Cup Of Nations: An Opportunity for Unity and Healthy Competition

The Africa Cup of Nations* recently ended with Egypt taking home the big prize, their third consecutive Cup of Nations championship. The tournament, held this year in Angola, is a chance for African soccer teams to come together and compete on a continental level. But the Africa Cup of Nations is more than just a fun soccer tournament. In fact, it has much greater implications for the African continent.


Over the years, sports have proven to be a useful tool in the coming together of a people. From the local high school football team inspiring a community to the Jamaican bobsled team inspiring a nation, sports of all kinds have the ability to create a sense of shared identity and pride among diverse populations. It may seem that the Africa Cup of Nations is only inspiring to the Egyptians , but let’s not forget the 16 other teams who made it to the tournament. Also, with many African nations being notorious for their disorganization, the whole continent should be proud to show the world that they, like any other continent, are perfectly able to orchestrate such a large-scale, and ultimately, successful event.

Another reason sports are beneficial to the African continent is quite similar to the (good) reasons parents enroll their children in little league baseball and recreational league basketball: sports build good life skills. Playing on a sports team teaches kids teamwork, fair play and following rules and directions. It also injects a healthy dose of competiveness into their system, the kind of competiveness that inspires them to push themselves to be better. Although Africans may not necessarily be in search of life skills, there’s no reason to believe that teamwork, fair play, healthy competiveness and gaining respect for rules cannot benefit the continent.

The Cup of Nations also puts Africa on the world stage in a more positive light. Besides the terrorist attack on Togo’s nation team (a very serious and unfortunate occurrence)**, Africa gets to be mentioned in world media without the usual talk of corruption, death and poverty. Although these are very serious issues, it does help to hear something positive and uplifting about Africa every once in a while. It also helps to dispel the idea that Africa, as a whole, is some sort of desolate and god-forsaken place when it is actually rich in culture and life.

Although I speak of Africa the continent, I do realize that Africa is a conglomerate entity of numerous and diverse pieces. I do not mean to ignore that fact, like so many do. I only speak of it in this way because the Africa Cup of Nations, as the name implies, is such a good chance for all around African improvement. Many of the problems you find in Nigeria and Libya you will find in Zimbabwe, Madagascar and the DRC. Creating a continental African identity can lead not only to an improved image in the eyes of the world but also an improved self-image for Africans everywhere.