AFCON 2023: Reflection on Indomitable Lions’ participation
The Indomitable Lions’ buildup to the 2023 African Nations Cup is shaping up as was the case in 2017 when a total of eight first-team players summoned by the then coach Hugo Broos refused to honor the call of the nation for the Gabonese expedition. The coach went ahead to name a squad that was known to very few, a squad no one believed could take the entire continent by storm with their breathtaking football. And the rest we all know. Hugo Broos had called them a group of 23 friends who had rallied to defend the colors of their fatherland with such pride and honor. The 23 friends had put Cameroon above their interest and ego and were ready to fight for the flag with the last drop of their blood.
The continent saw a completely vivacious Cameroonian team that produced a modern football fairytale by vanquishing record seven-times champions Egypt 2-1, and they did so with panache in the final in Libreville. The Indomitable Lions achieved the near impossible thanks to a stunning individual goal from Vincent Aboubakar two minutes from time. The striker who has also been written off by most bookmakers chested the ball down, flicked it over a defender, and buried a volley into the corner of the net. The Stade de l’Amitie went into raptures as the ball hit the net, the Cameroon fans among the 40,000 had begun to think it was not their year and the sudden delight made the noise even more ear-splitting.
How dare you write Cameroon off!! If history is the study of the past, then it could as well be the study of repeated events. Like in 2017, the odds are clearly against the Indomitable Lions. And so, tongues have not stopped wagging and the ink hasn’t ceased flowing, since young midfielder François Regis Mughe, opted to snob the Cameroonian call in preference to his club football with Olympique of Marseille. His decision was the main headline in different national tabloids within the week, and many continue to nurse curiosity as to why such a young talented player who was born, bred, and trained in Cameroon would decide to say no to his national team call-up. While the case of Cameroon is again particular for this edition of the AFCON tournament, the blame must not be laid entirely on players especially those who ply their trades in Europe’s top championships.
For this has been a long-standing battle between national federations and some European clubs over the release of players for international assignments. As we speak, the probability of Cameroon having its star goalkeeper André Onana between the sticks against Guinea lies on a thread. The goalkeeper is expected to be in action for his club side Manchester United, 11 hours before Cameroon’s first game at the 2023 AFCON against Guinea. Yes, it is indeed the club that calls shots on players’ salaries, but it is also true that these players did not just fall from the sky, they were born by a nation, and it is thanks to that nation that they are enjoying the services of these players. Over the years, some major European clubs and their officials have looked down on the African Nations Cup, with some going as far as referring to the competition as a waste of time to their players. While there is no arguing that the cash-fuelled ascent of European club football since the mid-2000s has done many positive things for the African game, it is also true that it has had an abrasive effect on the continent’s soccer. To borrow the words of Ghanaian legend Anthony Baffoué, the AFCON is Africa’s World Cup, and representing one’s country in this tournament remains one of the highest honors for any footballer and the AFCON a holy grail, the lustre of the realm has undoubtedly lost its intensity.
The debate has simmered for a long time over the question of ‘club versus country’ as individuals are forced to consider their commitments and brutally protect the longevity of their careers. Stand-offs between European clubs and African federations over the availability of players for games are commonplace, but the World Football governing body, FIFA, has rules in place to minimize the arguments and fights. The regulations are explicit in stating that clubs are obliged to release any of their registered players to a national representative team if they are called up to a squad for any international assignment. Annexe 1 of the ‘Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players’ lays out 11 principles for managing the issue of national team call-ups. Principle 1.1 states very clearly that:
“Clubs are obliged to release their registered players to the representative teams of the country for which the player is eligible to play on the basis of his nationality if they are called up by the association concerned. Any agreement between a player and a club to the contrary is prohibited”.
But while the rules are there for all to see, read, and apply, some European clubs and even some players themselves seem to be abusing the regulations in force. And this is where Fifa must come in to rescue and protect the beauty of the African Nations Cup. We must therefore not fight the wrong battle, for the major problem here is the calendar. As long as FIFA does not rethink a total and complete overhaul of the global calendar so that it is adapted to the increasingly accelerated schedule, Africans will always have these debates and problems linked to players not accepting national call-ups.
Today, it is everyone who is paying the price; The players, their families, the coaches, the clubs, the national teams, and even the spectators! Imagine the absence at the goalpost of an André Onana in the Indomitable Lions’ first game! A talented François Regis Mughe would also have been an addition to the beauty of the competition. Some have suggested that the AFCON be moved from January to June, but again that option seems to be very impossible; One: because it would clash with other competitions and this means a huge financial loss in terms of sponsorships for example, as well as on the revenue from television rights, not to mention the climate.
(Rene Katche in Yamoussoukrou).
