By Steven Oldham
There has been that much event and controversy surrounding the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations it could be easy to forget the tournament has yet to begin.
Ebola, a late change of host and high profile absentees have all kept the tournament in the headlines without a ball being kicked - it starts with Equatorial Guinea taking on Congo tomorrow.
The Ebola epidemic that's decimated parts of West Africa has in turn led original hosts Morocco to forfeit the right to hold the tournament after requests to postpone it were refused. CAF have looked very unfavourably on this and the North African team have been banned from the next two editions of the Cup of Nations.
After several countries ruled themselves out of replacing Morocco - including Egypt and Ghana - Equatorial Guinea, co-hosts of the 2012 tournament with Gabon, was announced as the unlikely replacement venue.
Credit has to go to the country for stepping in to fill the breach, but there remain concerns about how ready they are given the short notice given to prepare themselves for the continent's biggest sporting event - there are still questions surrounding stadia, infrastructure and logistical problems like hotel space and facilities for visiting teams, media and so on.
That CAF chose Equatorial Guinea suggest there were few other countries willing to go ahead with the tournament. The country were thrown out of qualifying in the first round despite beating Mauritania 3-1 on aggregate, having fielded Thierry Fidieu, a player deemed illegal by CAF.
Equatorial Guinea were just one of a number of teams whose on the pitch results were rendered null and void by the authorities. Rwanda were also thrown out of qualifying for fielding an illegal player, despite beating Congo on penalties in the second round. The Seychelles had to forfeit their fixture against Sierra Leone after the visiting team were banned from entering the islands over fears Ebola could spread further.
The Seychelles themselves benefitted from a walkover victory in the first round after Gambia were banned from all CAF competitions for two years, having fielded overage players in qualifying for the CAF U-20s Championships. Eritrea, meanwhile, withdrew from the preliminary round without even taking to the pitch, giving South Sudan a bye in their first attempt to qualify for the Cup of Nations.
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Reigning champions Nigeria failed to qualify, alongside Egypt, the most successful nation in the tournament's history, with seven victories, the last being in 2010. Whether the absence of these big names will be a detriment to the tournament remains to be seen. Even though AFCON has a reputation for being unpredictable, this could be the most open tournament in years.
The bookies' favourites are Algeria, who qualified easily and gained many admirers for their performances in Brazil last summer, when they made history by making the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time. They may be lamenting the decision by their North African neighbours to rescind their right to host however, given the vast changes in climate to the tropical temperatures they can expect in Mongomo, where they will play two group games.
Burkina Faso were the surprise package of the last tournament, finishing runners up to Nigeria. They continued this good form into World Cup qualifying and only missed out on a place in Brazil on away goals, having drawn 3-3 with Algeria. They will get the chance to avenge the defeat to Gabon that cost them the chance to win their qualifying group, as the two teams have been paired in Group A along with the hosts and Congo.
Both Ivory Coast and Ghana have flattered to deceive in this tournament despite their undoubted talent, and both have been drawn into the tougher two groups. Ivory Coast are paired with Mali, Cameroon and Guinea, while Ghana take on Algeria, South Africa and Senegal. Neither group will be easy to escape, and you have to think any nation that can make it into the knockout phase from these groups has a good chance to win the trophy.
Whether the country is ready or not, Equatorial Guinea will hope the on-pitch action will take attention away from any criticism heading their way. Little is expected of the hosts, but there are plenty of countries here who can play decent football and challenge for victory.
The quality of football at this tournament is sometimes questionable, but it is rarely boring. Players like Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast) , Yacine Brahimi (Algeria) and Sadio Mané (Senegal) all have the talent to light up a tournament like this.
Hopefully, the tournament will be a success and banish the bad headlines that have relentlessly dogged the build up. Will there be a surprise package like Burkina Faso, or Zambia one year before them? Or perhaps a breakout star who could persuade clubs to splash the cash on them in the transfer window. Who knows? There's one way to find out.
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