Cybereagles

Senegal, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon all want September's afcon qualifiers to be postponed so they can play friendlies to prepare for the World cup in the last window before the tournament begins.

CAF is not a forward thinking organization. Do they not want African nations to succeed on the global stage ?

For years they have continued with the old and inefficient world cup qualifying competition that virtually guarantees Africa does not send their best 5 reps and leaves much to chance


I have long ago advocated for CAF to use a system like the Asian confederation where you break the teams down to the final 12 then have 2 groups of 6, with the top 2 in each group qualifying, then have the 2 3rd place teams playoff.

AFC and CAF have roughly the same amount of members, so the system should be implemented. It's all moot now with the 2026 expansion but you would have had groups as such.

Group A

Senegal
Tunisia
Egypt
Ghana
Ivory Coast
DR Congo

Group B

Morocco
Nigeria
Algeria
Cameroon
Mali
Burkina Faso

Not only would CAF send their best teams, but those teams that qualified would be battle tested playing a grueling qualifying campaign as opposed to qualifying by playing minnows like CAR, Liberia etc.

Now CAF must wake up as Conmebol is about to join the UEFA nations league in 2024. These confederations will continue to improve through such competition while we will be left in the dust playing minnows on sub par pitches.

I propose we scrap the AFCON every 2 years and rearrange the international calender to the current needs to give us stronger competition.

Uefa and Conmebol will be cutting down the number of world cup qualifiers to fit all this onto their schedule.

I propose at the very least CAF should create its own nations league so the top teams can have meaningful matches against teams their caliber, and stop all these playing minnow after minnow.

I would go a step further and propose a joint nations league with AFC and Concacaf.

If the Europeans and South Americans are doing it, we should not sit back and just have business as usual. We will be left in the dust mark my words. The time for action is now.

With this UEFA Nations League thing, the European teams will be on a different level at the World Cup. By November they all will have been toughened-up and fixed all their weaknesses, having played all this series of highly competitive matches. A Team from Europe will win the worldcup in Qatar - it will be a cakewalk for them.

Goalgetter wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 5:17 pm With this UEFA Nations League thing, the European teams will be on a different level at the World Cup. By November they all will have been toughened-up and fixed all their weaknesses, having played all this series of highly competitive matches. A Team from Europe will win the worldcup in Qatar - it will be a cakewalk for them.

And yet the African teams will be playing Eswatini, Madagascar, Liberia, Botswana.

How will we improve with such poor quality matches ?

CAF really needs to think out of their box. Football is moving on from the past.

Why play Afcon 2yrs in row anyway? CAF is like Pdp and APC where ideas never grow and the next man up is the insider.

Useless organization

...they can use the afcon qualifiers as friendlies. It will be a serious match for them vs a friendly that will be just that, a friendly.

mcal wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:15 pm ...they can use the afcon qualifiers as friendlies. It will be a serious match for them vs a friendly that will be just that, a friendly.

Cmon now, would we want that for SE if we qualified? DNQ no good oo

EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:27 pm

mcal wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:15 pm ...they can use the afcon qualifiers as friendlies. It will be a serious match for them vs a friendly that will be just that, a friendly.

Cmon now, would we want that for SE if we qualified? DNQ no good oo

...most teams/players don't take friendlies serious.
1994 afcon in Tunisia was a prepping ground for our SE going to USA '94 and doing good, at least.

mcal wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:15 pm ...they can use the afcon qualifiers as friendlies. It will be a serious match for them vs a friendly that will be just that, a friendly.

Yes what an intelligent idea.

Because they will be playing Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia, Madagascar in Qatar

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:33 pm

mcal wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:15 pm ...they can use the afcon qualifiers as friendlies. It will be a serious match for them vs a friendly that will be just that, a friendly.

Yes what an intelligent idea.

Because they will be playing Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia, Madagascar in Qatar

...teams are known to use lowly sides to prep for tournaments, so Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia, Madagascar are no push overs since they are playing for something.

mcal wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:36 pm

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:33 pm

mcal wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:15 pm ...they can use the afcon qualifiers as friendlies. It will be a serious match for them vs a friendly that will be just that, a friendly.

