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Originally Posted by gualbert
I know Africa is very little about huts and lion hunters and all the clichés.
Yet African teams haven't been very bright.
Except Ghana, that you forgot to mention in your list.
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Africa has a major handicap, poverty and political corruption, which is FIFA thinks is ok if you are in the Americas or Europe, but heaven forbid it happen in Africa. Not only did FIFA ban Ethiopia from competing in the World Cup qualifying matches, Ethiopia was supposed to hold 14 World Cup Exhibition games but FIFA banned those as well because of political corruption issues.. that didn't help any Ethiopians, it only further entrenched the political corruption, and newsflash, I read about political corruption here in the US in the paper everyday, be it at the municipal or federal level, did the US team get banned? Did they cancel exhibition matches in the US?
Several African nations had this problem. If FIFA does not include African nations in the regular games, how can Africans get the practice at World Cup level competition and expectations in order to compete on an even playing field (pun intended). Ethiopia and her neighbors could have been just as pumped as South Africa had they been allowed those exhibition games, and the African teams would have been growing exponentially.
Further, African overall poverty means players are not training in the kind of modern and world class facilities which prepare the teams to compete with the powerhouse and mulitmillion dollar clubs and federations from Europe and the Americas.. As Africa evolved into a more equal playing field their players and teams will begin to stand out give them time.
Contemporary Africa is HIM Haile I's gift to the world, Africa could very well have collapsed after colonialism and there would be nothing, no pieces to pick up.
Big Up the African teams