Africa's Soccer Calendar, 2001

It promises to be a busy year for Africa's top footballers, with both World Cup and African Nations Cup qualifiers under way. The big sides will want to get their African Nation Cup berths for Mali 2002 booked quickly, in order to be able to save their top professionals for the World Cup. Otherwise, more difficult club-versus-country conflicts undoubtedly loom.

With Cameroon riding high, Africa will be hoping to make a real impact at Korea/Japan 2002. South Africa just broke through into the top 20 of the December 2000 FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings, followed by Tunisia and Morocco in 26th and 28th position. But it is a far cry from the days when Nigeria were ranked fifth in the world - and time to regain the lost momentum.

But first, some endemic problems need to be tackled. Government interference in football association matters continues to dog the African game, with Tanzania, in particular, feeling FIFA's wrath in 2000.

Violence at football grounds must also be tackled: disruption of the African Women's Nations Cup final in Johannesburg and of the CAF Champions League final in Accra were merely the latest stains on the continental game. Hooliganism damaged soccer in the year 2000 in places as diverse as Algeria,Uganda, Zimbabwe and Nigeria.

Whose star will rise in 2001? Ghana's Ishmael Addo, Cote d'Ivoire's Aruna Dindane, Guinea's Pascal Feindouno and Liberia's Prince Daye are all tipped for the top - but will they have an international stage on which to shine? The year 2000 brought the high of Cameroonian gold at the Sydney Olympics. The big tournaments of 2001 are at youth and junior level.

May Africa excel and football bring hope to the continent's troubled lands.

JANUARY

12-14:

After a two-month break, action gets back under way in the third round of African Nations Cup qualifiers. The pressure on the top teams is less intense than in the World Cup qualifying groups, as the top two in each of seven groups will join hosts Mali and Cameroon, the defending champions, in the finals. But the outsiders have already delivered some shocks. Madagascar, away to Namibia, could consolidate their second place behind Nigeria in Group 1, as the Super Eagles host faltering Zambia in Lagos. Morocco, trailing in third place in Group 3, face a tricky fixture in Tunis. And Congo Democratic Republic will be looking to launch a belated challenge when they receive Group 6 leaders, Ghana, in Kinshasa.

26-28:

The World Cup moves into the spotlight, with the third of 10 qualifying rounds for Korea/Japan 2002. A dozen people died when trigger-happy Zimbabwean police fired tear gas canisters around the stadium during the Warriors' last qualifier against South Africa on July 9. It is to be hoped that this will be the last stain on a competition that has brought its share of sorrow, as well as joy, to the continent. Headline clash of the round is Egypt against Morocco in Group C: both are World Cup veterans, only one of them can go through.

27:

The Meridian Cup kicks off in Italy (to Feb 2).

This biennial tournament is staged under the aegis of the Meridian agreement linking the Confederation of African Football with its European counterpart, UEFA. Ghanaian, Cameroonian, Nigerian and Malian Under-17 teams take on Italy, Spain, Portugal and Czech Republic in a round-robin that will produce a continental winner. There will also be an all-stars gala game, bringing together veteran stars from Europe and Africa, and consultations among the administrators on both sides.

FEBRUARY

6:

Egypt play United Arab Emirates in a friendly.

11:

The African Super Cup final takes place in Accra between Ghana's Hearts of Oak, winners of the 2000 CAF Champions "League, and Cup Winners" Cup holders Zamalek of Egypt. It will be a chance for Africa's two representatives in the FIFA Club World Championship to compare notes ahead of their trip to Spain, and for the Accra venue to rehabilitate its reputation after the violence that marred the Champions’ League final in December. CAF's own rankings put Zamalek 2nd in the all-time table of Africa's top clubs, behind Cairo arch-rivals Al Ahly. That ranking won't change even if they win the Super Cup. But victory would be sweet revenge for Hearts of Oak, who would thereby leapfrog Ivory Coast's ASEC to put them 5th on equal points with none other than Esp?rance of Tunis, their victims in the Champions’ League final.

11:

The Cosafa Castle Cup kicks off with Swaziland hosting Zambia in a sudden-death knock-out. The competition, now in its fifth year, was designed to give a leg-up to football standards in the southern African region, long dominated by Zambia and South Africa. It has succeeded so well that it has delivered any number of surprises during its four editions. The low-rated Swazis provided their share in 1998, beating both Mozambique and Zimbabwe, so Zambia will not be taking their trip to Mbabane lightly.

