 The tournament cost $1bn, yet most Angolans live on less than $2 a day
By Louise Redvers
BBC News, Luanda |
 The Cup of African Nations ended with a dazzling fireworks display, but for many the overriding memories of Angola's tournament will be the deadly attack against the Togolese team, the high costs and the traffic jams. While Angolans are claiming a symbolic victory for hosting the biennial football tournament, their enthusiasm has not been shared by some visiting journalists and teams. Grumbles about poor quality hotels, and endless traffic queues on poorly maintained roads have dominated conversations among members of the media. And it was a similar story for the few visiting fans who managed to make it to Angola - a country still rebuilding after a 27-year civil war which ended in 2002, where hotel rooms can cost $600 (£377) a night. Expectations dashed The lack of foreign fans meant some games were played in front of half-empty stadiums.  Images of terrified Togo players were seen around the world |
This led to the government giving away of tens of thousands of seats free of charge, after making public appeals for people to go to the games. Their efforts helped to just about fill the stadiums for the semi-final and final, but left a big dent in revenues. Luanda-based travel agent Candido Carneiro said the country had lost an opportunity to bring tourists to Angola. "The expectations were extremely high at the beginning because of all the frenzy surrounding the organisation, but unfortunately these were frustrated," he said. "There are two factors for this, the very high level of prices in this country, particularly in relation to hotels, and the highly bureaucratic and rigid system of obtaining entry visas." Grand relaunch Mr Carneiro said the tournament had given the country useful new infrastructure which would stimulate the country's economy in the longer term, but he said an "urgent review" of immigration policies was required if Angola was to capitalise on the investment.  The football attracted a diverse mix of spectators |
"We need to develop this country and we need to do this quickly - so we need to open our arms to the world. We shouldn't be afraid of people coming here," he said. More than $1bn (£630m) was spent preparing the country for the tournament - building four super-modern stadiums, new airports, roads and hotels, upgrading hospitals and starting a private taxi service, the first of its kind in the country. The idea was for Angola to relaunch its image to Africa and the rest of the world and prove that it was about more than oil, diamonds and landmines. But the competition was immediately plunged into controversy following the tragic gun attack on the Togolese team in Cabinda - a province separated from the rest of Angola by a sliver of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The shooting was claimed by a faction of the rebel movement Flec (Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda) which has been fighting for decades. The international media immediately questioned Angola's suitability for hosting the tournament, but the Luanda government played down the attack and announced a crackdown on the rebels. And most people got on with the business of enjoying the football party. Mission accomplished? Balconies and cars were draped with red, black and gold national flags and street vendors ditched their usual wares for Angolan-themed everything, from umbrellas and T-shirts to hair-clips, beads and flip-flops. The slogans "united by football" and "one country, one team" were painted in Technicolor on walls and billboards across the country and the official anthem "Angola, Country of the Future" played repeatedly on local radio stations. Before the final between Egypt and Ghana, Minister for Sports and Youth Goncalves Muandumba hailed the tournament as a success. "We have a feeling of 'mission accomplished'," he told reporters. "Football is a sport which unites people, cultures and races and is about partying, of lasting happiness and dreams." Despite the generally upbeat mood in the country because of the CAN, some have questioned Angola's large financial outlay when two-thirds of the population live on less than $2 a day. "As an Angolan citizen, I think we have more priorities," said shop manager Toni Webber. "I do understand that sport can create some visibility, at a world level, but we have to solve some internal problems, some internal issues, such as education and healthcare." Albino da Conceicao, Angola's deputy Minister of Sport and Youth, brushed off concerns about the amount spent on the competition's preparations. "Even if the final amount is more than $1bn, it will still be small because we had to do so much in the country after a long period of war," he said. "We think we did very well, that experience was very good and I think that the people are happy. "And when you fund sport you are funding health and social areas as well."
| 
One-Minute World News 
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
BBC News
Bookmark with:
What are these?