Sports
Ivory Coast Seeking To Break New W/Cup Ground S/Africa 2010
When Ivory Coast crashed out of the 2006 World Cup at the earliest possible stage, coach Henri Michel had but one lament – ‘the only thing we lack is experience’.
Placed in a daunting group with Argentina, Holland and Serbia & Montenegro, the Ivorians played exciting football while holding their own but their rawness cost them dearly.
In every game in Germany, the Elephants trailed 2-0 before half-time – and ended up losing 2-1 twice, but, more impressively, winning one.
The 3-2 defeat of Serbia & Montenegro in Munich was memorable, courageous and, surprisingly, the first time since 1982 that a World Cup side trailing by two goals had won.
Having followed the Ivorians and their orange-clad fans across Germany one remembered thinking, upon their exit, how vital it was that arguably Africa’s best side at the finals returned in 2010.
The likes of Didier Drogba, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue now have that priceless experience and, crucially, roughly two-thirds of the squad that were in Germany will be in South Africa.
“With [our 2006] experience, it will be possible to do much better,” says Yaya Toure, an Olympiakos player in 2006 but now a finely-settled cog for all-conquering Barcelona.
“Perhaps we can make the quarter-finals, and then semi-finals – this is something we can achieve,” added Kolo’s younger brother.
The Elephants are packing their trunks for South Africa following the 1-1 draw in Malawi in the last qualifier, with captain and top scorer Drogba fittingly grabbing the decisive goal (his fifth of the campaign).
Yet after winning their opening four Group E matches, beating Malawi, Guinea and main rivals Burkina Faso home and away, qualification had never been in doubt.
Especially since Valil Halilhodzic’s side has stayed unbeaten in 15 matches since losing in Japan in May 2008, the very month the Bosnian coach took charge.
And though three of the continent’s six places at the World Cup are still undecided, many are tipping the Elephants to find fruitful grazing on African soil next year.
“To make it to the final will not be easy because there are great teams like Brazil and Germany who have won the World Cup for many years,” says Drogba, the team’s figurehead.
“But my team-mates and I want to make history and change the way the world sees African football. I hope we’ll be the team that is going to go to the final and win the competition.”
Even on home turf, this is a major ask for any African nation but one senses the Elephants will be ready for all-comers, tricky group or not, in South Africa.
For these challengers have a quality few of their continental rivals possess: strength in nearly every position.
Up front, Drogba and Salomon Kalou lead the line, with Boubacar Sanogo (St Etienne), Sekou Cisse (Feyenoord) waiting in the wings – as must Lille’s emerging 22-year-old playmaker Gervinho.
Midfield finds Seville’s Didier Zokora, magnificent in Germany, holding alongside Yaya Toure with tiny Marseille man Bakary Kone who also shone in 2006, Abdul-Kader Keita (Galatasaray) and Romaric (Seville) all hoping for first pick on the flanks.
In defence, Kolo Toure’s regular partner Abdoulaye Meite has recently been replaced by Olympic captain Sol Bamba, with Arthur ‘Thunder Thighs’ Boka, who won the 2007 Bundesliga title with Stuttgart, and Arsenal’s Eboue out wide.
All looking good so far but as any Ivorian will tell you, the rampaging Elephants do have an Achilles heel – their goalkeeper.
Unlike most of his colleagues, who are largely based in England, Spain and France, Boubacar Barry plays for lowly Lokeren in Belgium.
As such, he is the source of endless concern but his record this qualifying campaign is largely faultless, with just 6 goals conceded in eleven games.
Barry’s position will come under intense scrutiny during January’s Nations Cup in Angola, which the Elephants will be expected to win by their boisterous army of fans.
And as they charge onward, it must not be forgotten that an invisible force is driving the West Africans.
Namely the memory of the fans who died after trying to watch the players’ qualifier against Malawi’s Flames in a tragically-oversold Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium.
“We have to go as far as we can in this competition for all the people who died,” said Yaya Toure after the March tragedy in Abidjan.
They’ve been as good as their word so far.