Yes what an intelligent idea.

Because they will be playing Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia, Madagascar in Qatar

...teams are known to use lowly sides to prep for tournaments, so Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia, Madagascar are no push overs since they are playing for something.

African teams who have no or little experience playing teams outside their confederation are not well served playing African minnows to prep for a tournament.

The teams that do that tend to be in stronger confedwrations so are already battle tested.

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:08 pm

Goalgetter wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 5:17 pm With this UEFA Nations League thing, the European teams will be on a different level at the World Cup. By November they all will have been toughened-up and fixed all their weaknesses, having played all this series of highly competitive matches. A Team from Europe will win the worldcup in Qatar - it will be a cakewalk for them.

And yet the African teams will be playing Eswatini, Madagascar, Liberia, Botswana.

How will we improve with such poor quality matches ?

CAF really needs to think out of their box. Football is moving on from the past.

São Tomé and Príncipe say hello

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:33 pm

mcal wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:15 pm ...they can use the afcon qualifiers as friendlies. It will be a serious match for them vs a friendly that will be just that, a friendly.

Yes what an intelligent idea.

Because they will be playing Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia, Madagascar in Qatar

VE

Absolutely. It is an intelligent idea to abandon your flagship because of Workd Cup friendlies. This is precisely how you sell Africa and its competitions for pennies. You think UEFA will sell the Euros for pennies as you suggest here? It makes no sense at all. AFCON is a bona-fide competition and must be respected.

Enugu II wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:38 pm

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:33 pm

mcal wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:15 pm ...they can use the afcon qualifiers as friendlies. It will be a serious match for them vs a friendly that will be just that, a friendly.

Yes what an intelligent idea.

Because they will be playing Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia, Madagascar in Qatar

VE

Absolutely. It is an intelligent idea to abandon your flagship because of Workd Cup friendlies. This is precisely how you sell Africa and its competitions for pennies. You think UEFA will sell the Euros for pennies as you suggest here? It makes no sense at all. AFCON is a bona-fide competition and must be respected.

They don't have to be abandoned but rescheduled.

This is why Africa continues to fail and be left behind. They can never think outside of the box but stubbornly stick to their irrational ways.

No wonder we sent ZERO CAF sides to the 2nd round in 2018.

Keep beating your chest.

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:31 pm

Enugu II wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:38 pm

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:33 pm

mcal wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:15 pm ...they can use the afcon qualifiers as friendlies. It will be a serious match for them vs a friendly that will be just that, a friendly.

Yes what an intelligent idea.

Because they will be playing Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia, Madagascar in Qatar

VE

Absolutely. It is an intelligent idea to abandon your flagship because of Workd Cup friendlies. This is precisely how you sell Africa and its competitions for pennies. You think UEFA will sell the Euros for pennies as you suggest here? It makes no sense at all. AFCON is a bona-fide competition and must be respected.

They don't have to be abandoned but rescheduled.

This is why Africa continues to fail and be left behind. They can never think outside of the box but stubbornly stick to their irrational ways.

No wonder we sent ZERO CAF sides to the 2nd round in 2018.

Keep beating your chest.

In fact, i would state that your position is one that continues to undermine Africa. Africa should relegate its premuer contrsts because of World Cip qualifiers? Thimk about that. I wonder if you are among those who wanted Africa to reschedule AFCON because of European league contests? If you are unable to stand up to everything, people will continually stand up ON YOU. I am not willing and neither should Africa be willing to be a stepping stool for others. It matters.

Reschedule the qualifiers when? have you even inquired about windows andvforthcoming events? What have you suggested and which FIFA windows? You think games can be wily-nily scheduled? There are limited windows for internationals.

Obviously, Nigeria that is not participating in the World Cup was able to play two friendlies within the current schedule but not Africa's reps? Right? In September, there is window but that is not enough, right? Instead the AFCONQ should be sacrificed. Bros, there has to be better analytical thinking here.

