An African football journalist’s view of AFCON and the state of football there

Eurosport’s Ibrahim Mustapha spoke exclusively to Ruik about the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, as well as the current state of African football. What does he think Africa is doing right, and what is it doing wrong?

Who do you see as the biggest favourites for the tournament?

Senegal probably have the strongest team, entering the tournament with players like Mané, Gueye, Mendy and Koulibaly. Many people consider them the favourites. Algeria will also be strong, as the defending African Cup of Nations (AFCON) triumphant team. They also hold a very long unbeaten streak. Besides these two teams, Egypt, Ivory Coast and host Cameroon have a chance.

Jürgen Klopp recently described the AFCON as a small tournament. What do you think about it?

Jürgen Klopp’s comments were ill-advised and seemed disrespectful, but he later explained that he meant it ironically. In the end, complaining about the date didn’t help him, nor did it help other European coaches and teams. In any case, such comments do nothing to help the reputation of African football.

Do you think the standard of African football is rising?

Yes, it certainly is. But it could be even better. Africa can produce the best players in the world (Salah, Mané, Mahrez and before that Yaya Touré and Drogba for example), you can see for yourself how many African players play in Europe’s top teams. But unfortunately the quality of our coaches is still lagging behind, which is why most teams have to rely on European coaches.

How do you see the chances of African teams at the World Cup in Qatar?

The African team is still not ready to win the World Cup, but the increasing quality of the teams should mean that African teams will be able to reach the quarter-finals, maybe even higher. I think the failure of the African team at the World Cup is currently more due to internal problems than the poor quality of the players.

What do you think is the biggest problem in African football?

Unfortunately, it is money. Associations often make false promises to players about what salary they will get, this then leads to arguments when everyone should be concentrating on football. There are also problems with organisation and infrastructure (including coaching). With more investment these areas could be improved.

What do you think of Mohamed Salah’s current form? How high do you rank him?

As I said, he is one of the best players in the world. His form in recent years is scary! In a world where Ronaldo and Messi didn’t exist, he would have won at least one Ballon d’Or by now.

The African Cup of Nations has been postponed by a year because of the coronavirus, there has even been speculation that it will be cancelled altogether. What is the current situation? Are there any problems with the coronavirus?

Yes, unfortunately, quite a number of teams and players have been affected before their opening matches. Hopefully there will be a minimum of positive cases in the coming weeks, which hopefully won’t affect the tournament too much.

Source:: Ibrahim Mustapha – Twitter