Akpata emerged unopposed during the federation’s annual general meeting and board elections, which ended in Abuja on Saturday.
The election was decided by 37 delegates, with 12 other board members also emerging, to steer the affairs of the federation for the next four years.
Former Kwara State stalwart, Wale Obalola, emerged as the vice president at the election.
Representative of the South-West on the NCF board, Tayo Atoloye, also returned for another term, while team manager of the Junior Female Yellow Greens, Femi John, was elected as the representative of the South-South on the board.
Other zonal representatives are Chika Okoro (South-East), Ladan Usman (North-West), Dare Aimola (North-Central), and Zainab Adamu (North-East).
Former captain of the men’s national team, Endurance Ofem, secured 30 of the 37 votes to beat another ex-player, Chimezie Onwuzulike, for the players’ representative seat.
Olumide Akinkokun emerged as the technical representative, Prof Mariam Suleiman will represent the National Association of Women in Sports, Chuma Anosike as the sponsors’ representative, while the military and paramilitary will be represented on the board by Major Monica Wabulla.
The president, Akpata, was first elected in 2021 and has driven the growth of Nigerian cricket in the last four years.
Part of his notable achievements include the heavy investment in infrastructure and high-performance, national grassroots development programmes, as well as the introduction of professional contracts for Nigerian players.
Earlier this year, the women’s U-19 team finished sixth at the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, after the senior team had won a historic bronze medal at the last edition of the African Games in Ghana in 2024.
Nigeria has also bagged several International Cricket Council awards in recognition of the country’s strides towards growing the game, especially for women.
The 22-year-old ran a scorching 47.11 seconds in Friday’s final, smashing his previous national record of 47.31 seconds set earlier this year and becoming only the second Nigerian since Henry Amike in 1987 to reach the 400m hurdles final at the World Championships.
“I hope this performance will inspire young Nigerian athletes,” Nathaniel said after the dramatic final
“This is a great opportunity to learn from the world’s best athletes.”
The race saw American Rai Benjamin storm to victory in 46.52 seconds to finally clinch his first world championship gold medal after two silvers and a bronze, but not without drama.
Benjamin was initially disqualified for crashing into the final hurdle and affecting other athletes, briefly elevating Nathaniel to bronze position. However, the American’s appeal was quickly upheld and he was restored to the top of the timesheet.
Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos claimed silver in 46.84 seconds, while Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba took bronze in 47.06 seconds, leaving Nathaniel agonisingly close to Nigeria’s second medal of the championships.
Despite the near-miss, Nathaniel remained philosophical about the disqualification reversal.
It’s a fair call,” the Nigerian said.
“He put in a lot of work to get that medal and if they are trying to rip off from that, I don’t think that’s fair. He didn’t deliberately knock over the hurdle, that could happen to anyone.”
The former 800m runner, who competes for Baylor University in Texas, expressed satisfaction with his performance and hinted at greater things to come saying, “I still have a lot of potential. I am pleased because I did my best and I ran a personal record. I have it in me and just need to wait for the right time. For now, I am enjoying the process.”
Nathaniel’s rapid rise in the event has been remarkable. Born in 2003, he broke a decades-old Nigerian record set by Henry Amike when he ran 48.42 seconds at the Big 12 Conference meet in 2022 as a freshman.
His progress accelerated dramatically this year. In June, he won the NCAA Outdoor Championships title in Eugene, Oregon, clocking 47.49 seconds – the third fastest time in NCAA history. He also became the first man in NCAA history to run a sub-48-second time in the 400m hurdles semifinal, recording 47.86 seconds.
The Tokyo performance adds another chapter to what has been an exceptional year for the young hurdler, who has now established himself among the world’s elite quarter-mile hurdlers.
While Nathaniel’s fourth-place finish matches Amike’s result from the 1987 World Championships in Rome, his national record performance signals a bright future for Nigerian athletics in the event.
Nigeria’s campaign in Tokyo concluded with Tobi Amusan as the country’s only medallist, though this still represented an improvement over the Budapest World Championships where Team Nigeria ended empty-handed.
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