2023 Africa Cup of Nations: 5 things we learned on Day 30 - Endgame
Endgame? Sounds like a James Bond film where our monotone-faced hero dispatches baddies as he seeks meaning to the nihilism that adorns his state-sponsored psychopathy. On the subject of investment, the Alassane Ouattara Stadium was in fulgent extravaganza mode as a closing ceremony started the party.
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Pyrotechnics
National treasure Alpha Blondy came onto the field and the response was, quite honestly, Pavlovian. They must teach this in schools. Every one rose and started singing and being happy. We found it quite unsettling. Fireworks went off too. Really. We also got several artists performing Coup de Marteau, which has become the unofficial song of the tournament mainly because you can dance and cavort to this one rather than the official one - Akwaba - which is still a lovely tune. Still, the question was with all the fireworks would the final be something of a damp squib?
Final session
Initially, yes. So all credit then to the Cote d'Ivoire team for displaying guts to come from behind and beat Nigeria 2-1 to claim a third continental crownI - the same number as Nigeria. Only Ghana with four, Cameroon with five and Egypt with seven are ahead in the charts. A third title seemed so unlikely a few weeks ago when the Ivorians were on the verge of elimination. And their passage through the knockout stages has been so fraught. Seeminly out in the last-16 and te quarter-final, they have not yielded. Back they have come like zombies - their nickname for this tournament. It makes what makes this victory so filmic.
Official love
Ennobling to see the politicians and self-basting administrators finding their way into the initial celebrations of the players with the trophy. It's not like these guys have been running around for seven matches in the heat. Still, it was good for Patrice Motsepe - the boss of the tournament organisers - that Gianni Infantino was in town for the shindig. Infantino runs world football's governing body Fifa. And the two lads have a few things to discuss. Top of the agenda? The dates for the 2025 Cup of Nations in Morocco. It is supposed to be in June and July of that year - the exact same time as Fifa's new 32-team Club World Cup. A 2025 Cup of Nations in January and February 2026 with the 2025 moniker for marketing purposes? Has such a thing been done before?
And why not throw in a reference to Chic? My feet keep dancing.with all the Coup de Marteau beats going round. Both coaches were rather classy and elegant after the Cup of Nations final at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium. Nigeria boss José Peseiro didn't grumble or gripe about dodgy refereeing. He admitted that Cote d'Ivoire were better. And Emerse Faé, who took over from Jean-Louis Gasset on 24 January, praised the ditched Frenchman for selecting the squad from which Faé could mould a trophy-winning team. It was also a nice touch to allow Max Gradel - the oldest player in the Cote d'Ivoire squad - the honour of being the first player to hoist the 2023 Cup of Nations trophy.
Time out
There is likely to be a national holiday in Cote d'Ivoire following the Cup of Nations victory. We predict this because for the past 30 days, volunteers have been prowling the media tribune in the stadiums around the country making sure that no pictures are taken of the action on the field during the match. Some have been sniffy about photos of the crowds. As the Cote d'Ivoire team celebrated on the field after their 2-1 victory over Nigeria, not a volunteer was to be seen stopping the hordes of journalists in the tribune filming the scenes of delight. The volunteers were probably too busy doing their Coup de Marteau. And we suspect the rest of the nation will be doing likewise throughout the next few days.
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