The recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations tagged “Cote d’Ivoire 2023” has been adjudged the best edition of the continental showpiece, going by the many new grounds that the championship broke before, during, and after the four-week soccer ensemble. Like it was with World Cups in South Africa 2010 and Qatar 2022 among others, hosting AFCON has left Ivoirian cities with an aftertaste that is rich in modern infrastructures for sports development and socio-economic gains. But some hundreds of kilometres down the Sahara is the most populous African country, Nigeria, surrounded by remnants, rots and sordid tales of past international championships and missed opportunities in massive infrastructural and economic benefits. They converge to form a replica of how not to invest in hosting the world, CHRISTIAN OKPARA reports.

To date, nothing showcases the legacy of wastage, thievery, chicanery, and official corruption that the nation’s sports industry has become synonymous with, like the jaw-dropping amounts of money that the country has spent on hosting mega sporting events in the last three decades or thereabouts, but without commensurate development of sports infrastructure and competencies.

Conversely, while sports facilities in the country have remained scant and derelict after such mega sporting fiestas, engaging in such endeavours in saner climes has left them with multiple benefits, with some even recouping their investment before the first blast of the whistle, while also benefitting from sporting and non-sporting infrastructure. London, host of the 2012 Olympic Games, and Brazil, host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as well as Qatar, host of the last FIFA World Cup, fall into this category.

Presently Cote d’Ivoire is relishing the benefits of hosting the recently concluded African Cup of Nations. Not only was the $1 billion invested in the football fiesta well applied, but the solid sporting facilities either erected or refurbished, in addition to sundry appurtenances will come in handy for a long time.

Rather than bequeath to the country, many ultra-modern sporting facilities, all that can be gleaned from the three major mega sports events that Nigeria has hosted in the last three decades can be summarised as a legacy of wastage fuelled by greed, corruption, improper planning, and the stark absence of altruism.

A legacy of wastes
ON May 25, 2001, the head of the Comited’Organization des jeuxAfricaine (COJA), and chief executive for the 2003 Games, Dr Amos Adamu, during a live television programme, said that the Eighth All-Africa Games, a “massive project which will attract over 7, 000 athletes and officials from 54 African countries who will take part in 22 different sports” to be hosted by Nigeria, in 2003, will cost over $60 million.

He added: “We therefore need a lot of money to cater for all these people as well as other logistics…We will need at least N7 billion (about $62 million at the official exchange rate) to successfully organise this event. And we hope most of the money will come from the private sector,” he said.

These tonnes of money, beyond the straightforward costs, were to facilitate the building of a $380 million worth of sports complex in Abuja, which was to house a 60,000-capacity stadium, a games village to accommodate about 7, 000 athletes and officials.

But from the N7 billion, which Adamu put forward, the Federal Government while doing a post-mortem of the Games, in December 2003, said that it spent a whopping N38 billion.

Shockingly, the amount did not include the cost of the Abuja Stadium but comprised N24 billion direct expenditure (as stated in the budget) and N14 billion for the Ministry of Sports and the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), alongside different ministries and agencies that worked hand-in-glove with COJA.

The Federal Government also informed that it has also put in place a new mechanism- Running Operational Reviews (RORs) to make its activities more transparent to enhance performance. This has remained a pipe dream, as the rape of resources still thrives heavily in government circles.

Today, the Eighth All-Africa Games remains a reference point in opacity in public funds management, and contract scams, even as vehicles and houses acquired for the fiesta became a bonanza for government officials and political leaders. The government and the people of Nigeria bore the brunt.

Other instances where the government hosted mega-sporting events and walked away empty-handed without any return on investment, after pouring billions of naira into such events are during the FIFA Junior World Cup in 1999, and the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009.

To host the U-17 World Cup in 2009, the local organisng committee presented a budget of N35 billion to then-President Umaru Yar’Adua, who rejected it outrightly and withdrew the country from hosting the event. Yar’Adua was, however, persuaded to continue with the hosting because of the diplomatic implication of such decisions, especially as FIFA had no alternate host on standby.

The LOC reduced the budget to N9 billion, which the Federal Government accepted. The government later approved an additional N3 billion to the LOC, making the total sum N12 billion. This money is outside what most of the state governments spent on getting their facilities ready for the event.

