Reuters Soccer Blog

Another Angola collapse and crowds could plummet

African Nations Cup organisers will be bundle of nerves over the next 24 hours, contemplating the fate of host nation in the tournament.

Angola blew a phenomenal four goal lead in Sunday’s opening match against Mali and now look vulnerable to the prospect of early elimination if they fail to beat Malawi on Thursday (1830 GMT).

The 50,000 spectators at the new November 11 Stadium were stunned by the capitulation of their team, seemingly coasting home to the most positive of starts with just over 10 minutes to go before collapsing like a deck of cards and handing Mali an improbable point in a 4-4 draw.

Classic watching for the neutrals but heartbreak for the locals, and real concern for the organisers.

Angola are not given much chance of winning this Nations Cup but it was hoped that they would certainly be competitive, thereby energising a real fervour around the event.

Poor host teams seem plentiful these days. Little is expected of South Africa in six months’ time at the World Cup and both Austria and Switzerland departed Euro 2008 early.

Does Angola attack really endanger the World Cup or just Africa’s image?

The bloody attack on Togo’s team bus in Angola is a huge tragedy for African football and like it or not, has cast a shadow over the World Cup in South Africa in five months time — the biggest sports event ever staged on the continent.

It is highly debatable whether the attack, which killed two members of the Togolese delegation as they arrived for the African Nations Cup and forced the squad’s evacuation on Sunday, really increases the risk to teams and spectators in South Africa.

Without a doubt, however, it has struck a blow against Africa’s concerted efforts to improve its image and reverse decades of gloomy stereotypes painting the entire continent as racked by conflict, disease and despair. Both the Nations Cup, held in a country which only emerged from a 27-year civil war in 2002, and the World Cup were intended to help the process of rehabilitating the continent’s image. 

South African organisers reacted with undisguised irritation to immediate suggestions that the Angolan attack should raise concerns over the globe’s most watched event. Over the weekend, Hull City Manager Phil Brown was quoted as saying the attack threw a question mark over the World Cup and other Premier League coaches were said to have called for their expensive African players to be called  back from Angola. In contrast, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger said the players should stay, suggesting other managers were motivated more by club self interest than a genuine security concern.

Chief World Cup organiser Danny Jordaan described suggestions that the Angolan attack had implications for the global event as “nonsensical”, tartly pointing out that South Africa does not even have a border with Angola. The attack in the enclave of Cabinda took place thousands of kilometres from South Africa, and the reaction in some European countries reinforces a tendency which regularly causes anger and frustration on a continent where many countries are enjoying stability and attracting unprecedented investment. A while back some Kenyan friends of mine established a Facebook group called “Africa is not one country” in reaction to the common failure of Europeans and Americans to distinguish between vastly different African nations with traditions, geographical location and cultures as diverse or more diverse than those in Europe.

Jordaan’s angry reaction to attempts to taint the World Cup with the Angolan attack clearly revealed this irritation and perhaps also anxiety that such suggestions might stick. “To say what happened in Angola impacts on the World Cup in South Africa is the same as suggesting that when a bomb goes off in Spain, it threatens London’s ability to host the next Olympics,” he said. 

Security analysts seem divided over whether the Angolan attack means the World Cup faces an increased risk. Most see the parallels as stretched to say the least–South Africa is a country with a multitude of social problems but at peace since the end of apartheid 15 years ago, with no rebel movements and no record of recent terrorist attacks. Africa’s richest economy, it enjoys impeccable credentials in the Third World and among radical movements because of its unaligned foreign policy and criticism, for example, of the Iraq war. It also has a much more highly developed security apparatus and crime fighting resources than Angola, even if the police are regularly accused of corruption. It boasts of organising at least 150 international events, including rugby and cricket world cups, without problems.

UPDATE: Should the African Nations Cup be called off?

UPDATE:  The death toll has risen to three. The bus driver died on Friday and an assistant coach and press officer died on Saturday. Togo appear to have pulled out. 

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African Nations Cup organisers are adamant that the tournament will go ahead in Angola despite Friday’s ambush of the Togo team bus.

The bus had just entered the Angolan enclave of Cabinda, where separatists have waged a three-decade long war, when it came under heavy gunfire. Players said that the attack lasted for around 20 to 30 minutes.

Local organisers (COCAN) criticised the Togolese for the incident.

“The rules are clear: no team should travel by bus. I don’t know what led them to do this. The incident would not have happened in the city,” said Virgilio Santos, an official with COCAN.

African Nations Cup may be a tough ask for foreign visitors

Hosting major sports events is usually seen as a golden opportunity to showcase the country, improve the infrastructure and attract foreign visitors. Angola, which has spent an estimated $1 billion to stage this month’s African Nations Cup, seems to be an exception.

Rather perversely, the former Portuguese colony appears to be doing little to help foreign visitors get in. From my own experience, Angola has not eased its byzantine visa regulations for would-be Nations Cup visitors. Accredited journalists are among those who have missed out because the promised Letter of Invitation from the organising committee — necessary to get the treasured visa — was either sent too late or went to the embassy in the wrong country.

As for visiting fans, they may as well forget it unless they started planning a long time ago. Normal visa applications can take three months to process, even if the applicant manages to satisfy all criteria (and it’s not always clear what they are). One embassy official in Berne, Switzerland, demanded a swine flu vaccination. When told that previous host nations had been more accommodating, she said proudly:  “But this is Angola.”

Fans from Zambia are lucky, though – they are the only ones of the 15 visiting teams who do not need visas.

But, even if supporters manage to get into the country, where would they stay and how would they get around? Luanda has no taxi service and almost no buses – just notoriously reckless and overcrowded minivans called “candongeiros”.

Overland travel is deemed inadvisable and a worrying number of Angolan airlines feature on the European Union’s safety blacklist. The country has a chronic shortage of hotels, which are booked up months in advance even when the there are no international football tournaments being staged.

The whole scenario will do little to counter the feeling some voiced at the last edition two years ago, that the Nations Cup is run for officials rather than players and fans. Claude LeRoy was coach of host nation Ghana then and the Frenchman (now with Oman) suggested more effort had been put into the seats for visiting dignitaries than the pitch at Accra’s main stadium. “The first thing is not the quality of the armchair in the VIP room but it is the quality of the pitch,” he said.