15:

World Cup match tickets go on sale in South Korea and Japan. Anyone planning to go had better start saving now: a full set of seven tickets for all rounds is likely to cost some ?1,500, with cheapest entry to the final set at ?200. African Soccer estimates the cost of following a team throughout at a minimum of $10,000 plus air fares - and that's doing it on the cheap!

16-18:

Africa's club championships get under way with preliminary rounds for the CAF Champions’ League and Cup Winners’ Cup. It's an expensive business for some of the smaller clubs, and the competitions have been dogged by withdrawals after the first leg. But at least there's a regional logic to this year's draw, with FC Derby of Cape Verde, for instance, hopping over to play Real Banjul and Indian Ocean islanders AS Fortior of Madagascar hosting Saint Michel United of Seychelles.

17:

The African junior championship begins in Seychelles (to March 3). Eight teams are taking part, including the hosts,the prize being three slots at the world championship in Trinidad & Tobago in September. Nigeria, former world champions at this level, will start as favourites after perennial Ghana were ambushed by Gambia in the qualifying rounds. With north African sides unusually absent from a continental championship, the line-up for the finals groups the hosts with Mali, Cameroon and Burkina Faso in Group A; and Nigeria, Guinea, Mozambique and Ethiopia in Group B. The tournament opens with the hosts playing Cameroon's Lion Cubs - one of the strongest of the other contenders, along with Mali and Burkina, veterans of the 1999 world championship in New Zealand. After a league-style opening round, it goes on to knock-out semi-finals, play-off and final.

23-25:

World Cup qualifiers (4th round of 10). Match of the round is Cameroon against Zambia. The two meet again in July, but Chipolopolo will want something from this tie if they are to keep alive hopes of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. Still, it looks a long shot. The closest Zambia have come to reaching the finals was at USA ’94, when their hopes were tragically cut short by the air disaster off Gabon. That team was probably the best Zambia has ever produced; today's vintage, whatever their merits, seem unlikely to overcome the reigning African and Olympic champions.

MARCH

2-4:

Champions’ League/CAF Cup preliminary round, 2nd legs.

2-3:

The Ugandan national team play two friendlies in Saudi Arabia as part of the Cranes' preparation for their Nations Cup campaign. Uganda start 2001 just one point behind Group 5 leaders Togo, who defeated the Cranes 3-0 in Lom? in October. Ugandan football has undergone a revival under chairmanship of Denis Obua, himself a veteran of the country's best ever team who reached the Nations Cup final in Accra in 1978. The Cranes won the 2000 Castle Four Nations tournament, including a good win over Ghana, and then the Cecafa Senior Challenge. The Cranes will want to prove those results were not a fluke and that the national game is really on its way up.

9-11:

World Cup qualifiers (5th round of 10). Highlight of the round is Ghana's home leg in Group B against Nigeria. Unless one of the two slips up badly against Sierra Leone, Sudan or Liberia, the two meetings between the sides will determine who goes to the finals. Nigeria have the World Cup pedigree, but Ghana have history on their side in direct clashes between the two rivals. Expect fireworks.

17:

Cosafa Castle Cup 1st round: Botswana v Malawi. A battle of the also-rans in the competition. Botswana have home advantage to emulate tiny Lesotho's courageous campaign, going all the way to the final against Zimbabwe last August. Malawi will be hoping to improve on recent performances under their new Danish coach, Kim Splidsboel.

18:

African youth championship in Ethiopia (draw held Dec 16 in Accra)? continues to April 1. Ghana, the defending champions, are drawn alongside arch-rivals Nigeria, Angola and Mali - certainly the toughest group of the tournament. The hosts play the opening game against 1995 champions, Cameroon. South Africa and Egypt are also heavyweights in the championship. Ethiopia last staged an African event in 1976 but has recently not lived up to its pedigree as one of the founding nations of the Confederation of African Football.

23-25:

African Nations Cup qualifiers (4th round of six).

