Africa’s heavyweights will not be missed

There has been concern in some quarters in the build-up to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations regarding the potential dearth of top-class football on show. The tournament, hosted jointly by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, kicks off on Saturday 21 January without five of the continent’s renowned ‘big guns’; Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa have all failed to qualify. If you believe FIFA, only four of Africa’s top-ten teams will be present in this Cup of Nations.

None of this, though, should dampen our enthusiasm. Côte d’Ivoire’s golden generation have yet to fulfil their potential; four-time Cup of Nations winners Ghana have never been in better shape to add to their tally – thirty years since their last triumph. The breach offers the supporting cast of recent years – Tunisia, Morocco or Senegal – a chance to establish themselves more centrally. The latter, particularly, enjoyed a free-scoring qualifying campaign that hints at a possible return to their form of ten years ago, when the Lions of Teranga were Cup of Nations runners-up and World Cup quarter-finalists.

We must also see the same opportunity lower down the order. There is much intrigue around Botswana, who will be making their maiden Cup of Nations appearance, after they impressed in qualifying. Much the same can also be said of fellow debutants Niger. What’s more, with the bigger teams absent there is an opportunity for any of the perpetual plodders to finally come good and make some history. Expect the likes of Mali, Guinea, Zambia and Burkina Faso to pick up speed as the competition wears on and the path to glory opens up.

Looking at the groups, Senegal have had as kind a draw as they could have hoped for, drawing Equatorial Guinea, Libya and Zambia in Group A. In Group B – with all due respect to Sudan, Burkina Faso and Angola – if the current Côte d’Ivoire side can’t make the quarter-finals now, then they never will again. Group C is much more tricky, throwing together two potentially fired-up underdogs, in Gabon and Niger, with the more fancied Morocco and Tunisia, both of whom are quite capable of underwhelming. It is difficult to see past Ghana in Group D, but there could be an almighty scrap between Botswana, Mali and Guinea for that other qualifying spot.

Of course those missing top teams bring something extra to the table, but that strong generation of Egyptian players is on its last legs now; Nigeria have, for the most part, been less than the sum of their parts for years now; and South Africa, seasoned sporting nation though they may be, played for a draw in their final qualification game in the misguided belief that they were doing enough to qualify. Would the Cup of Nations really be enriched by the presence of a team like that? South Africa didn’t even qualify in 2010, the year they held the World Cup, so this can hardly be deemed a shock.

What we do have in 2012 is potential for any nation to step up and grab the Cup with both hands, and the competitive edge will be that much greater for the knowledge that there might not be another opportunity like this for some time to come.