Sunday’s final is anybody’s game — Farrah

THE Second Vice-President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Chairman of the Referees Committee, Mr Farrah Addo, believes Sunday’s CAF Champions League grand finale between Ghana’s Accra Hearts of Oak and Tunisia’s Esperance in Accra is anybody’s game.

Mr Addo who is in town to prepare the grounds for the upcoming event is also optimistic that from what he saw of the first leg in Tunis a fortnight ago, he is in no doubt that the standard of play will be very high and competitive.

“There has been this perception that a home team must win at all cost, but after what happened in Tunis, I don’t think that such an argument holds water anymore. Victory is no longer based on home-advantage, but it’s all about the determination of a team and how well-prepared a team is,” Mr Addo explained in an interview with the Graphic Sports yesterday.

Mr Addo also explained that the standard of the competition has generally gone up, considering the performance of the various participating teams.

Mr Addo indicated that as organisers of the competition, the expectation of CAF is certainly high, but above all “we hope that there would be absolute fair play, a high standard of play which would eventually culminate in the best side winning.”

Asked if the referees for this all-important match were ready for the task ahead, Mr Addo answered in the affirmative, stressing further that CAF has made a cautious effort to improve upon the standard of officiating on the continent.

“There is no doubt that our referees have lived up to the task, especially during this year’s competition. The standard of officiating has been very impressive, not second to any continent, and I’m personally proud of the achievement,” the CAF Vice-President indicated.

He also expressed the hope that with the spotlight on Ghana this weekend, the story will not be different from what has been achieved this year because this will be the forum where the whole world will try and assess the progress of the game on the continent, especially so when the winners of this event will be joined by the winners of the Cup Winners Cup to represent Africa at the World Club Championship early next year.

Asked if CAF was satisfied with the general preparation by Ghana for the event, Mr Addo, who is no newcomer to the country said even though CAF are the main organisers of the competition, whatever goes into this final event is the responsibility of the hosts. He was confident that there will be no hitch.”

“Ghana is no novice to organising such events, we all have been witnesses to how well the African Under-20 and the 2000 Nations Cup events held in Ghana were organised, and if these are anything to go by, then I think that this event will be as that successful,” he opined.

In a separate interview, Alhaji M.N.D Jawula, the Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), indicated everything has been put in place for the event.

He said even though the GFA does not claim perfection in organising such events, everything is being done to ensure that the event is successful “so that once again, all our guests, official and unofficial, enjoy the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality.”