The Flip Side to Competition: A little is Healthy but too Much Can be TOO MUCH!

It has come to an end but the 2010 Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Cup of Nations came to a close with a triumphant win by Egypt. Sadly the event got off to a very rough and unfortunately tragic start. On January 8 the Hawks from Togo fell under attack by a rebel faction travelling into the northern enclave of Cabinda. The attack ended in death and serious injury. So sad. (come on people really…when is this all going to stop…its heartbreaking). The team subsequently withdrew from the competition. Though difficult, after a while the game came back into focus now with only 15 teams competing. 15 teams. 29 games. (Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Togo (withdrew) Tunisia, and Zambia). The following players were named best for their respective positions:


Goal keeper: Essam El-Hadary (Egypt),

Defenders: Madjid Bougherra (Algeria), Wael Gomaa (Egypt), and Mabiná (Angola) Midfielders: Ahmed Fathy (Egypt), Peter Odemwingie (Nigeria), Alexandre Song (Cameroon), and Ahmed Hassan (Egypt)

Forwards: Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Mohamed Zidan (Egypt), and Flavio (Angola)

Geddo of Egypt was the tournaments’ top scorer with five goals. Egypt also made history, becoming the first team to ever with a consecutive three Nations Cups. So even with this being exciting and all, the day before the final CAF banned Togo for the next two Africa Cup of Nations Tournaments and fined the team $50,000. The CAF made this decision because of the Togolese government’s decision to withdraw their national team even though players decided they wanted to stay (Valk). Maybe it’s just me but aren’t people’s lives are more valuable than a game? There would be no tournament if there were no players. Was it not in the best interest of the players to be removed from an endangering situation even if the attack wasn’t actually targeted at them? People died. The team was most likely traumatized and distressed. We really have to do better; and I say we because we cannot remove ourselves from the human condition no matter how significant or trivial the problem is.



“Nothing can detract from Egypt's magnificent performance - but in the end Angola 2010 will be remembered for more than just football. (Kenyon)”