{"id":607382,"date":"2019-04-12T20:06:32","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T20:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"
\n

Sports News of Friday, 12 April 2019<\/p>\n

Source: <\/strong>Myjoyonline.com <\/p>\n2019-04-12\n\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Sports News of Friday, 12 April 2019<\/p>\n

Source: <\/strong>Myjoyonline.com <\/p>\n

2019-04-12<\/p>\n

\n

\"AfconThe AFCON draw will be held in Giza this evening<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ah, we get to hear the frayed phrase \u2018luck of the draw\u2019 once more when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducts the ritual for the 2019 African Cup of Nations on Friday evening.<\/p>\n

CAF said its Executive Committee at a meeting on Thursday approved the draw procedure for the tournament slated for June. The procedure was proposed by the Organising Committee at its meeting 24-hours earlier.<\/p>\n

The pots and seedings of the 24 qualified teams were decided based on the latest FIFA World rankings (released 4 April 2019). This was a departure from the norm of using the previous AFCON form to seed. We can debate the politics, merits and demerits of the Fifa ranking vs CAF ranking another time.<\/p>\n

For now, here\u2019s what we know.<\/p>\n

Pot 1: Egypt (host) \u2013 Cameroon (defending champion) \u2013 Nigeria \u2013 Senegal \u2013 Tunisia \u2013 Morocco<\/p>\n

Pot 2: DR Congo \u2013 Ghana \u2013 Mali \u2013 Ivory Coast \u2013 Guinea \u2013 Algeria<\/p>\n

Pot 3: South Africa \u2013 Uganda \u2013 Benin \u2013 Mauritania \u2013 Madagascar \u2013 Kenya<\/p>\n

Pot 4: Zimbabwe \u2013 Namibia \u2013 Guinea Bissau \u2013 Angola \u2013 Tanzania \u2013 Burundi<\/p>\n

Does your country\u2019s pot matter?<\/p>\n

Yes, it does. At the same time, no, it does not.<\/p>\n

It is true that no team has ever lost a match because of its Fifa ranking, however a mismatch of that ranking means that a team can begin a match with a considerable advantage. In tournament situations such as the AFCON, that advantage is usually marginal, but telling.<\/p>\n

Consider the case of Ghana, who have found themselves seeded in every AFCON since 2012. They\u2019ve finished fourth (2012), fourth (2013), second (2015), and fourth (2017).<\/p>\n

The last time the Black Stars were NOT seeded, in 2010, they also reached final. It can even be argued that in that Angola edition, the team played with a group that were not expected to even make the semis. This suggests, at least per this example, that pots do not mean much. Right?<\/p>\n

And yet, they do.<\/p>\n

Generally, from history, it easier for a seeded team (in pot 1) to get an easier draw than being in pot 2. Statistically speaking, there is a bigger chance that one of the top seeds will be grouped with the teams considered by Fifa\u2019s ranking to be the world\u2019s 25th, 32nd and 40th best (so with an average Fifa ranking of 32), while another in pot 2 could get teams ranked 12th, 18th and 20th (an average Fifa ranking of 17).<\/p>\n

The latter team, on paper, will be left with more to worry about. On paper.<\/p>\n

On a continent like Africa, a pot can determine if your national team is based in a big metropolis like Cairo, or a rural venue where a newly-built stadium sticks out in the middle of a forest, as Oyem was in Gabon\u2019s 2017 edition. Being based in a big city for your group games may mean easier access for fans, who can get financially favourable flights to come over and support. Get thrown in the hinterlands and you\u2019ll have just a small presence.<\/p>\n

Hotel standards, ambience, ease of communication (trust me, some AFCON venues in recent years have been known to have crackly phone reception, just a few fax machines and other vital comms gear).<\/p>\n

How do you deal with a draw?<\/p>\n

For this, Cote d\u2019Ivoire can give the best answer.<\/p>\n

They have been in every AFCON since 2006, when a chap called Didier Drogba turned up. They announced their power with a runners-up finish, and since then, the Elephants always come in as favorites. Mostly, they\u2019ve underwhelmed (fourth in 2008, quarterfinalists in 2010 and 2013), or come very close (runners-up in 2012). Or, they\u2019ve won the damned thing (2015).<\/p>\n

