It was a cold day in hell as a tiny country Comoros wrote an indelible history in the annals of both Africa and country’s football to qualify for the next AFCON in Cameroon.
This script was never part of the bookmakers scripts from the day the draw for the AFCON 2021 qualifiers was done but today, whether by serendipity or destiny, that script inevitably would find a glowing place in those books.
With a country little more than a million it was in their wildest dreams that they could ever make it to Africa’s most prestigious tournament especially when they were pitted against the likes of seven time champions Egypt, the Hawks of Togo and the Harambee stars of Kenya.
Today, against an overwhelming odds, little Comoros have actualized themselves at the pinnacle of Abraham Maslow’s theory of needs.
The journey to this ground breaking milestone all began when Comoros surprisingly defeated Togo in Lome to set out this unbelievable journey of dream in motion before drawing goalless at home to giants Egypt picking four points out of six.
The defining curve was the match against the Harambee Stars of Kenya in which they drew one all before putting them to the sword in the return leg winning 2-1 which set them level on points with the Pharaohs of Egypt.
This juncture became the tipping point with the difficulty of holding themselves over the self belief that the impossibility could become a reality.
With two matches left, the light beaming at the end of that treacherous journey was no more a bridge too far and to what should have become their rather indifferent story was on the brink of becoming a majestic Comoros storyline with Amir Amadou the architect behind it.
At the end of the remaining two matches climaxing the 2021 afcon qualifiers, Comoros, The Gambia can arrogate to themselves as walkers in the hall of fame walking like the kingkong wearing on their chests with extreme pride.
For Gambia, they are expected to savour this for a stretch of time that perhaps should last forever. For a country to walk through brimstones of political turmoils and tyrrany over the few years back, this feather in the cup may appear to have come earlier than it could have been expected. From the exploits of their u/20 team in Mauritania to the debut qualification of the Senior team to the next afcon suffices to say, the Gambian football franchise maybe is on the horizon. And the country at this time cannot ask for anything better than this.
Just like Mauritania, Cape Verde, Tanzania and Burundi who made a majestic debut appearance on the African football stage steamed with incredible exploits, Comoros and Gambia cannot wait to lighten up and add up to the African football portfolio.
The draw for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations will be held on 25 June 2021.
The tournament is scheduled to run from 9th January 2022 to 6th February 2022 in Cameroon.
Whereas South Africa, Dr. Congo, Zambia, Uganda, Angola, Congo and Libya may wish to change the hands of time or cannot wait for the next qualifiers, Gambia and Comoros rather may be feeling itchy for the tournament to begin earlier than the scheduled time.
A number of the heavyweights have cemented their places as the subplot to the qualification have been spectacular the count down to Cameroon is on.
The main championship cannot wait. Let the clock tick faster.
Writer : Nana Yaw Preko Bimpeh
Twitter : @Nana Yaw Preko Bimpeh 1
Facebook : Yaw Bimpeh
