According
to the Confederation of African Football, the GLO-CAF awards is 'a yearly
ritual instituted to honour athletes and personalities who has excelled in
various departments of the game as well as making meaningful contribution to
its development in the continent'.
It
goes on to say that 'the awards are bestowed on every individual on pure merit
for his or her exemplary contribution towards the development and promotion of
football, on and off the pitch within the continent' (Link).
For
the 2012 Awards, CAF and GLO have produced a shortlist comprising the following
five players: Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua/CIV), Yaya Toure (Manchester
City/CIV), Alexander Song (Arsenal/Cameroon), Andre Ayew (Marseilles/Ghana) and
Demba Ba (Newcastle/Senegal).
What
this means is that in a football season in which we had the Africa Nations Cup,
Christopher Katongo, the most influential player in the championship winning
team, Zambia, does not belong in the top five players in the continent.
This
is beyond absurd. It is downright stupid! Especially considering the special
circumstances around Zambia's triumph from the ashes of a horrendous plane
crash that wiped out its entire team, words cannot describe the extent of
stupidity of this decision.
What is wrong with us
Africans?
How
is it that Demba Ba, who failed miserably with Senegal at the ANC, can qualify
to be in the top 5 list of African footballers in 2012, on account of the
'manic football' played in the English Premier League with a mid table team,
and yet Katongo is not?
Let
us look at Alex Song for a minute. What were his achievements in 2012? Well, let’s
see:
-
He failed to qualify with Cameroon for the ANC
-
His team Arsenal failed to win any trophy
-
He was voted second (not first!) best player in Arsenal.
That
is apparently what qualifies you to be a Top 3 player in Africa in the same
year that we had the Africa Nations Cup!
What is wrong with us
Africans?
I have heard the argument made, notably by
ex-Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia, that Katongo has not done anything since
winning the Nations Cup.
My
question to him and his fellow travellers is this: what greater thing do you
need to do in African football beyond winning the ANC?
For
that matter what has Didier Drogba done since winning the UEFA Champions League
besides collecting a generous pension in Shanghai? Incidentally, Juan Mata was
Chelsea's 'player of the year' last season...
What
is wrong with us Africans? Do we not have any respect for ourselves?
Before
anyone accuses me of being dramatic, let us look at the corresponding award in
Europe in 2012, in a year that the European Cup was also held. Who won the
award?
Andres
Iniesta, who like Christopher Katongo also won the best player in the regional
tournament!
His
award citations read thus: "The FC Barcelona midfielder, who helped Spain
defend their UEFA European Championship title this summer, finished ahead of
club-mate Lionel Messi… and Real Madrid CF's Cristiano Ronaldo... The
28-year-old was in inspired form for Spain at UEFA EURO 2012"
By Tony Onugu
