Nations Cup merits better showcase
By Don Riddell, CNN World Sport
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Mali's Kanoute has put the club versus country row behind him
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LONDON, England -- You know that you've got problems when most of the publicity generated ahead of a major championship is negative.
But that seems to be the lot of the African Cup of Nations these days. The 2004 tournament in Tunisia has been no different.
Of biggest concern has been the perennial club versus country row. Most football fans in Britain were prepared for the tournament by the squabbling over Tottenham's Freddie Kanoute -- now starring for Mali.
This particular case is complicated because Spurs thought they were buying a Frenchman. But other clubs have been affected by the more straightforward demands of the African nations.
Nigeria, for example, have every right to the services of Bolton star Jay-Jay Okocha and Arsenal's Nwanko Kanu, just as Cameroon have to Mallorca's striker Samuel Eto'o and Chelsea's Geremi.
This particular problem is as a direct result of the progress made by the African nations.
The success of Nigeria, Cameroon and Senegal at recent World Cups has raised the profile of the entire continent, and so now many of their stars play in Europe.
However, the stock of the continent hasn't risen quite so rapidly. Africa has yet to come close to producing a genuine world-beater. Just look at what Brazil have done for South America as a whole.
That might go some way to explaining why there's no money in African football.
This may sound like a sweeping statement, but when you realise that the 2002 winners Cameroon made a $400,000 loss, you'll see what I mean. Imagine the financial fate of the lesser nations who didn't even make it out of their groups.
And as for the organisation, Cameroon had to wait several months for the prize-money of $320,000.
That is a paltry reward for winning such a high profile event. The CAF have sold themselves incredibly cheaply for the last tournament, this one, and the next one in Egypt.
It's understood that CAF are making just $2.5 million in sponsorship from all three tournaments.
It's clear that many things need to change. Obviously the governing body of the sport in Africa needs to sell itself more aggressively, and generate enough money to re-invest in the grassroots of the game.
That may be partly solved by staging the tournament once every four years. After all, it doesn't do the World Cup or the European Championships any harm.
It could also be held in the summer – thus fitting into everyone else's schedules. The tournament would have a better chance of being supported then, and not simply viewed as a worldwide irritation.
On the current cycle this would put the African Cup of Nations into conflict with the European Championships, and they'll never win the broadcasters' dollars in a head to head battle.
Instead they must think about switching from even to uneven years. None of this sounds like rocket science, but if all these things are followed through then African Nations football can be given the showcase it so richly deserves.
Don Riddell presents World Sport on CNN International at 0930 GMT, 1230 GMT, 1430 GMT, and 2130 GMT daily (also 0030 GMT at weekends and daily in Asia.)
