On FSC Super Sunday, Max Bretos came all fired up taking the CAF to task for organizing the ACN at a bloody inconvenient time with all the important European league matches during this period. The solution should be to push the two yearly tournament to the summer. European leagues with many African players in their clubs have also asked for a change. Fair enough.
The CAF’s contention is that the unbearably hot African summer will be hard to take by the players.
Bretos dismisses it as a reason. The heat might be a factor since he has never experienced an African summer. But here is where Bretos goes for the anal probe. The CAF’s reasoning is suspect. He bases his observation on the exorbitant broadcasting fees that the CAF is charging for the ACN matches due to which some African countries have refused to air them. It is riddled with nepotism and inefficiency. There are problems with ticketing and transportation. It is time to listen to the European grown ups. The CAF should swallow their pride and move the ACN up.
Look, Max, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. The CAF is making a good point when it says that the weather is unbearably hot. They live in Africa and they should know better. The first ACN was held in 1963 much before the EPL was organized and before the present exodus of African players took place to the European leagues. So it is not pride that keeps them from changing but a genuine problem. Much of Northern and Equatorial Africa bakes in the sun at 115 to 120F in the summer. As this article shows, players found it hard to play in the heat with temperatures reaching the mid 90s at the 1996 ACN organized in SA, a relatively cooler country.
Here is a thought for you, Max. These players play despite the ACN not being shown in 200 countries because the tournament is a showcase for nascent African talent and there is enormous pride in winning the cup, as badly organized as it maybe. The CAF is doing its bit by ensuring the players show up to play in good health. Because in the African summer, dehydration and cramps take their toll. A sunstroke in 115F heat becomes a possibility.
Of course, when that happens, then Bretos will be blaming the CAF for being bone headed AND inefficient and corrupt. The more realistic club managers already have contingency plans to deal with the cyclical loss of African players which makes much more sense to me.