30-Apr 1:

CAF Cup conteners enter the race for Africa's three club competitions, as the first rounds get under way with the first of two knock-out legs. Top fixtures include ambitious newcomers Mathare United, a club born out of a Nairobi slum social project, who have drawn a stiff challenge against Egypt’s Ismaili in the Cup Winners’ Cup, and a central African derby in the CAF Cup between FC 105 of Gabon and Coton Sport de Garoua of Cameroon.

APRIL

Csafa Castle Cup 1st round: Mauritius v Namibia. After coming close to the performances in Southern Africa's championship? Zambia pipped the Brave Warriors for the maiden Cosafa title with a late goal in the second leg of the final. Two years later, again in Windhoek, Namibia lost in extra time to Angola. The Cosafa Castle Cup will be a good opportunity for the Brave Warriors’ new coach, Ted Dumitriu, to salvage something from what looks unlikly to be a successful Nations Cup campaign.

13-15:

Club competitions: first round, return legs

20-22:

World Cup qualifiers (6th round of 10). More than half way through the qualifying round, the writing may be on the wall for some teams’ ambitions. Some of the crunch matches which could prove crucial to decide the single World Cup place from each group to look forward to are Tunisia and Cote d'Ivoire, meeting for the second time in Group D, after drawing 2-2 in Abidjan. The bookmakers expect one of the two sides to qualify. The other top fixtures will include Guinea against Zimbabwe in Harare. Senegal host Algeria in Group C and in Group A Zambia take on Angola in Lusaka.

25:

South Africa travel to Italy for a friendly. Bafana Bafana have still not won a game on European soil. If they win this one, it really will be a sign of their growing maturity, less than a decade after the ending of sanctions.

29:

Cosafa Castle Cup 1st round: Mozambique v South Africa. South Africa have been perennial under-performers in the regional competition, which is why they did not get a bye into the next round. They will expect to overcome their much weaker adversaries, but having been eliminated twice by Namibia in this tournament of surprises, Bafana Bafana will be taking nothing for granted.

MAY

4-6:

World Cup qualifiers (7th round of 10) The place to be on this weekend will be North Africa for the Maghreb derby between Algeria and Morocco for a Group C qualifier.

11-13:

Club competitions: second round, first legs. The last of the seeded sides - Obuasi Goldfields, Wydad Athletic Casablanca of Morocco, Africa Sports of Cote d’Ivoire, Jeunesse Sportive Kabylie of Algeria and Etoile Sportive du Sahel of Tunisia - come into the CAF Cup. The form book suggests that one of them will lift the title.

25-27:

Club competitions: second round, return legs.

30:

Confederations Cup opens in Korea and Japan (to June 10). A dress rehearsal for the World Cup in a year's time, the competition brings together continental champions from FIFA's six regional confederations. Cameroon will represent Africa, and aim to make progress in what the Indomitable Lions, too, will regard as a rehearsal for things to come.

JUNE

1-3:

African Nations Cup qualifiers (5th round of six). Some of the finalists should already be known: Nigeria look a good bet from Group 1, South Africa from Group 2, Tunisia and Morocco from Group 3, Ghana from Group 6 and Egypt from Group 7. Others, however, are likely to go to the final hurdle.

15-17:

The final round of African Nations Cup qualifiers. Who will be the newcomers at Mali 2002, and which of the aristocrats will miss the bus? Whatever the list of 16 finalists, falling in a World Cup year means this Nations Cup will receive more than its share of the global spotlight, from an organisational and a football point of view. Mali insists facilities will be ready on time, and has received encouragement from no less a figure than FIFA President Sepp Blatter. But CAF will follow progress closely, with inspection visits scheduled throughout the year.

17:

The World Youth Championship starts in Argentina (to July 7). Africa has never won the Under-20 world title, though both Ghana and Nigeria have come close. The 1999 finals, staged in Nigeria, were a particular disappointment for the hosts, who were lucky to scrape through to the last eight and then watched on as Mali stole the show with a deserved bronze medal. South American conditions should suit the African boys, but who wouldn't fancy the boys from Argentina carrying the day on their own turf?

9-Jul 1:

World Cup qualifiers (8th round of 10) Another North African derby is on the cards, a potential winner-takes-all clash between Morocco and Egypt in Group C. The twin favourites in Group B, Ghana and Nigeria, play away matches in Liberia and Sudan, respectively. The results could prove vital for their do-or-die encounter in Lagos on July 28.

