Carlos Amato
DESPITE the best efforts of some referees to wreck the proceedings, this Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) has been a corker.
After that abysmal opening day, and tedious early spasm of draws, the soccer tournament came to the boil in the knockout stages.
Nigeria and Burkina Faso are worthy finalists and, with any luck, fans will pack out the National Stadium on Sunday to witness their showdown.
But the question must be asked: did Africa's greatest players like Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba and Asamoah Gyan give everything they had?
No. You could read their ambivalence in their faces when their sides were evicted: disappointed, but not distraught.
For Toure, there is the small matter of an English Premier League title to defend. For Drogba, a fascinating new challenge awaits in Istanbul, where he will team up with Wesley Sneijder at the resurgent Galatasaray.
As for Gyan, wads of cash await him back in Abu Dhabi.
In a way, the superstars' less than whole-hearted investment in the Cup is understandable. They are rich, powerful men and know very well that any given soccer competition is not terribly important in the bigger scheme of things.
Other African heavyweights chose not to be here at all – such as Steven Pienaar, Michael Essien (who asked to be excused on the grounds that African pitches are not good for his dodgy knees) and Kevin-Prince Boateng.
Maybe if the Nations Cup happened every four years, instead of two, then the bigger sides would approach it with greater focus and hunger. But that is not going to happen, because it generates too much financial gain for Africa's ruling body.
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