One Moment in Time- David slays Goliath

On 11 February 2012 Whitney Houston was found dead in her hotel room in California.  Listening to some of her old songs, "One Moment in Time" comes to mind as Zambia and Ivory Coast took to the field for the 2012 Cup of African Nations final in Liberville, Gabon on 12 February 2012.  Against all of the odds, Team Zambia wanted only one moment in time to meet their destiny by capturing the trophy.

In April 1993 Team Zambia was on its way to Senegal for a qualifying match for the 1994 World Final.  The military aircraft carrying the national football team, and coaches refuelled in Gabon.  Shortly after take-off the military aircraft crashed off the coast of Gabon.  There were no survivors.  Nearly all of the Zambian football team perished.  Kalusha Bwalya, the 1988 African Football Player of the year was traveling from Europe to meet his teammates in Senegal and was not on the ill-fated plane.  Now 19 years later, he and Zambia are finally able to hold the African Cup of Nations trophy.  Zambia defeated Ivory Coast, a heavy favorite in the 2012 final.  After a scoreless tie at the end of regulation and extended time, Zambia won 8-7 on penalty kicks. 

Team Zambia returned home to a hero's welcome.  Many people took a day off in order to meet the team at the airport.  Some may wonder why all the fuss over a football game; for Zambia it is about building an economy.  The country's main product is copper, but Zambia wants to move beyond that.  With the help of football, it hopes to develop other businesses, such as agriculture and tourism. 

After the lost of a generation of football players, let's hope that Team Zambia and the Zambian economy are now moving in the right direction.

"For American fans it was a shame that the game, and the tournament, was not available on television. But nothing can take away a shred of delight from Zambia on the night they gave their fallen forefathers the ultimate tribute." - Yahoo Sports

The Wide World of Sports-The African Cup of Nations

"Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition... This is ABC's Wide World of Sports!"

This was the opening statement of ABC's sports program which ran on American tv for 37 years from 1961-1998.  The show began as a fill-in show for a summer season.  The goal of the show was to showcase sports from around the globe.  With the success and popularity of cable television, the show was canceled.  This is quite unfortunate, because on the eve of the 2012 African Cup of Nations Final from Libreville, Gabon, there is little coverage of this event. 

Every two years African national football (soccer) teams meet to decide the African champion.  This event is equivalent to the European Championships and the Copa America which are held every four years.  The Africa Cup of Nations was first held in 1957.  At that time there were only 3 participating nations; Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.  Today there are 16 teams who participate, meaning that there are qualifying rounds which take place between the championship years. 

The 2012 event is being hosted in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.  One of the initial surprises this year is that Nigeria, Cameroon, and Egypt did not qualify.  Egypt holds the  most titles with 7, while Cameroon and Nigeria have 4 and 2, respectively.  With these three teams absent, expectations were high for Ivory Coast, and Ghana.  The majority of the Ivory Coast team play in France and England for major clubs.  The Ghana national football team also has many of its players playing in Europe.  Both of these teams made it to the semi-finals, but only Ivory Coast will be in the final.  Ghana lost to Zambia and will play Mali for third place. 

Perhaps few people thought Zambia would make it to the final match.  In 1993 all but one member of the Zambian national football team was killed in a tragic plane crash in Gabon on their way to a World Cup qualifying match in Senegal.   Essentially, an entire generation of football was wiped out.  The current team has gone to Gabon on a mission to bring home the trophy in memory of their former teammates.  From the current squad representing Zambia in this tournament, there is only one player who is on a European team. 

The final takes place on Sunday  12 February 2012.  It will be a David and Goliath event.  With the hopes of two nations riding on the shoulders of their teams.  Ivory Coast recently hampered by a civil war after a presidential election and Zambia trying to restore the pride of their nation in the memory of their lost teammates will take to the field.  It is too bad that the Wide World of Sports no longer exist to broadcast this event.