Are today's players inferior to those of years gone by?

He spoke to Segun Odegbami, 1980 Nations Cup winner with Nigeria, Ghanaian three-time African Footballer of the Year Abedi Pele and Zambia's Kalusha Bwalya, who captained his team to the runners-up spot in 1994.

The discussion took place in Accra in front of a live audience, who contributed questions to the three veterans of the game.

Odegbami: "The game is more technical now, but we had some terrific individual players in those days. I think there's too much passing in the game these days and that buries individual expressiveness on the ball. I see us lamenting the absence of so many of yesterday's stars, like Jay Jay Okocha (Nigeria) and Kalusha Bwalya."

SEGUN ODEGBAMI Right-winger Scored twice in Nigeria's 3-0 win over Algeria in the 1980 Nations Cup final Nicknamed "Mathematical, for his precision in front of goal

Abedi Pele: "He's said it all. There were greater players before, I don't believe that technically the players of today are better than us. But Africa is showcasing itself on the continent and globally, and things are changing for the best."

Bwalya: "The game has come very far, and we're glad for that. The platform was set by the older players. Like types of cars change, we are the old models and they are the new models, a new generation of African players."

Odegbami: "Actually, I added a year to my age - the opposite of what's happens these days - so that I could get into the national team quickly. It's affected our football badly. In my country it's easy to pay to get a new birth certificate, and it deprives other youngsters of opportunities."

Abedi Pele: "My age was also increased, but at that time there wasn't the same professionalism. If we want to stop age cheating now, we must go to the schools and check that players' birth certificates aren't forged. But people will always find a short cut."

Bwalya: "Just reaching the Nations Cup finals used to be an achievement, there used to be only eight teams that qualified. Then of course, losing the 1994 final to Nigeria is my greatest memory, after the team died off the coast of Gabon a year before. We rebuilt the team and came back."

KALUSHA BWALYA 1988 African Footballer of the Year Scored a hat-trick in Zambia's 1988 Olympic quarter-final win over Italy Captained Zambia to runners-up spot at 1994 Nations Cup

Abedi Pele: "Good memories or bad ones? My worst memory is watching my team-mates lose the 1992 final on penalties to Ivory Coast, when I was suspended. The best is from 1982, when I was just 17. I tormented the Tunisia defence and dribbled from our 18-yard area to theirs and gave a pass for a goal."

Odegbami: "It must be 1978. You know, we Nigerians like to beat Ghana! Ghana had a very big reputation then, but I was given so much respect and I did whatever I liked on the field, and I scored. Then of course, winning the 1980 Nations Cup - we almost walked through the tournament."

Odegbami: "Mohammed Polo, Abdul Razak (both Ghana) and Philip Omondi (Uganda) were all great. Then if you want a demonstration of how to play central midfield, Adolf Armah of Ghana is one of the greatest footballers I've ever seen."

Abedi Pele: "I remember watching Segun Odegbami and Philip Omondi back in 1978 when I was 12 years old, and I was amazed. Then there was Tarek Dhiab of Tunisia, a magician. But there are too many to mention, Africa is blessed with so much talent and we're going to make it big in the future."

Bwalya: "Just to mention one of today's legends, Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon is the quintessential striker. He's supremely confident and his Nations Cup scoring record justifies his place in history. And it's a pity that Stephen Appiah of Ghana hasn't been playing here."

Bwalya: "The future is in our own hands, it's our responsibility as we develop football. The calibre of foreign coaches is important, they have to be able to add something and understand the culture."

ABEDI PELE AYEW Won 1982 Nations Cup with Ghana Played in France, Italy and Germany Three-time African Footballer of the Year

"But I think that sometimes in Africa we have little patience with our own coaches, and also our coaches can be unprepared to learn, and to do coaching courses."