The Shocks and Joys of AFCON 2021
After much delay, the AFCON 2021 tournament has been a fantastic treat to enjoy for football fans all over the globe. It was originally meant to be played in the summer of 2021, but because of the intense heat during that season, the Confederation of African Football moved it forward to January and February of that year. Unfortunately, it was unable to be played then, and so was put back an entire year. Even though it has now taken part in 2022, the tournament has still retained the 2021 title for sponsorship reasons.
The AFCON is currently enjoyed by viewers in many different countries, as African footballers have become some of the most talented and exciting players in the game. The most dominant British subscription sports channel, Sky Sports, has shown every single game, and even the BBC, which is the famous national broadcaster of Britain, has shown every knockout game.
It’s also a big draw for the betting crowd, as the advancement of online gambling has allowed bettors from around the world to bet on the competitive matches. Arabian Betting for example, have cornered the market in Arabic countries to showcase their visitors the best sportsbooks and casinos, allowing users to find a website that favours them with the best sporting odds, and also exciting bonus offers. All the listed sites cover a wide range of sports from football to boxing, and even camel racing, so there’s something for everyone.
This 33rd edition of the biennial competition, then, has had some truly joyous moments, but also a fair few shocks. One of the most shocking things has been the insane amount of red cards that have been dished out during the tournament. At the time of writing there have been an immense thirteen red cards produced, which is already more than the past four tournaments combined, and there’s still the semi-finals and final to play.
Interestingly, this is the first AFCON to use VAR for all 52 matches, which stands for Video Assistant Referee. VAR enables the on-field referee to be shown video replays of incidents that deserve another look. This definitely has impacted things on the field, as tackles that would have previously gone unpunished have now resulted in the offending player taking an early bath. Fans though have not reacted favourably to some of these decisions, and social media has been awash with disgruntled posts about the games.
HOT DEALS:
itel A70 - (128GB, 3GB RAM) $89,
itel A70 - (256GB, 4GB RAM) $99
itel P40 (128GB, 4GB), (6000mAh) $99
itel P40 (64GB, 4G), (6000mAh) $93
Cash on Delivery in Harare & Bulawayo. Tinotumira kwamuri inosvika.
WhatsApp: 0783 450 793
Another thing that left many people shocked, were the early exits of two powerhouse teams, Algeria and Ghana. Algeria actually won the previous AFCON in 2019, and were expected to put up a combative battle for the defence of their victory, but they actually crashed out in the group stages, not even winning a single match. This was despite them having some of the most exceptional players in the tournament, such as Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez, and Saiid Benrahma, who plays for West Ham.
When it comes to moments of joy though, this AFCON hasn’t disappointed, with there being some lovely occasions out on the pitch. One of the biggest feel-good stories has been competition debutants Comoros and The Gambia both managing to reach the knockout matches. This makes the future look bright for some of the other smaller African clubs, as they’ve seen visual proof that if they train hard and apply themselves, they can overcome some of the bigger teams and progress to the knockout stages. The Gambia’s manager is actually half Zimbabwean and will be feeling incredibly proud of himself for guiding them all the way to the quarter-finals, before they were finally defeated by Cameroon.
There’s also been some magnificent football played by the star of the tournament, Egypt’s Mo Salah. The Liverpool talisman has been lighting up The Premier League and the Champions League for the past few seasons and he’s carried that form into his international play. Every time he receives the ball you can witness the opposition players panicking, and that’s because they’re aware of the breathtaking skill that he possesses. It was also his gritty determination that helped power Egypt past Morocco in the quarter-finals, with him scoring the equalizer and then going on to assist the winner. It’s exactly that kind of brilliant star-quality that will, hopefully, continue to make future AFCON’s captivating to millions of viewers.
