By Mazhun Idris
Some of the more famous rivalries in football are as much about regional dominance as the pride associated with the prize.
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is one such competition that stokes animated debates among fans, which feed off the rivalries on the field.
Senegal, the Lions of Teranga, are the current African champions in men's football. The West African country won the 2021 edition of the AFCON in Cameroon.
Senegal was the fourth country from West Africa to bring home the continental trophy, making it the 10th for the subregion. This is a feat only surpassed by North Africa, the subregion considered the second-biggest football powerhouse of the continent.
Egypt spearheads North Africa, being the runner-up in the last AFCON edition and the record holder for the most AFCON cups, with seven out of 33 editions.
The dominance of these two regions has been such that football pundits see AFCON as a West versus North affair.
Abuja-based sports journalist Lekan Sowande attributes the apparent dominance of the two regions to several factors that have historically lent the competitive edge to some over others.
“Look at sports participation in general. The trend started from how different African regions embraced legacy sports since colonial times. From football, basketball, cricket, rugby to marathon, each region tends to commit to one modern sport over others," Sowande tells TRT Afrika.
"It explains why governments and the private sector choose where they invest in sporting facilities and grass-roots youth development. Remember that winning AFCON requires investments in football."
The genesis
The first African Nations Cup, later renamed Africa Cup of Nations, was held in June 1956 in Sudan. Egypt and Ethiopia joined the hosts in a triangular contest that saw the Egyptians take the trophy, kicking off a winning career in which they averaged one cup every decade.
The maiden edition was to be initially played by the four founding members of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, except South Africa, whose apartheid policy disqualified black players from its national team.
After 66 years and 33 tournaments, what do AFCON statistics say about the fact or myth of West and North African dominance in the lead football festival of the continent?
Silas Amwoka, a Kenyan football enthusiast, believes the devil is in the data.
"The noticeably poor representation of Eastern and Southern countries in AFCON is like a vicious cycle. FIFA allocation to our countries is also poor due to low country ranking in football, compared to West and North African countries," the Nairobi-based sports analyst tells TRT Afrika.
Countries in the East and South blocs may own the most significant advantage of excelling in other games beyond football, but the plight of the footy game could still be improved.
Silverware haul
At the summit, Egypt tops with seven trophies. Algeria, another northern state, has two. In the West, Ghana has four, Nigeria has three, and Ivory Coast has two. Elsewhere, only Cameroon from Central Africa has five titles.
Besides being the most successful country in AFCON history, Egypt is the only country to win a hat-trick of AFCON cups in 2006, 2008, and 2010.
Ghana achieved consecutive wins from the West in 1963-1965, and Cameroon, from the Central subregion, also had a brace in 2000-2002.
In terms of successful defence of an AFCON title, only three countries in the West, North, and Central have retained the title at least once, a feat accomplished by Egypt three times. Ghana and Cameroon did it in 1963-1965 and 2000-2002 respectively.
Another peek at the medal table shows that of the 33 cups awarded so far, North Africa has accumulated a total of 11, with the West in tow, at ten trophies. Central Africa comes close at eight cups, while the East and South each have two titles.
Inconsistency
Although apartheid-era South Africa was among the founding members of CAF, the country was banned from the inaugural game in 1956, a ban that lasted almost 40 years.
The subregion got its first actual representation in the tournament with Mauritius and Zambia in 1974, where the latter finished runner-up to Zaire.
South Africa eventually played their first AFCON in 1994. Although the team, nicknamed Bafana Bafana, failed to qualify that year, they emerged victorious in 1996.
After South Africa's success at bringing Southern Africa into the medal chart for the first time in 1994, it would be 16 years before another southern nation, Zambia, was crowned champion in 2012.
"The flash-in-the-pan kind of AFCON performance of some regions shows the need for football development in those countries, such as academies to train players to international quality," says Sowande.
READ ALSO - AFCON 2023: The dilemma of African international stars
Fan fervour
Anyone who has watched the AFCON showpiece over the past five decades would agree that Egypt, Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana, and Ivory Coast are the names that come up most often in the AFCON qualifiers and the finals.
These countries of the West-North bloc account for seven of the nine teams with 20-plus appearances in the AFCON finals.
The North has four countries, with chart-topper Egypt at 26 appearances in 33 attempts. The West has three countries with 20-plus attendances.
Only Central Africa has had decent representation in AFCON contests outside the West-North subregions. The two countries that have an appearance record beyond 20 are Cameroon and DR Congo.
Football analysts believe the number of professional players in a nation's team helps its chances of qualification to AFCON. "Some countries have a tiny pool of players to scout from. They also lack football legends who can inspire young talent," Amwoka tells TRT Afrika.
"Our footballers have minimal exposure to highly advanced leagues, unlike North and West Africa. Only a few players from Eastern or Southern Africa are playing in the top global club competitions like the English Premier League."
Besides player quality, football administration is another factor in a country’s performance. For instance, in 2022, FIFA suspended Kenya from football activities after alleged political interference in the activities of its football federation.
Fighting for a place
Over the years, the number of AFCON participants grew until the tournament organisers adopted a round-robin system of qualifiers to decide which country gets a place in the finals.
Although Nigeria was the first West African country to play in the championship in 1962, it was not until 1980 that the Nigerian Super Eagles won their first crown.
In 1963, Ghana gave West Africa its first AFCON win, also the Black Stars' debut appearance. Then, in 1978, Ghana became the first AFCON winner to get hold of a permanent AFCON trophy by winning it thrice. Other countries with a permanent AFCON trophy are Cameroon and Egypt.
AFCON 2024 opens in January in Ivory Coast, where East Africa will be represented by only one country, Tanzania. But Amwoka has high hopes as AFCON goes to East Africa in 2027, to be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
"The three countries are planning to construct new stadiums and improve the overall infrastructure around football. Hence, AFCON 2027 might be the turning point East Africa has been waiting for," he says.
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