The Lions Roar Again

THE Cameroonian players went wild with joy when the referee blew the final whistle， ending the match against their Egyptian opponents with an unexpected 2-1 win. Thus ended the 31st edition of the African Cup of Nations （ACN）， which took place in Gabon from January 14 to February 5， 2017.

The Indomitable Lions， as Cameroons national team is known， beat the Egyptian team and clinched the continental title for the fifth time in their history. The event was truly symbolic for the Lions， who were beaten two times before - in 1986 and 2008 - in the ACN finals against the very same Egyptian football team.

Superior both from a technical and physical point of view， Cameroon， under the leadership of Belgian coach Hugo Broos， finally managed to dispel its ACN“jinx.”

But the Lions resounding triumph hides a more bitter reality of African football. In this years ACN， as in the previous ones， deeply-ingrained systemic problems once again surfaced， undermining an otherwise fast-growing industry and distracting the players from keeping their eyes on the ball.

Same old issues

Even if the ACN was the occasion of showcasing the prowess of the continents best players and clubs， it also revealed some long-term issues that were already known to undermine African football， especially at the organizational level.

In many African countries， football has yet to reach a truly professional level. Philippe Troussier， a former French footballer who has managed many African national teams since 1994， says national football associations lack of financial resources and disorganization undermine national selection and their team-building ability.

Interviewed by French daily Le Figaro， Troussier said that it is not rare for players to have to personally press their countrys political authorities to ensure they get paid their due salary during a competition.

Indeed， such events are common in the world of African football， and similar situations have occurred again at the most recent ACN. On January 7， the Warriors， as the national team of Zimbabwe is known， boycotted a farewell dinner and refused to board their chartered plane in the capital Harare， just hours before the start of the competition. The players de- manded higher daily allowances and winning bonuses， which the Zimbabwe Football Association finally accepted， according to Zimbabwean daily Newsday. Similarly， players of the Democratic Republic of the Congo boycotted a training session on January 13， demanding the payment of bonuses promised but never paid by the Congolese Association Football Federation.

“Its been the same thing for many years. We prepare well to play our matches but at the end of the day， there are always problems with bonuses，” team Captain Youssouf Mulumbu told his fans on Facebook. According to observers， this lack of organization has a negative impact on the performance of national teams. During the most recent ACN， some of the favorite teams - such as defending champion Ivory Coast - were all quickly eliminated from the tournament， to everyones surprise.

Infrastructure boost

However， not everything is gloomy in the world of African football. While financial and organizational issues do not show sign of going away， things look much better on the infrastructure side.

Cameroons Lions claimed victory in the 40，000-seater Angondje Stadium， in Libreville， which is representative of the large-scale modern stadiums that have emerged across the continent， a direct result of Chinas growing role in the African football industry.

Indeed， of the four stadiums in which the ACN 2017 took place in Gabon， three were built by Chinese companies. Completed in 2011 by the Shanghai Construction Group， the Angondje Stadium is symbolically dubbed the Stadium of Sino-Gabonese Friendship.

Since the first Chinese-built Zanzibar Amaan Stadium in the 1970s， China has built more than 50 stadiums across the continent in 34 countries， a trend that some experts have called “stadium diplomacy.”

In addition to their multifunctional nature， these“turn-key” stadiums have played a key role in the organization of the ACN. Angola， Equatorial Guinea and Gabon， which organized the ACN in 2010， 2012 and 2017， respectively， all benefited from the architectural feats of China.

Cameroon， which has become the host country for the next competition following the victory of its Lions on the Gabonese turf， will continue the tradition. The 2019 ACN will be held in the new $75-million Bafoussam Stadium， a project of China Machinery Engineering Corp. （CMEC）.

Wang Chunhao， Project Manager at CMEC， said that while constructing the stadium， they took into account local characteristics of Cameroon.

“For this 20，000-seater stadium， we have chosen seats in red， green and yellow color， which are the colors of the flag of Cameroon，” he said in a statement on the companys website.

Growing exchanges

It is not only countries that benefit from these stronger ties with China. At the players level， the growing Chinese football market also reveals interesting opportunities.

Indeed， while African players have traditionally looked to Europe to pursue their international careers， China now offers them attractive opportunities with sometimes even higher salaries.

One of the stars of ACN 2017， Cameroon national team Captain Stéphane Mbia， signed with the Hebei China Fortune Football Club in January 2016.

He is not the first to make the leap. In 2012， Shanghai Shenhua made headlines by signing football star Ivorian Didier Drogba， later Senegalese Demba Ba （2015） and Nigerian Obafemi Martins （2016）. There were about 20 Africans playing in the Chinese Super League 2015-16 season.

The Chinese Football Association recently made changes to quotas on foreign players， and now a maximum of only three foreign players can be on the field for each club at the same time.

But this is unlikely to dampen the enthusiasm of African players for the tantalizing salaries and career development opportunities that China offers， Burkina Faso forward Bertrand Traore told BBC Sport.