Still much to be done to get Africa Cup of Nations going

By Peter Auf der Heyde Jan 20, 2012, 15:38 GMT

Libreville, Gabon - The Stade de l'Amitie in the Gabonese capital of Libreville was a hive of activity on Friday.

Huge construction vehicles were pushing sand banks aside, while hundreds of volunteers were busy adding the finishing touches to the stadium, which on Monday will host the first matches of the 28th Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, when the co-hosts take on Niger.

The tournament itself starts two days earlier in Equatorial Guinea, where the home side face Libya in their first-ever match at the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

But while the two venues in Equatorial Guinea - Bata and Malabo - seem well on track to host the showpiece of African football, organizers must be worried about the state of affairs around the newly-erected stadium in Libreville.

The pitch in the stadium, which in November saw Brazil beat Gabon 2-0 in a friendly, seems to be in order, but the surroundings are like a huge construction site, as labourers are working around the clock to finish buildings adjacent to the stadium.

Along the roads leading to the stadium, soldiers are frantically painting walls, while workers are putting plants into the ground to make it look nice.

Gabon's president Ali Bongo, whose government has thrown its weight behind the tournament, on Thursday visited the stadium to see for himself the state of preparations.

The 52-year-old, who took over the oil-rich west central African country from his father Omar, who ruled the country 1967 to his death in 2009, is known to be a football fan and has tried to get his country to embrace the tournament.

Although there is an air of excitement on the streets and vendors do a brisk trade selling the country's green, gold and blue flag, as well as other football paraphernalia, many football fans are worried what will happen if their team is eliminated.

Gabon is ranked 91st in the world, while two of the teams they face in group C of the competition Morocco (61) and Tunisia (59) are ranked much higher.

Victory in their opening match against first-timers Niger is paramount for the team coached by German-Frenchman Gernot Rohr, who won three French championships with Bordeaux.

'I do not know if we are strong enough. Yes, the stadium will be full with our fans, but I am not sure if that is enough. We do not have any big stars in our side and our opponents are very strong.

'If our team goes out, there will not be so much interest in the competition,' said fan Batolis Manga.

The biggest-name in the Gabon side is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is a regular starter for French club AS Saint-Etienne. His father Pierre captained the Panthers in the only time they escaped the group phase in 1996 and his 22-year-old son is keen to emulate him.

But if Gabonese fans are worried, fans of the other host have even more reason to be concerned.

Ranked 151st in the world, Equatorial Guinea are in group A with one of the favourites Senegal, as well as Zambia and surprise finalists Libya.

New coach Gilson Paulo, who only took over a few weeks ago when Frenchman Henri Michel threw in the towel, will have his work cut out for him if he wants to keep his side in the competition beyond the group stages.

The two other group favourites - Ivory Coast and Ghana - are in group B and D respectively.

Ivory Coast take on Sudan in their opening game and then Angola and Burkina Faso, while Ghana's Black Stars face rookies Botswana, as well as Mali and Guinea in their group matches.

The run-up to the tournament has been much quieter than Angola two years ago, when a deadly attack on the Togo team bus left three people dead and caused the team to withdraw and African football officials are hoping that it will stay that way and the tournament makes headlines for footballing reasons only.