JULY

13-15:

World Cup qualifiers (9th round of 10). In Group A, Cameroon visit Zambia for their last match. Cameroon have twice left it to the last minute to clinch their World Cup ticket against Zimbabwe. This time around it is neighbouring Zambia who stand in the way. Senegal host World Cup regulars, Morocco, in Group C - which of the Lions will spoil the party for the other remains to be seen. The big four in Group D are all in action, with Congo at home to Cote d'Ivoire while in Kinshasa, Congo DR entertain Tunisia.

27-29:

World Cup: final qualifying round. Everything could still be up for grabs, particularly in Group B, where Ghana's Black Stars travel to Lagos for what could be a final showdown with Nigeria. Of the other group favourites, South Africa are away to Guinea and Egypt face a tough tie in Algeria. But with five teams in each group, the hardest time could be had by for those sides forced to sit on the sidelines while group rivals slug it out. That category includes Cameroon, Morocco and Tunisia - all World Cup veterans hoping to carry Africa's banner again.

29:

FIFA Club World Championship in Spain (to August 12). Hearts of Oak and Zamalek - two of Africa’s most ambitious and professional outfits - represent the continent in the lucrative 12-team tournament, with a minimum $8m to be earned. Raja Casablanca, the continent's standard bearers in the inaugural world championship in Brazil, had little time to prepare but made a good impression and were unlucky not to make it past the first round.

AUGUST

10-12:

CAF Champions' League: opening round. As in previous years, the group stage is made up of two groups of four. There is a new format this year, however, with the top two in each group playing semi-finals rather than the group winners going directly to the final.

24-26:

CAF Champions’ League: Round 2 of 6.

SEPTEMBER

7-9:

CAF Champions’ League: Round 3 of 6. Cup Winner’ Cup and CAF Cup quarter-finals, first leg.

14:

Under-17 world championship begins in Trinidad and Tobago (to Sept 30). Africa has dominated the junior world football scene, with Ghana winning the title twice and Nigeria once. Ghana's Black Starlets will, however, miss the junior football fiesta for the first time since they made their first appearance in Scotland 11 years ago. Nigeria missed the last tournament in New Zealand after a dismal performance at the African championship in Guinea last year. After missing the last two World Cups, the Golden Eaglets will automatically be one of the biggest guests in Trinidad if they finished among the top three sides in Seychelles. The world junior championship has been an important proving ground for young African stars, including Nwankwo Kanu of Nigeria and Arsenal. He has been voted African footballer of the year twice since he helped Nigeria win the Under-17 World Cup in Japan in 1991. Kanu also captained Nigeria to clinch Africa's first Olympic Gold in Atlanta four years ago. His Ghanaian counterpart, Samuel Osei Kuffour, who was at the losing end in the all-African final in Japan, is a pillar in defence for German side, Bayern Munich.

21-23:

CAF Champions' League: Round 4 of 6. Cup Winner’ Cup and CAF Cup quarter-finals, second leg.

OCTOBER

5-7:

CAF Champions’ League: Round 5 of 6.

6:

Algeria versus France friendly in Paris

12-14:

Cup Winners' Cup and CAF Cup semi-finals, first leg.

19-21:

CAF Champions' League: final group round.

26-28:

Cup Winners' Cup and CAF Cup semi-finals, second leg.

NOVEMBER

2-4:

CAF Champions' League semi-finals, first leg

9-11:

CAF Cup final, first leg

16-18:

Cup Winners' Cup final, first leg; CAF Champions' League semi-finals, second leg

23-25:

CAF Cup final, second leg

30-Dec 2:

Cup Winners' Cup final, second leg

DECEMBER

1:

Draw for the 2002 World Cup finals in Busan, South Korea. The match schedule for the finals, though it obviously does not have team names attached yet, looks like a complicated railway junction, with teams criss-crossing Korea and Japan from one venue to another. The opening round will be made up of eight groups of four, the top two of each go through to a knock-out round of 16. As at France 98, a complicated seeding system will ensure Africa’s five representatives are kept apart in the openers, but there will be no easy rides in the richest ever world football event.

7-9:

CAF Champions' League final, first leg

21-23:

CAF Champions' League final, second leg. The culmination of Africa's football year traditionally coincides with meetings of the CAF Executive Committee and various specialist commissions. 2002 promises to be another big year for the African game.