Izuchukwu OkosiTasks Africans On Self Belief
The Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe has reiterated the commitment of the continent’s football ruling body to have the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations hold as scheduled in Cameroon next month.
The tournament was initially set to be staged in January 2019 but was moved to the summer of the same year with Egypt stepping in to host it when it was expanded from a 16-nation participating fiesta to 24.
The 33rd edition of the AFCON was then moved to January 2022 rather than holding in 2021 due to the effects of the Coronavirus – a situation further compounded by the Omicron variant of the disease.
“We are ready to show the world the best of African football, but also the best of African hospitality, Africans are caring and loving people,” Motsepe however reassured.
“I will be here [in Cameroon] on January 7th, so come January ninth, they must kick-off.
Billionaire businessman Motsepe then called on Africans to have confidence in their own ability rather than succumb to the whims and caprices of detractors.
“It’s also important that we have to believe in our people, we have to stop being the ones that lack confidence in our own people.
“All over the world, there are competitions where there are challenges, and sometimes people get 95%, we have to be more optimistic.
“Sometimes we are over critical of ourselves, if we don’t have confidence in our people, who will?
“I am very optimistic and excited, and I am also very proud of my brothers here. This is the generation where the Africans must believe in Africa. We can host a football competition that’s as good as you can see in Europe or anywhere in the world,” the African football chief concluded.
Motsepe’s insistence on the tournament going ahead comes as several European clubs are reluctant to let their African players travel to Cameroon mainly due to fear of them contracting COVID-19.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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