But in reality, hosting the championship cost Nigeria more than double the budget and exactly double what it cost Egypt to host the Under-20 World Cup the same year.

According to FIFA’s financial statement after the championship, a total of $42.76 million was expended to host the tournament in Nigeria, way more than the $18.3 million budgeted for the event.

In contrast, Egypt spent $21.47 million to host the U-20 World Cup the same year. At the time, civil society groups called for a probe of the money spent to host the tournament, claiming that contracts were inflated and funds were misappropriated.

In contrast to the U-17 World Cup, the expenditure for the Nigeria ’99 U-20 World Cup is shrouded in secrecy, as none of the participants in the organisation of the championship could say exactly how much was budgeted for it.

A source, who pleaded anonymity, told The Guardian that the organisation of the event revolved around former FIFA top man, Jack Warner, and then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) chairman, Col. Abdulmumini Aminu.

The source said: “Recall that Chief MKO Abiola was the man driving the hosting of the event, which was supposed to have been held in 1995 before his problems with the military government; then Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu took over the LOC.

“Later Col. Aminu and Chief S.B. Williams became the drivers of the event, but along the line, S.B. Williams was sidelined and everything then revolved around Col. Aminu.

“That was during the military era, and I am not sure that at the end of the championship, there was any meeting where the account for the event was rendered.

“The military was in a hurry to hand over to the civilians and I think the U-20 World Cup was one of the things overlooked during the process. But there must be a file on the championship somewhere at the Federal Ministry of Sports.”

The real business of hosting the world
AT the southern end of the continent, South Africa in 2010, hosted the greatest football event on earth – the FIFA World Cup, in 2010. Fourteen years after that edition of the Mundial benefits that accrued to the former apartheid enclave are still standing strong, and contributing immensely to sports development in that country.

In 2020, a decade after that major feat was achieved, by an African country, it was a proud Danny Jordaan, who spearheaded a successful bid and later chaired the local organising committee that told an international news agency that the ensemble, which had a $3 billion price tag left a positive legacy on the country.

Jordaan, who later became the president of the South African Football Association (SAFA) told Reuters that airports, roads, and stadiums built for the tournament have impacted South African sport and economy, especially tourism.

“There was never money taken away from the delivery of essential services. The money that built the World Cup was always intended for new infrastructure,” Jordaan said, adding: “We changed the negative perception about the country and tourism has been a major winner since.”

He added: “There was the sentiment that Africa did not have the capacity and that it couldn’t be trusted. We were under so much pressure to deal with the world’s negativity, but after the World Cup, we saw a lot of that Afro-pessimism end.”

While the new stadiums and improved pitch conditions gave a massive boost to the South African professional football league, Jordaan said that in turn led the domestic league to win a five-year $277 million television contract in 2013.

It was perhaps Nigeria’s enormous football pedigree, rich history of hosting two World Cups at the cadet level, and the successful hosting of the 2003 All Africa Games that prompted the Confederation of African Football President, Patrice Motsepe to, in February, call on President Bola Tinubu, to submit a bid to host the FIFA World Cup, stating that “the best of Nigeria” is back.

Unfortunately, the ugly truth remains that Nigeria is not as lucky as Motsepe’s South Africa when it comes to bequeathing structures that support sports and the economy after committing such huge amounts to hosting mega-sport events judging from evidence on the ground.

A former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Godfrey Ali Gaya, agrees that Nigeria has lost fortunes in hosting large sports shows due to certain extenuating circumstances.

He recalled: “I was involved in the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the U-20 event that Nigeria hosted. I was also involved in COJA 2003. When we hosted the U-17 championship, it was a colossal waste because we did not get half of the money that we put into it; the same with the U-20 World Cup; we wasted money.

“I remember COJA 2003 very well; we spent over N27 billion to host the competition and in the end, Nigeria didn’t make up to N1 billion. It opened a can of worms. There were many allegations/accusations of corruption. Simply put, COJA didn’t serve Nigeria well in any way.

