Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
There have been two amazing stories coming this week from the African Cup of Nations 2012 qualifiers.
The most amazing has to be the qualification of Libya, despite the turmoil affecting the country and its players. Featuring in new strip and playing under a new flag, players have been forced to play their home games thousands of miles away from home in Mali and Egypt and have lost players to fighting on the front line.
They will be joined for the first time by Niger, Botswana and Equatorial Guinea as the face of African football changes.
Contrast their fortunes with that of the Bafana Bafana nation, South Africa. Officials, players and the media all believed that a draw in their final game against Sierra Leone would be sufficient to see them qualify for the finals. With the score at 0-0 the coach made several defensive substitutions, replacing forwards with midfielders. On the final whistle the players and crowd erupted with delight.
For days the media and fans at home celebrated – only to find that, with three teams finishing level on nine points, it was the un-fancied Niger who qualified at their expense having a better head-to-head record. Quite a ‘Bafana’ skin to slip up on!
