Six months more and all so quiet!
Yesterday at the time of going to press, the Ghanaian Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of CAN2008 was closeted in the committee’s Ridge offices for a marathon meeting. On Tuesday, the LOC announced that it would today, Thursday, August 9, start rolling out a 24 episode television programme aimed at stimulating public awareness about the continent’s plum soccer competition. Would it be too little, too late…?

Ghana has less than six months to host the African Cup of Nations but so far, and rather surprising for a nation that claims to be soccer mad, there are no visible signs of any national euphoria. It does not seem like there is something as momentous as this continental soccer fiesta going to take place in the country. Apart from the four major stadiums being put up for the competition, the kind of atmosphere that normally heralds such occasions is missing.

In contrast, yesterday, China put up a major display of its preparedness towards the 2008 Olympic Games with a lavish show, almost as if that was the opening day of the Games. The show was organized a good year before opening day and celebrated the one-year mark in the countdown to next year's Olympics. Even before yesterday’s celebrations in China, tickets had gone on sale in Beijing. There was a huge party in Tiananmen Square, with Chinese leaders and IOC officials joining a crowd of 10,000 in a televised event to invite more than 200 national Olympic Committees to participate in next year's Games.

Government Officials of many countries were invited to witness the celebration. It was not only the Chinese capital that witnessed the event; sixty three official events took place across the country at the same time. Similarly, in South Africa, where the 2010 World Cup is going to be held, a documentary on BBC has shown how the country is proceeding with preparations. Flags flying, T-shirts, cups, billboards and other souvenirs have been made three years to the event.

In Ghana, the situation is different; hardly any adverts on television or radio or the print media to show that the country will be hosting the biggest sporting event on the continent. No souvenirs are on sale, tickets for the event are still not sold, and neither are there any visible signs of public animation. As a soccer fan put it, “The atmosphere is dull”.  When ADM called the office of the LOC to find out more, a secretary simply said: “All the members are in a meeting”.
 
Peace Fm 09/08/2007