We all witnessed the 17th edition of the FIFA world cup several months ago where the African continent had its five representatives. The question to be asked now is; can an African team ever win the World Cup? I sincerely think that my guess is as good as yours, and it is in line with the prophecy given by Pele of Brazil and former England coach, Walter Winterbottom. Although their prophecy can no longer come to pass accurately, because no African side could achieve the victory before the turn of the last century, but surely, come this century, an African side will definitely win the world cup.
This now gives rise to the next question, how can they achieve this feat? Winning the world cup doesn't just entail having a good team with talented players, it involves a lot more, such as careful planning, immaculate organization, team harmony, tactical discipline, focus, experience etc. Briefly discussed below are three major areas of concern that must be placed under check as the African sides under take this path to victory.
First and foremost, the teams must have preparation well ahead of time. Not three or six months or even a year is sufficient, as it has been discovered that most teams that do win the world cup have their preparation running into several years. With this observation, the African teams must start the building up process now.
Secondly, the respective Football Associations i.e. FAs, should be up and running. In the past, some countries' FA have indeed been a big source of the problem to their teams success. Problems such as not paying fully or withholding player's bonuses and allowances, not declaring before hand the specific bonuses per match for win, draw or loss, all of which amounts to crises in the camps. And what does this lead to? Valuable time that could be spent relaxing the brains and legs and planning strategies for the next opponent is dissipated on settling one crisis after another. If not the players threatening not to play because of one request not being granted, it will be the coach threatening to quit if his demands were not met. This certainly does not create the night environment for a county planning to win the world cup.
Other problems of the FAs include interfering with team selection, thereby not giving the coach a freehand, disbanding teams especially after major tournaments, hiring and firing of coaches indiscriminately, failing to enforce its own authority and measures to check the excesses of players and above all, a general lack of commitment to the game. All these should be a thing of the past, as the Football Associations should be seen as laying the strategies for the optimum performance of their teams.
Thirdly, the players should act like professionals which they are. By this, we mean that the players should not entangle themselves with vices such as greed, selfishness, indiscipline, jealousy, envy, mutual distrust, and disrespect. Players should not involve themselves in any unnecessary business and learn not to be carried away by success. These behaviors are all unprofessional and therefore unacceptable.
And finally, the technical crew and players should believe in themselves and what they can do. Any form of inferiority complex must be totally eliminated. The African teams should go to the World Cup with a changed mentality, not just going there to make up the numbers, but also aiming for the ultimate prize. With all these placed under serious consideration, including God's favor, otherwise known to many as luck, there will be no stopping an African team come 2006 and beyond.