The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and International Tyre manufacturer Continental have been saluted by goalkeeping experts over the recently signed five year sponsorship deal that would see to the award of the Best Goalkeeper prize for the first time at the upcoming Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Egypt 2019.
History was made 13th May in Cairo when CAF named Continental Tyre as its Official Sponsor of the 2019 edition of the tournament that will be staged in Egypt between 21st June and 19th July while the extensive rights package of the sponsorship agreement, according to CAF, include the next two editions of AFCON to be staged in Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
“The Africa Cup of Nations is the biggest and most important sports competition in the African continent, a region where we are targeting further growth over the next few years,” said Jon Ander Garcia, Regional Manager of Continental across Africa & Middle East. “Africa is a key emerging market for Continental sport and football is undoubtedly the continent’s most popular sport.
“With this sponsorship, we aim to get closer to the consumers, and bring exciting engaging activations through the global language of football.”
Meanwhile, Alloy Agu, the former Nigeria international goalkeeper and AFCON winner when Tunisia hosted the championship in 1994 described the ground-breaking deal as a great incentives to Le Gardiens de but (the goalkeepers) on parade at Egypt 2019, adding goalkeepers are crucial to the success of any team.
“The sponsorship agreement by CAF and Continental to reward the best goalkeeper at the AFCON is simply awesome,” Alloy Agu who is currently on the Super Eagles’ technical crew as goalkeepers’ trainer, told The Nation. “Without any doubt, this special reward for the Best Goalkeeper at the AFCON would bring out the best out of the goalkeepers and I think CAF and Continental Tyre has done really well with this sponsorship.
“Personally, I’m very happy with this development because it’s usually a customary thing to recognise the best player on the field and hardly do goalkeepers get serious attention. But with this sponsorship by Continental Tyre, we are going to see the best of the goalkeepers at the AFCON.”
Speaking further, the 51-year-old who featured for the Super Eagles between 1988 and 1995 and reportedly lost tooth in defence of his line in the Senegal 1992 AFCON qualifier against Ghana in Kumasi, said the goalkeepers are key elements of the game.
In its official release, CAF described the sponsorship with Continental as a perfect marriage since ‘as the team’s last line of defence, the keeper’s role of safeguarding the goalmouth reflects Continental’s own safety values, with the manufacturer being known as a pioneer in road safety for more than 140 years. Safety is also reflected in Continental’s Vision Zero initiative to make roads safer in the future, to have zero fatalities, zero injuries and zero crashes.’
Noted CAF President Ahmad Ahmad: “We are pleased to welcome Continental as a new sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations. This new partnership shows that our flagship tournament is not only the most watched football event in Africa, but also the continent’s premier sporting event.
“We are very hopeful about the exchange of our respective values through such a partnership, and thanks to Continental we are excited about the launch of the Best Goalkeeper award.”
Ahmad’s view was equally echoed by Cranes of Uganda’s former trainer Fred Kajoba who is currently tending the team’s goalkeepers, adding the continental soccer ruling body has done well with the sponsorship deal with Continental.
“I want to thank CAF for putting up this t award for the best goalkeeper (at the AFCON),” the 50-year-old who as recent as 2018 had a goalkeeping coaching stint in the US with Major League Soccer (MLS) side New York Red Bull told The Nation.
“It’s very good and it’s going to improve goalkeepers’ performance in AFCON. We have had great displays from players between the posts and I’m confident the level of the game will be way up during the tournament; I know Denis Onyango(Ugandan national team goalkeeper) is the best in Africa and this award will inspire him to deliver more.”
Kajoba further stressed the importance of goalkeepers in a team: “Football on the pitch starts with goalkeeping. A match can’t start without the keeper. He is the organiser of the game. He is The best tactical person on the field because he sees things easily especially dangerous movements.”
Yet Nigeria’s number 1 player to the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup, Ike Shorunmu went philosophical in attesting to the roles of goalkeepers in a team, insisting that the roles of shot-stoppers in a football team are like the roles being played by fathers.
“To start with, I want to thank Continental and CAF for creating a special award for the Best Goalkeepers at the AFCON, this is a step in the right direction and it would surely improve the standard of goalkeeping at the tournament,” noted Shorunmu who missed out of the Super Eagles’ roster for the France 1998 when he was injured on the eve of the FIFA World Cup.
“Although the goalkeeper is the last person on the pitch but I make bold to say he’s the most important because he’s like a father in a family set up; unfortunately, they are always at the receiving end most of the time,” explained the 51-year-old Shorunmu who featured for clubs in Switzerland and Turkey in his heyday.“ “A striker may squander chances upon chances in a match but he can be forgiven if he eventually scored a goal but the same cannot be said about goalkeepers. A goalkeeper could have denied ad denied the opposing team in the course of a match but he would be crucified if he concedes a goal in injury time.”
“It can be that bad for a goalkeeper and that is why I’m happy that CAF in conjunction with Continental Tyres has deemed it fit to reward the Best Goalkeeper at the AFCON henceforth,” noted Shorunmu who turned out for Nigeria between 1992 and 2002.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