“I witnessed the London 2012 Olympics, I was there; I was also in Brazil’s 2014 World Cup, and you know before these competitions started, these host countries had already recovered their money. They had recovered all that they spent in building stadiums and other infrastructure,” the former lawmaker claimed.

He continued: “For me, hosting competitions here in Nigeria may be good for political reasons, that is because we want to be seen as offering leadership to Africa or being capable of hosting. But if it is purely sports business, I believe there is no need to do that because, in the end, some people will feast on the money, others will go home complaining, and Nigeria will not gain from it.”

He said that while others host to gain from such events, Nigeria hosts to enrich some people, adding, “When Nigeria hosts competitions, sometimes we pay people to come and watch the games. During the U-17 World Cup, we saw empty seats and we didn’t know what to do. So, we taxed ourselves and paid for our constituents to go and fill the stadiums. So, we must ensure that the people are on the same page with us, and will troop out to watch the games if we must host any competition… For now, I don’t think hosting such competitions will be in Nigeria’s interest.”

A former captain of the Green Eagles, Segun Odegbami, who shares Gaya’s views about security concerns, also emphasised that hosting mega-sports events should naturally improve a country’s sporting fortunes from several standpoints, and not what the country is witnessing.

He explained: “For the eight years that it took Qatar to prepare for the one-month-long 64 matches played across eight venues, this small corner of the world was transformed into the centre of the universe. Qatar 2022 was the story of how sport catalysed and fast-tracked the transformation and re-branding of a country into the world’s number one tourist destination; one of the world’s most visited cities in the past decade, and one of the fastest developing environments in the world across virtually all sectors, including sports. In short, Qatar 2022 was much more than just a football event. In the eight years it took from bidding to hosting, football was the least activity. That’s the nature of hosting mega-events. They become catalysts for either genuine development, or, unfortunately also, for waste.

“In hosting the World Cup in 2014, for example, Brazil built a new football stadium in Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon called Arena da Amazonia. The $300 million ultra-modern facility hosted only four matches. As soon as the event ended, the stadium became a white elephant, wasting in the dense vegetation of the Amazon, ‘as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean.’ That is another perspective, a view from the opposite end of proper planning and development.”

Qatar, according to reports, spent about $200 billion to organise the 2022 World Cup. The money went into the construction of eight new stadiums and other facilities across the tiny country of less than three million people, making it the costliest ever FIFA World Cup.

But apart from the public relations opportunities hosting the World Cup provided for Qatar, the country, according to reports, made up to $20 billion in profit from the revenue generated by the many marketing and other economic activities that were part of the championship.

The Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has been adjudged as the best held in the history of the championship. Apart from the large number of tourists from across the world that trooped to the West African country to witness spectacular football, the edition has also been acclaimed as the most viewed edition as millions of people from across the world tuned in to watch the games.

According to reports, Cote d’Ivoire spent more than $1 billion to host the tourney, and the money came from a $3.5 billion loan that the government secured from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

To get the country ready for the championship, the government upgraded its airports and constructed or upgraded roads, hospitals, and hotels in the host cities of Abidjan, Bouake, Korhogo, San Pedro, and the capital, Yamoussoukro.

Apart from the sports spectacle, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, according to experts, went a long way in rebuilding the nation and reuniting the people after the civil wars of 2002-2007 and 2010-11.

Making it a win-win
ALTHOUGH some analysts criticised President Alassane Ouattara, a former IMF employee, for spending so much on sports when the money could have been channelled to so many other pressing issues, others look at the recent stability and growth in the economy to justify such financial outlay on football.

Justifying the huge spending on the AFCON, its Local Organising Committee (LOC) Chairman, Francois Amichia, told BBC that the country hosted the championship to reposition itself.

He said: “It was an opportunity to provide sports infrastructure – and I must remind you that no sports infrastructure had been built for years – with the Nations Cup allowing us to have four new and two refurbished stadiums in one go.

“While Cote d’Ivoire built 24 new training centres in the five host cities, as well as three ‘AFCON cities’ of 32 five-room villas in Bouake, San Pedro, and Yamoussoukro, with another new 48-room hotel in Korhogo creating new hospitality centres in the country, the 2023 AFCON created new jobs and businesses for the people, which has led to projections that the local economy will continue to reap from the continental fiesta in many years to come.”