Bro Africa will not be respected so long as we continue to send ZERO teams to the WC 2nd round.

CAF should do EVERYTHING necessary to ensure the CAF teams are successful.

Playing African minnows will not serve any of those teams.

You gain respect BY EARNING IT.

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:37 pm Bro Africa will not be respected so long as we continue to send ZERO teams to the WC 2nd round.

CAF should do EVERYTHING necessary to ensure the CAF teams are successful.

Playing African minnows will not serve any of those teams.

You gain respect BY EARNING IT.

I clap for that last sentence. You do not earn respect by servitude. You earn it!!

African teams will not and should not sacrifice their premier competition for international friendlies. Moreover, there are windows for these friendlies as African reams have already demonstrated.

How on earth is preparing for a world cup "servitude" ?

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:55 am How on earth is preparing for a world cup "servitude" ?

Is that not easy figure out with the obvious disrespect for Africa's premier tournament?

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:37 pm Bro Africa will not be respected so long as we continue to send ZERO teams to the WC 2nd round.
CAF should do EVERYTHING necessary to ensure the CAF teams are successful.

Playing African minnows will not serve any of those teams.

You gain respect BY EARNING IT.

Misplaced blame. Here is a clue...

EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 6:12 pm Why play Afcon 2yrs in row anyway? CAF is like Pdp and APC where ideas never grow and the next man up is the insider.

Useless organization

I guess it's more about the mentalities of the teams.

Roger Milla was playing in Reunion Island before he took the
world by storm in 1990 in the few minutes he played. Cameroun
itself wasn't playing marquee friendlies.

Maybe someone can do a research on the friendlies that semi
finalists of a World Cup final played before the tourney. Add to that
friendlies that the African reps also played. How well have friendlies
profited African reps? At times, I feel friendlies can be overrated. Aren't
there other issues that ensure poor African outings at the World Cup?

With the introduction of UNL, it kinda becomes difficult for African
countries to secure European friendlies. At times, I feel anti African
sentiments were involved in the establishment of the tourney. What
CAF may do is to rejig the friendlies to pit African reps with the more
serious oppositions in the AFCONQ as part of preparations.

We can be talking of friendlies but what about the recurring issue of
non-payment of players allowances that have always distracted
African teams? As far back as 1974 WC, it almost distracted the
West German team but they quickly settled it before the WC started.

I find it baffling, that most you have been complaining about these issues for over a decade, yet you still don't seem to understand why teams have friendlies, especially before a major tournament like a World Cup.

Which leads me to wonder ..... Who really needs to smarten up?

vancity eagle wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:37 pm Bro Africa will not be respected so long as we continue to send ZERO teams to the WC 2nd round.

CAF should do EVERYTHING necessary to ensure the CAF teams are successful.

Playing African minnows will not serve any of those teams.

You gain respect BY EARNING IT.

VE, ur problem is that you see things thru the yes of Nigeria, Senegal and co.....

CAF however, needs to look after the big, average and small teams....

The issue is on FIFA and the November WC cos of money...

I dont think that the nations league will help the european teams....These teams looks exhausted already and the the new season has not started even...

Enugu II wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:15 am

I clap for that last sentence. You do not earn respect by servitude. You earn it!!

African teams will not and should not sacrifice their premier competition for international friendlies. Moreover, there are windows for these friendlies as African reams have already demonstrated.

One of my favorite sayings, "he who uses his cooking pot to pack rubbish, others will help him by putting rubbish inside it."

The fallacy of VE argument with regards to using the luxury of an actual competitive game to prepare for the WC over using a meaningless friendly is yet another example of Africans with good intentions unknowingly helping to relegate their own tournaments...

Those countries have a choice to make... either use the competitive game to prepare for the WC or play the game with a makeshift squad of players who are on the periphery of the squad.

The irony of bowing to European (UEFA and FIFA) is that when we used to play the AFCON right before the WC, it gave our teams real game experience in preparation for the WC. When we moved it to accommodate the last WC we lost the little edge we had.