By Tomas de Melo Luanda

Akwa's goal against Rwanda last October took Angola to Germany

Making it to the football World Cup in Germany is a dream come true for Angolans who have hoped for years to see their country represented in the greatest international competition.

Football has been part of Angolans' lives ever since the time of Portuguese colonisation.

In cities and slums it has always been possible to see children and youths kicking a ball around and dreaming of becoming a star player for Benfica or Sporting - the local satellites of the top Portuguese clubs.

After independence in 1975, these clubs changed their names and the new sport bosses created the national championship, the Girabola.

Divine intervention?

Thirty years after these humble beginnings, Angolans see their arrival on the world football stage as something close to a miracle.

Many Angolans cannot afford to watch the World Cup - even on TV

"God was on our side," says Sebastiao dos Santos, a former footballer from the Progresso club in Luanda's Sambizanga neighbourhood.

Pessimism about the country's World Cup prospects has been fuelled by a lack of investment in teams and in football organisations.

The established clubs are doing well, while newer teams complain they are short of everything from shorts and shoes to practice grounds.

The team heading to Germany has only one stadium - the run-down stadium in Luanda that is considered the citadel of Angolan football.

In the interior, football pitches barely merit the name: war ruins would be a more appropriate description.

Colonial connection

Despite the many difficulties, fans of the national side are happy to be supporting a team that has beaten off strong competition to make it to the great stadiums of Germany.

The Palancas - as the Angolan national side is called, after the local name for a rare giant sable antelope - will be in group D, along with Mexico, Iran and Portugal.

I'm keeping up the hope of a good result, because it was on the basis of merit that we got as far as the World Cup Gen Francisco Furtado 1st of August military club Is Africa's pride on the field?

Pure chance has brought Angola face-to-face with the former colonial power - two countries whose histories are intertwined, for better or for worse.

Portugal has already won two friendlies against Angola.

Given the strength of the Portuguese side, no-one wants to risk predicting victory, but most Angolans have adopted an attitude of "wait and see".

While the public is reluctant to bet on a good showing by Angola in Germany, sports bosses are thinking differently, and are ready to see some surprises.

"I'm keeping up the hope of a good result, because it was on the basis of merit that we got as far as the World Cup, comfortably knocking out Nigeria. This came about through performing the best, because luck does not exist in football.

"This is why we are the continent's best representatives in the World Cup," says General Francisco Furtado of the 1st of August military club.

The run-down stadium in Luanda is Angola's citadel of football

Angola has gathered 26 players for the World Cup, some of whom play in Angola and others in Portugal, France and England.

Pedro Mantorras, an Angolan star player with Lisbon's Benfica, believes that "with everyone's efforts, Angola will be able to play on the same level as all the other teams in the World Cup".

He concludes that "Portugal will just be a team that we know - anything could be possible".

Manager Oliveira Goncalves believes the team is capable of "causing some surprises" in Germany.

Electricity

People will be keen to get to television or radio as soon as the competition starts, but may be thwarted by the country's patchy electricity supply.

In Luanda, with its population of 4m, residents of the outlying suburbs live in permanent darkness, with generators an option only for the wealthy.

Virtually nothing has been done to make it easier for people to see the games.

Large screens may appear in drinking venues, but only through private initiative.

Most people will have to hear about the games from those lucky enough to have seen them, but that will not diminish people's interest.

For a country with a history as sad as Angola's, the joy of simply qualifying can be exceeded only by a strong showing on the field.

Tomas de Melo is a journalist with Angola's Radio Ecclesia.