North Africans having torrid time accepting rise of SA

Even though it has such a rich history, North Africa has always been a tricky place one can find themselves in. It's beautifully intriguing, the sights and the beaches are paralysingly spectacular but being there can give one a feeling of being a little lost and not quite sure if you are still in Africa or if you have encroached beyond the Mediterranean Sea to the tiny continent a little up north called Europe.

- By Kgomotso Mokoena

I was fortunate enough to have travelled and criss-crossed between the between the Mediterranean and the Sahara. It was a privilege to have covered the 2004 Afcon in Tunisia where we were based in the south in Sousse and covered matches in the cities of Monastir and Tunis. It was an eye-opening experience.

I was also summoned to the 2006 in Egypt where we also zig-zagged between Cairo and Alexandria where Bafana Bafana were based and played their matches against Tunisia, Nigeria and Zambia. The least said about coach Ted Dumitru's team the better as they returned home with their tails between their legs after having scored no goal, nor recorded a win or even a single point.

Also known as the Maghreb region, people in the north are just too passionate about football and they have dominated the continent for decades.