GLOBAL GLORY

THE CONTINENT'S BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT IS PROJECTED TO GENERATE A RECORD PROFIT OF $112.84 MILLION.

- By Mark Gleeson

The continent has no bigger sporting event than football's Africa Cup of Nations, with the tournament in Morocco from December 21 to January 18 to keep millions of fans transfixed.

It is also recognized now that the Cup of Nations is also not far behind the World Cup and European Championship in terms of its international reach and television audience, offering a window to Africa to a wider audience.

The tournament itself has come a long way since three countries-Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan-first played an African championship in 1957. It then evolved into an eight-team affair and remained so right through until 1992, when the commercialization of sport was rapidly evolving and the size of the field went up to 12 teams.

Kwesi Appiah, a coach at the tournament in Morocco, was part of the Ghana team that won in 1982-more than 40 years ago.