By Clifford Agugoesi, Editor-in-Chief
Whether viewed in generic or specific terms, one fact that cannot be ignored, as the 34th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), otherwise known as the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023, kicks off tomorrow, January 13, 2024 in the Ivorian(Cote d’Ivoire) cities of Abidjan, Bouake, Korhogo, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro, is the criticality of technology (hardware and software working in concert towards an uncommon experience for all ). The soccer fiesta will last from January 13 to February 11.
24 strong African countries look set to slug it out for the continent’s most coveted title, with a focus to winning, not only for national pride reasons, but also the new prize money of US$7million,which, according to the Confederation of African Football Online(CAFOnline) is a 40 per cent increase over the previous!
In 1980, for instance, when Nigeria won the trophy for the first time, it would have taken a reporter many hours of sweat at a library to be able to research and come up with some vital statistics to weave his/her stories on the tournament or even longer hours or days(depending on location and mode of transportation) to reach CAF Headquarters on 3 Abdel Khalek Tharwat Street, El Hay El Motamayez, Egypt. So, even from the beginning point of this narrative, technology has proven to be very relevant, if not indispensable, in the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023 scheme of things and will remain so for years to come, courtesy of the cyber era we are living in.
From a sponsorship point of view, most of the corporate entities that have identified with and, indeed, would be making the fiesta happen, are technology companies. Official Title Sponsor-TotalEnergy, is active in the energy space and enables tech and other companies. Global Partners include 1XBET, VISA, Orange and Rexona. Official Competition Sponsors list: Ecobank, Razzl, TECNO, APSONIC, Air Cote d’Ivoire. Official National Supporters include: Celeste, Porteo, SMART, LONACI with AGL being listed as the Official Supporter.
Feeds from our Special Correspondents indicate that solid arrangements have been made to guarantee the safety and security of all stakeholders of the soccer fiesta ranging from spectators to players and officials and more, all revealing the huge role that technology would play. We can confirm that video assistant referees(VARs) will be part of the arrangements to ensure a successful fiesta. Let’s confirm that South Africa’s Akhona Makalima will serve as one of the VARs.
According to CAFOnline, CAF has assembled a star-studded line-up of leading African and global voices for the event.
For the first time in the history of the flagship of the tournament, CAF will have on-site commentary – ensuring that viewers experience is enhanced. Wednesday, Multichoice, parent company of SuperSports sent shock waves down the spines of not a few soccer buffs when it indicated AFCON tournament matches would not be broadcasted broadcasting on its platforms! However, same day, whatever harm that may have been meted to football lovers courtesy of the not-cheery news from Supersports, was erased with another announcement from Africa’s largest television network-the Nigerian Television Authority(NTA), to the effect that it would be transmitting live all the 52 matches.
NTA which disclosed this on its X (formerly Twitter) handle said it has signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) with Afro Sports.
Speaking recently with a cross-section of reporters, Chief Broadband Officer, MTN Nigeria, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka hinted on the criticality of technology and how sports would benefit from its copious availability and, may we add affordability. In responding to the question on 5G technology and why MTN was keen in rolling out the technology, Ikenna-Emeka said: “In the days of 3G technology, users could browse the internet at certain speed, send emails and download few files that are not too heavy. Users could also connect to social media like WhatsApp, Instagram, among others. From 3G, we moved to 4G, which comes with video streaming and download of heavy files at a higher download speed and connectivity speed with lower latency, which is the ability and time to complete a given task. So 5G was built on 2G, 3G and 4G technologies, with higher connectivity speed and with lower latency. 5G speaks to speed that is as high as 1Gigabyte with very low latency, which allows for massive number of devices and supports Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and other emerging technologies. With 5G, people can download very heavy files with lesser time. 5G has also brought technology to different sectors like the health sector, education sector, sports, telecommunications, among other sectors.”
Technology’s promise for a successful fiesta now and in the future is immense. This edition, will likely benefit from an earlier resolution of the West African Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (WATRA) to keep roaming charges southwards. Roaming is the ability of a cellular customer to automatically make and receive voice calls, send and receive data, or access other services, including home data services, when travelling outside the geographical coverage area of their home network. Roaming is typically very expensive and most people try to minimise as much cost as possible.
Looking at the sponsors’ list, and considering the way things pan out in the corporate world, each of the entities is bringing its unique value proposition to the table and expects to reap some values, as well, to ensure the fiesta pans out a win-win situation for all involved. We would express no surprises, at all, if at the end of the fiesta, Ecobank, for instance, in its capacity as Official Competition Sponsor, plays the holistic or big role as vessel for transferring(deploying a channel of its choice to facilitate this) the prize monies into the coffers of the football associations(FAs) of the winning countries!
On the strength of the forgoing, there would not be any surprises if CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe and his team keep their doors ajar in order to welcome more sponsors to ensure a stellar showing at the fiesta.
So, if you are still wondering how potentially disruptive technology could be to the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023, imagine a fiesta without it.
