Many media organs present both online and on traditional media have over some time been
keeping the public awake with news around football championships notably the 2022 FIFA
World Cup, CHAN Algeria 2023 and the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. The following
media have been cited; The Cable, Cameroon Tribune, NPR, Koaci.com, ActuCameroun,
Goal.com just to name but these.
2022 FIFA World Cup review:
“Africa’s World Cup”
The 2022 World Cup is over after 29 days of play, November 20-December 18. Though the
tournament was won by Argentina, Africa’s performance at the competition came as a
surprise to many pundits of football.
For the online media The Cable, the 2022 FIFA World Cup was Africa’s best outing at any
World Cup tournament with the Atlas Lions of Morocco achieving the feat of fourth place,
losing to Croatia, 2-1in a third place play- off, after losing to France in the semi-finals.
“…they may have lost to Croatia but they did make Africa proud and sent a strong message
to the world about the growing maturity of football on the continent.”
NPR media terms Morocco’s performance as “The Atlas Lions roared” as they say
Morocco’s historic run to the semi-finals will forever be part of history as the first national
team from Africa to make it that far.
The Cameroon government newspaper Cameroon Tribune holds that “Africa can do it”.
According to it, the perception of African teams has changed with teams like Morocco,
Senegal, Cameroon and Ghana at the lamplight “ Before the start of the 2022 FIFA World
Cup, many people wondered if an African team can win the world cup. Then, the only best
records were that of Cameroon, Senegal, Ghana and Morocco.”
The Arabian media organ Aljazeera holds that the just ended tournament was an indication of
continent’s growth in global game, with Morocco’s run crowning impressive displays by
African teams.
Homegrown Coaches
Twelve years after South Africa became the first country from the continent to host the
World Cup; it is justified to brand Qatar 2022 as Africa’s World Cup. Following Aljazeera,
the continent posted its best ever performance and for the first time, all five representatives
were led by local managers
The Athletic says Africa “provided passion for football in Qatar” as all of their teams mere
African-coached, which according to it, was the reason for the outstanding performance.
2023 CHAN Algeria
Cameroon Concerned About Security
Algeria will from January 13 to February 4, 2023 host the 7 th edition of the African Nations
Football Championships; CHAN. Cameroon which is one of the 18 qualified countries
inherited the group E. Thousands of Cameroonians are calling for the relocation of the
competition or do not want their team to a participate for security reasons.
The Koaci.com media posted that according to supporters of the indomitable lions, the
security aspect could be detrimental to Cameroonians “…threatened by Algerian fanatics
since the return of the Blida which ended in the defeat of Algerian team and deprived it of the
world cup.”
In his letter of apology addressed to the World, Samuel Eto’o spoke of this “dangerous
climate” which has prevailed since March 29 between Algerians and Cameroonians. The
president of Fecafoot recalled that Cameroon is the subject of unfounded accusations of
cheating and harassment.
Camfoot.com website terms the possible boycott of Cameroon from the CHAN 2023 as
“rumors”. According to it, it is a fact that Algerians do not carry Cameroonians at heart all
because of a football game.
The online blog footmercato.net quickly follows up to say that there have been great tensions
between Algeria and Cameroon due to Cameroon’s defeat of Algeria and other scenes
“…since then, several conflicts have broken out. Several Cameroonian supporters were
attacked by Algerian supporters. FECAFOOT therefore considers that the safety of its team
on site would not be guaranteed and could take the decision not to participate in the
competition “
Defending Champions’ doubtful participation
The double defending champion, Morocco has forfeited the African Nations Championships,
CHAN, inform several sports media.
ActuCameroon declares that the Atlas Lions of Morocco will not take part at the 2023
African Nations Championships in Algeria. »Morocco, the title holder of the CHAN (African
Nations Championship) has decided to forfeit the next edition of the competition which starts
from January 13, 2023 in Algeria. Following the current tensions between the two nations,
the Atlas Lions have decided not to join the country of the Fennecs ».
Algeria officially rejects Morocco’s participation in CHAN 2023 according to HESPRESS
media. The media says that Algeria informed the Confederation of African Football that it
would not concede to Morocco’s demands.
Despite this, Goal.com still believes that Morocco’s participation still « hangs in the balance »
after Algeria reportedly rejected their demands for a direct flight.
SPORTS
2026 FIFA World Cup
Three Countries Hosts Forty-eight
The United States, Mexico and Canada are preparing to host the next World Cup in 2026. It
will be the first time that the event will be held across three countries.
According to The Sporting News, the world football governing body, FIFA confirmed back n
2018 that the 2026 World Cup will be played across North America, with 80 matches spread
across the continent’s three largest nations.
The globalnews.com thinks that FIFA’s decision comes in the “nick of time” as the FIFA
council seems to be facing similar challenges as the International Olympic Council when it
come to finding places to host the events.
The Economic Times reiterates that the World Tournament for the very first time in Canada
in comparison to the United States and Mexico which will be hosting for the second and third
time respectively.
DAZN News though with little confirmation says all the three host countries will be
automatically qualified. “…the tradition and logic dictate that all three co-hosts will receive
automatic qualification to the 2026 World Cup.”
Opportunities Envisaged
France24 sees the hosting of the World Cup in 3 countries as the “perfect opportunity” for
modest countries to be able to invite themselves for world competitions “For Africans, it is a
great opportunity because they have more chances of perfecting their skills”
Eurosport says the number of host cities will double, with 16 stadiums in 2026 against 8 in
Qatar thereby increasing revenue “Revenue will swell accordingly because Fifa, which
derives the vast majority of its resources from the World Cup, has announced that it is
anticipating a record budget of 11 billion dollars.”
Chelsea Kernyuy,J3 ESSTIC