Gervinho, a veteran of this team, has always got a simple take. \u201cI get bored with the same questions every time\u201d, he told RFI before the 2017 draw. \u201cAfter being part of the AFCON for so long, I think every country just needs to forget about whether you are favorite or not. I think you should get mentally ready and play. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

See the draw as a guide, and be optimistic. You may be a just a fourth timer like Benin, and could get Cameroon, Mali and Zimbabwe in the draw. But here\u2019s the thing: one the eve of the tournament Cameroon\u2019s sports minister will decide not to pay bonuses, and Mali\u2019s kits would not have arrived on time. And, to complete your luck, Zimbabwean players will announce a boycott because Knowledge Musona has been stripped off the captaincy after it was revealed he intends to marry the coach\u2019s only daughter.<\/p>\n

Yep. That\u2019s how quickly things can flip around here.<\/p>\n

Now that we\u2019ve established that draws mean a lot, but can mean very little, let\u2019s ask the obvious question: who is the favorite to win?<\/p>\n

??????Favorites?<\/p>\n

Gervinho doesn\u2019t like this question, but journalists have to get soundbites, don\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a difficult one because there are so many good teams these days \u2013 it\u2019s very difficult to choose the eventual winner,\u201d former Ghana star Michael Essien says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot rule out the North African teams, especially the host nation Egypt with Mohamed Salah. Then Ghana and the West Africans like Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon are all strong teams, so the winner could come from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too close to call, so may the best side win,\u201d he told Goal.<\/p>\n

In every tournament, the seeded sides are always in the mix, but we\u2019ve had the occasional dark horse too. The most recent example is Zambia in 2012, when they won after having been third in Pot 2 of the draw.<\/p>\n

In the end, planning in advance will get any team a long way. Avoid the drama of player bonuses, chaotic flight plans, and disruptive star players. That\u2019s a good way to not mind what the draw in Cairo on Friday night (1900 GMT) brings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u0642\u0627\u0644\u0628 \u0648\u0631\u062f\u067e\u0631\u0633<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sports News of Friday, 12 April 2019 Source: Myjoyonline.com 2019-04-12 The AFCON draw will be held in Giza this evening Ah, we get to hear the frayed phrase \u2018luck of the draw\u2019 once more when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducts the ritual for the 2019 African Cup of Nations on Friday evening. CAF […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":607384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-607382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nAFCON 2019 draw: Does it matter what pot your country gets? - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"AFCON 2019 draw: Does it matter what pot your country gets? - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Sports News of Friday, 12 April 2019 Source: Myjoyonline.com 2019-04-12 The AFCON draw will be held in Giza this evening Ah, we get to hear the frayed phrase \u2018luck of the draw\u2019 once more when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducts the ritual for the 2019 African Cup of Nations on Friday evening. CAF […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ghana News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"headline\":\"AFCON 2019 draw: Does it matter what pot your country gets?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-12T20:06:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":991,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/\",\"name\":\"AFCON 2019 draw: Does it matter what pot your country gets? - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-12T20:06:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/12\\\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2019\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\",\"name\":\"Ghana News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ghana News\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AFCON 2019 draw: Does it matter what pot your country gets? - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"AFCON 2019 draw: Does it matter what pot your country gets? - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"Sports News of Friday, 12 April 2019 Source: Myjoyonline.com 2019-04-12 The AFCON draw will be held in Giza this evening Ah, we get to hear the frayed phrase \u2018luck of the draw\u2019 once more when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducts the ritual for the 2019 African Cup of Nations on Friday evening. CAF […]","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ghana News","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/"},"author":{"name":"Ghana News","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"headline":"AFCON 2019 draw: Does it matter what pot your country gets?","datePublished":"2019-04-12T20:06:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/"},"wordCount":991,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/","name":"AFCON 2019 draw: Does it matter what pot your country gets? - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2019-04-12T20:06:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/04\/12\/afcon-2019-draw-does-it-matter-what-pot-your-country-gets\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036","name":"Ghana News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ghana News"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607382\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}