(REVIEW)… What CAF should learn from EURO 2020

On Sunday, July 11, the world will be watching the final game of the 2020 European Championship, between the Azzuris of Italy and the Three Lions of England.

While the Italians aim to take the trophy back to Rome with them, the English national team will want to take home a major title since the World cup trophy in 1966.

Both teams deserve to be in the final, neither have lost en route to the final. However, someone’s heart will be broken on Sunday. It’s part of the game, millions of hearts will unfortunately be shattered as their counterparts will be ecstatic throughout the night and earn the bragging rights to be called champions of Europe for at least four years.

As the drama unravels in Europe, Africans will experience vicarious happiness, because African players were present at the tournament. As a matter of fact, Bukola Saka, the Nigerian-born Arsenal playmaker will be at the finals for England, looking to etch his name amongst the European greats.

This is not about Nigerian or African-born players doing exploits in Europe, it’s about the leaders of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) creating a profound legacy for African football.

This publication is aimed at admonishing the leaders of CAF to take African football back to the zenith where it belongs.

It is quintessential for CAF to have taken note of one or two things from the ongoing European tournament.

While the African Cup of Nations has been rescheduled for 2022 following the Coronavirus pandemic, the governing body has the opportunity to design and establish an exciting and memorable tournament for Africans.

Notably, CAF should understand that football is more than just a game; it is not just an avenue to entertain the viewers, but to also lecture the audience across the globe about the culture and history of Africa, the aesthetics of the black race.

The European championship revealed that football is more than a 90 minutes game, it’s about the culture of the nations representing the continent. Each moment at the 2020 Euro championship had a story of its own.

There were numerous narratives that hooked the viewers to their television screens; interesting facts that made grown men scroll through their cellphones to do research and argue with their fellow staunch soccer lovers about the beautiful game.

It is not about the players, it is primarily about the emotional investment in the 11-aside contest.

At the 2020 European championship, we watched Cristiano Ronaldo’s golden record as the leading goalscorer in Europe; How Christian Eriksson’s collapse inspired Denmark to a semi-final finish, England on the verge of bringing a major title back home in 55 years as the Italians simply aim to take the title back to the ancient city, Rome.

This tournament also had some subtle socio-political themes such as issues of racism (Black Lives Matter) gender inequality and sexuality orientation and discrimination (The LGBTQ community), etc.

The game goes beyond events that unravel on the pitch.

READ ALSO: Euro 2020: England charged by UEFA after crowd disturbances, others during Denmark clash

Football has gone beyond kicking a ball; it’s about branding, the cultural perception and most importantly, the emotional investment of the viewers.

It’s more than battling for money or even the trophy itself. This is long term thinking and extensive storytelling; it’s more than the 90 minutes on the screen, it’s about teaching the 10-year-old boy in South Sudan to keep fighting for himself until he wins; the game is about urging the little girl from Eswatini who loves football to fight for the game that she desires regardless of her gender.

Storytelling in football is about informing that young lady that she can become the next Meghan Rapinoe or Sam Karr, Aisha Oshoala, etc. The African governing body should understand that the game is about giving hope and inspiration to the destitute; serving as an amplifier to the voiceless, and most importantly making stars out of obscurity.

It is time for the African football governing body to take sincere interest in the competition, AFCON, they should invest in the production, documentation and composition of the competition for topnotch quality.

At the 2019 African Cup of Nation tournament, the champions went home with the sum of $4.5 million, that is a huge sum of money, hence, the sector has enough funds to create something sublime for its viewers.

Lastly, the leaders of CAF should also minimise how they siphon money, corruption has continued to disrupt the progress of excellence in the continent, infuriating to say the least.

It is only ideal for the leaders to reinvest in grassroots football; it hurts when top talents fizzle out without living up to their full potential due to the mediocrity of African leaders in all ramifications.

There has to be a way to fix the broken system in this part of the world. Only Africans can heal and cure Africa of its penuriousness, while the Europeans have found a way to discuss issues affecting their society, Africans should come up with methodologies to curb socio-political issues.

In the end, the upcoming African Cup of Nations should have a narrative that will intrigue the people; a tournament where people will be invested primarily because they know they will not be underwhelmed by poor camera quality and mediocre commentary of the competition, instead, there should get narratives that discuss rising stars, history makers and pacesetters.

Only Africans can tell African stories, it is time to arise to make AFCON worthwhile.

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