24-team AFCON Confirms its Worth......

When CAF announced months ago that the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) would suddenly include 24 instead of 16 teams, many frowned at the move. There were those who immediately predicted a watered down AFCON, an AFCON where the big guns will destroy the minnows, and several unwatchable games. Yet, by the time the 24-team event ended in Egypt, those doom day forecasts have suddenly disappeared under the pit of dystopia from where it had raised its ugly head. The new reality is that so little differentiates the so-called big guns and the imagined minnows of African football. The difference is simply the narrow margin that determines who has opportunity to win the entire thing and those who struggle to get to that point of opportunity.

Why the Gap Has Closed

One thing is clear, the narrowed gap between the supposed big guns and the imagined minnows should have been apparent to those who cared to observe in the recent past. The Confederation's diligent move to establish the CHAN and the increasing migration of players from the imaginary minnows to play professional football in the big leagues of Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Europe had made improvements in several African countries  and increased the psychological readiness, technical, and tactical abilities of players.

The CHAN, introduced in 2009, was designed at inception to increase games played by the imaginary minnows and present them opportunities to win continental laurels. Libya won it in 2014 and remain the only minnow to win the CHAN but Angola, Sudan, and Zimbabwe have all reached the medal sage of the competition. The fact that CAF restricted participation to only home-based players provided advantages to the imagined minnows who are more than likely to have key members of their national teams still playing in their local leagues.

But it isn't just the CHAN. In recent times, imagined minnows have seen several of their players leave their shores to play professionally in places such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and the lower tier leagues in Europe. Experiences playing in those leagues had begun to be demonstrated in results obtained by the imagined minnows in several continental matches, months and years before the 2019 AFCON. Yet, so many had not observed those changes in African football.

The Proof at AFCON 2019

There is no doubt that AFCON 2019, with 24 teams, provided opportunities for the imagined minnows to play at Africa's top competition for national teams. Mauritania, Madagascar, and Burundi made it for the first time in their history. Tanzania returned after almost four decades of absence. However, the imagined minnows had already made inroads to the competition at the expense of the big guns. Guinea Bissau (2017), Niger Republic (2013), Botswana (2012), Malawi (2010), and Mozambique (2010) are among minnows that reached the tournament tournament stage in 2010 and after. At who's expense? Count the 'mighty' Egypt, Cameroon, and Nigeria that missed the tournament stage during that period. With the increase to 24 teams, very few big guns will be missing in the future. But the fact is that even the big names cannot be guaranteed a spot because they have been competitive in recent times. As a matter of fact, the likes of Zambia and Burkina Faso failed to make it to AFCON 2019! Count also the 2019 absence of Togo, Congo Republic, and Gabon that had recently frequented the tournament.

Besides, Mauritania's 1-4 loss to Zambia, Zimbabwe's surprising 0-4 defeat to Congo DR, and Tanzania's 0-3 loss to Algeria and Namibia's 1-4 defeat in the hands of Ivory Coast, most of the games at AFCON 2019 were close. Those big margin losses mirror occurrences, proportionally, in previous AFCONs with either 8 or 16 participating teams. Thus, they are not unusual. Even the likes of Tanzania that lost all its three games at the 2019 AFCON, was competitive in spite of not earning a point.

In Conclusion

The move to 24 teams has demonstrated that several African teams have experienced undeniable growth in their football in the last decade or so. Madagascar, appearing for the first time, defeated giant Nigeria 2-0 and eliminated Morocco on its way to finishing among the last 8 teams in the competition. It was a great run that brought respect for Malagasy football.