Feature: And give us Bostwana...........

Published on: 29 October 2011

Botswana is a beautiful country; well, at least, so I have been told. I haven’t been there but apparently it is a land of timeless beauty, stunning wilderness, cultural diversity, and welcoming people.

Surely, Botswana must be a proud nation with rich history; If only they could speak about their football heritage in similar terms, then that pride would be complete.

But alas! Their football history is nothing worthy of note, although that is expected to change in the next couple of months when it participates for the first time in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

On the eve of the draw for the tournament, which kicks off from January 21 to February 12, 2012, you can bet your last pesewa that most teams would earnestly desire to be paired with Botswana and her ilk.

Beneath that inclination however lies a perspective, justified or otherwise, that Botswana, a fist time qualifier with little or no pedigree, is one of the weakest teams and would be the perfect prey to guarantee 3 points.

Our Botswana friends wouldn’t be amused about that sentiment, because they, like other perceived minnows would have their own expectations too, which would be, to avoid heavy weights like Ghana, Ivory Coast etc.

An interesting scenario huh! Almost like a boy trying to woo the heart of a girl who doesn’t return his advances because she has her eyes elsewhere.

Well, unlike the world of love, the team you are grouped with is entirely a matter of chance.

Ahead of the draw, the 14 qualified teams were ranked and placed in Pots (1, 2, 3, &4) based on their performances in the last three Africa Cup of Nations i.e. 2006, 2008 and 2010 editions.

Accordingly, the top rated teams, Ghana and Ivory Coast, together with the co-hosts have been seeded to head the various groups. Equatorial Guinea heads Group A, Ghana Group B, Gabon Group C and Ivory Coast heads Group D.

These four teams have been placed in Pot 1. Teams in the same pot don’t meet each other but are rather distributed across the other four groups (A, B, C, &D) such that at end of the draw, there would be a maximum number of 4 teams in one Group.

So, that is how the draw works, purely on chance. But why leave it to chance when you can clasp your hands, and appeal to the One above. Together as Ghanaians, let us ask Him to:

Give us the luck of the draw - (Ghana, Botswana, Burkina Faso and Angola)

 

Dear Lord, we desire a soft group made up of teams that would easily facilitate our passage from the group stage to the knock out stages rather than those that threaten it.

We desire that when a team is drawn from Pot 4 made up of Sudan, Libya, Botswana and Niger to join us in Group B, that team should be Botswana.

Well, we know that Botswana have caused quite a stir beating Tunisia home and away and topped their group in the qualifiers but the Zebras as they are known surely cannot run past the Black Stars.

Lord, kindly ensure that from Pot 4 we avoid the likes of Niger, Libya and Sudan.

Niger because even though this is their first participation, they bring with them experience from the 2011 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN), a tournament exclusively for locally based players.

These Nigeriens beat us 1-0 at the CHAN and went on to make a quarterfinal appearance, such confidence for a dark horse, we can’t afford, so Niger is a no no.

Libya has really come good this year. Amid all the political turmoil and revolution taking place, the Libyans actually had to play 5 of the 6 qualifiers away from home but managed to qualify without losing a game.

This kind of perseverance can fuel major tournament upsets. Lord, please keep them far away from us.

Heavenly Father, Pot 3 for us is a very Dicey Pot. It contains Mali, Senegal, Morocco, and Burkina Faso. Phew! It’s the classic ‘pick your poison’ case huh. All the teams are tough but our desired ‘poison’ would be Burkina Faso.

The Stallions of Burkina Faso exhibit a stubborn and physical approach fused with a little bit of guile that makes the team exciting to watch when you are a spectator but not when you are the opposing team.

The current team are a youthful group who qualified without losing a game and would look to match their 1998 forth placing.

Between 1976 champions Morocco, resurgent Senegal and unpredictable Mali, our fervent plea to the Lord, would be a rather meek stallion to offer the Black Stars a free ride into the knock out stage.

And last but not the least from Pot 2 comes Angola, Tunisia, Zambia and Guinea. From this pot, Father we ask you to grant us Angola because though they were runners up at the 2011 CHAN and have also reached the quarter finals in the last two CAN tournaments, their pedigree pales when compared to Tunisia, the 2004 champions and the ever exciting Zambia whose best placing was second in 1974 and 1994.

Lord, please give us Angola, the soft pick, from Pot 2.

Deliver us from the “Group of Death”   - (Ghana, Senegal, Guinea and Sudan)

 

Dear Lord, unlike the walls of Jericho, let the walls between Ghana and the following teams in pots 2-4 stand firm so they don’t derail our march to claim the trophy.

Raise a wall between us and Senegal. After their 2002 World Cup exploits, everybody expected Senegal to consolidate those gains. But they disappointed and have only recently through the efforts of local coach Amara Troare found their form.

A form that has been built on the back of talents like Moussa Sow, Papiss Demba Cissé, Dame N’Doye, and Demba Ba. Frightening huh?

Meeting Senegal at the group stage would probably be a death trap. A trap we must avoid.

Then there is Sudan, every Ghanaian knows how far they stretched the Black Stars in the qualifiers.

The Sudanese, winners in 1970, also placed 3rd at 2011 CHAN and have a compact team very capable of causing an upset and revenge for their recent losses to the Black Stars.

Therefore, Sudan would be a dangerous path we would not like to thread.

As for Guinea, their resurgence was made complete in Abuja on October 8th.

The Guineans have always had talent and once Coach Michel Dussuyer instilled discipline into the side, they have become very difficult to beat.

They went through the qualifiers unbeaten. The Nigerians, whom they eliminated on that day by holding them to a 2-2 draw, would bear testimony.  We wouldn’t want to be making similar confessions.

For ours is the trophy to win

So, God willing, Ghana would be grouped with Botswana, Burkina Faso and Angola in Group B as against a ‘group of death’ containing Sudan, Senegal and Guinea.

A favourable draw would set the tone for annexation of the trophy after 30 long years.

When that happens, I would put on my favourite African garment and head for church, something I haven’t done in quite a while, to give thanks and I know I wouldn’t be alone.

Even if you are from Botswana, you would join me. Wouldn’t you?

[email protected]

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more