matter how unhappy we are with the Black Stars, we cannot give up on the team. Let’s not forget our saying that the one who regularly fetches the water also breaks the pot. No matter how angry we are, we cannot throw away the baby with the bathed water. All hope is not lost.
Let’s rally round the national flag and cheer the Black Stars on to victory in Côte d’Ivoire, beginning this Sunday in their first Group B match against Cape Verde.