Issa Hayatou, the president of CAF, provided a partial assessment of the 29th African Cup of Nations (CAN 2013) before the final match between Nigeria and Burkina Faso. Here are some key points from his assessment:
- Surprises and Emerging Teams:
- Hayatou expressed satisfaction with the emergence of teams that were relatively unknown a few years ago, such as Niger, Ethiopia, and Cape Verde.
- He highlighted the positive sign of Burkina Faso reaching the final, indicating the growth and development of football in Africa.
- Refereeing:
- While acknowledging mistakes in certain matches, particularly the Burkina Faso-Ghana semi-final and Togo-Tunisia, Hayatou expressed overall satisfaction with African refereeing.
- He noted that there has been improvement in refereeing standards.
- Stadium Occupancy:
- Hayatou mentioned his happiness with the stadium occupancy rates. He acknowledged that the large capacity of South African stadiums might give the impression of emptiness, but the total number of tickets sold, 776,000, reflects substantial attendance.
- Despite South Africa being eliminated, spectators continued to attend matches, contributing to the success of the tournament.
The interview provides insight into Hayatou’s positive perspective on the overall success of CAN 2013, considering the performance of teams, refereeing standards, and spectator turnout.
