Included in today's clubgowi subscriber newsletter were my first notes on the African Cup of Nations, it ran to 3,000 + words, I cannot share it all with you today, but have included the first part below and it gives you some background information and a few things to consider before placing any ACN bets. If you want to know more, there is a good value subscription offer at present ( see post above) which expires today, but still time to take part if you act quickly.

 

 

 

The African Cup of Nations gets underway tomorrow with the event returning to Egypt who hosted in 2006 , this was supposed to be held in Cameroon , but they were stripped of the honour due to delays in the delivery of infrastructure and multiple other reasons . This is an event where shocks do happen and the 2012 event will be long remembered by some of you, as that was won by Zambia who I suggested pre tournament (@ up to 84-1) to bet if you could and many of you did at 66-1 and above.

 

They did not win a game in either 2013 or 2015, or even qualify in 2017 or this time round and you can put that win down as a single moment in time and I guess it was, but also, they were very well prepared, they had been together for almost two months by the time the group stage was over and had done some high altitude training and left with the incredibly motivational words of their President ringing in their ears and I wrote at the time ......

They have extra motivation to do well, as much for a former generation as theirselves, with 28 national players and officials dying off the coast of Libreville, Gabon en route to a World Cup qualifier with Senegal in Dakar in 1994. Even the President spoke of this in a personal message to the squad, saying: “You will recall from history and from your football leadership the special place that Gabon – venue of the 2012 final match – holds in our football history. "It is the place where your predecessors valiantly died off the shores of the Atlantic Ocean."Therefore, this tournament brings us those memories and makes this Africa Cup a very emotional one. That, however, should not put you under any pressure. It should instead inspire you to conquer.”

He then went on to urge his team to "die a little for Mother Zambia " and to "fight for every ball, cover every space and in the true sense of the might of the Chipolopolo, never to feel intimidated by anybody or surrender to any opposition."

I did then wonder if David Cameron would get so passionate before Euro 2012 !

Teams can win this tournament at big prices and improve quickly and those that have prepared well and bonded will always be at an advantage, I know that sounds like stating the obvious, but you also know that at the ACN others will arrive with internal disputes, squads split into cliques and probably arguments over money. It happens every ACN and one team (at least) will threaten to leave and then it will all get sorted out at the last minute, but that aside, it is often a joyous event with the crowds who almost always arrive to have a good time, a real highlight and it is unlike any other tournament.

 

We do usually have to "endure" the opening games and I spoke about this yesterday ................ I will discuss a couple of teams in the outright market and will be covering matches on an almost daily basis, but only from the second round of group stage matches, which starts on June 26th (a week today). Reasons are firstly that we will have seen all teams by then, but mainly, down to the very tight nature of first round of games, with the last 24  (three ACN's) producing an astounding 15 draws (62.5%) ! With the competition being extended this year from 16 to 24 teams and a round of 16 knockout stage for the first time, it is hard to see teams suddenly opening up early and we can again expect some very cagey matches to start with. Also, the ACN is always traditionally played early in the year, this year we have moved to mid summer and some games are going to be played in temperatures approaching 40 degrees (good luck with pressing for 90 minutes in that as some nations like to do ......Morocco ?) and I think it is better to just sit the first games out. Cairo, for example is 16-20 degrees hotter in July than January.

 

The switch to a summer event, the weather in Egypt and additional eight teams, is likely to make this a unique ACN and a bit of an endurance contest, but at least all four venues Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and Ismailia are at sea level and close to each other and with good infrastructure, so no issues in regard to those and which we have had at previous ACN's. But I will bring you back to the weather and conditions will be harsh , especially for those from Southern Africa where it is the Winter and not Summer season. To highlight that, average July temperature in Johannesburg is 17 degrees and close to freezing overnight, in Cairo it is 35 and 23 degrees respectively !