Amichia said that “organising the competition has allowed us to improve transport links,” adding, “We know that Cote d’Ivoire went through a difficult period, which was not easy economically. But this Nations Cup has allowed the country to equip itself with sporting and non-sporting infrastructure worthy of a developing country.”

Part of Cote d’Ivoire’s plans is to lure other African countries to its host cities, just the way Morocco has benefitted from its modern facilities to become the continent’s alternative venue for every major competition.

Listing some of the gains of hosting the AFCON, Cote d’Ivoire Football Federation (FIF) President, Idriss Diallo, said the new stadiums would become handy for any country that does not have modern facilities to host their events.
“We will offer a space to all countries that do not have infrastructure approved by the Confederation of African Football and FIFA,” he said.

Cote d’Ivoire projects that its economy would become West Africa’s third biggest in terms of growth behind Nigeria and Ghana. Many businesses sprung up across the country on the eve of the AFCON and the momentum generated by the influx of people from different countries has boosted hotel, restaurant, and other allied trades.

LIKE Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt also derived so much economic benefits from hosting the AFCON in 2019, with its profit from the championship standing at over $83 million, according to CAF.

CAF said although Cairo, the country’s capital, was the main centre of the action and attraction because it hosted three groups – A, C, and D, the three other cities involved, Alexandria, Suez and Ismailia, also experienced a huge economic boom.

Apart from the benefits accruing to host nations, the Africa Cup of Nations also presents big opportunities to get bigger contracts, with players’ sales adding to their country’s economy.

According to reports, the European football market is estimated to be valued at an astonishing $22 billion, which provides African players and their football clubs a window to economic freedom.

Apart from the 1973 Africa Cup of Nations, and the FESTAC ‘77 (a culture and dance event), some stakeholders insist that the country has not fared well in comparison with other nations after hosting such competitions.

But both Odegbami and Gaya, who were in Cote d’Ivoire for the 2023 AFCON, acknowledged the fact that the Ivoirians did a marvelous job.
According to Odegbami, it was a “good advertisement for African football because of the excellent facilities, particularly the quality of the grounds that allowed for the highest level of football. The matches were therefore full of drama and great football, some of the most dramatic I have seen in the world of football generally since 1976. But in terms of the overall organisation, colour, festival atmosphere, etc., I can’t rate it as the best. Ghana and South Africa were better for atmosphere.”

Odegbami said that Nigeria, with the right people driving it, can achieve the same level of success and even better. “It is important, however, that the right leadership to drive set objectives is in put in place,” he added.

For Gaya, Cote d’Ivoire 2023 was a “success in terms of infrastructure, high-tech equipment, and modern facilities, which were all maintained by international standards, and one must give kudos to the country’s government for putting up such a successful event. The country set an example for other African countries to emulate when called upon to host any major championship,” adding, however, that Nigeria could find it difficult to replicate the Ivoirians’ example.

He said: “I don’t think Nigeria can replicate what we saw in Cote d’Ivoire because the cost of building new facilities would be too bloated and inflated by corrupt officials. People will see it as an opportunity to make money, instead of a call to service. Again, I don’t think that given the hunger in the land currently, our priority would be to host an international championship.

A former Chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) Technical Committee, Chris Green, like Odegbami, believes that Nigeria can host a better show than Cote d’Ivoire, given the country’s experience in hosting such big events to buttress his point.

He said: “Nigeria has hosted the world at the FIFA U-17 and U-20 championships level. Nigeria has also hosted several AFCONs, as well as other competitions, and put up a class act. The only problem is maintenance of the facilities used for the competitions.”

However, Green said although hosting AFCON or any other major championship would boost the country’s economy and also give the nation positive exposure, Nigeria should rather direct such huge sums needed to host the international football championship or any other sporting event to the alleviation of the hunger ravaging the country.

Sports lawyer, Sabinus Ikewuaku, disagrees with Gaya on the viability of hosting an international championship by Nigeria, saying that the ills of the past could be corrected if the government allows the laws of the land to go after any individual who misappropriates money meant for such competitions.

He also advocates that Nigeria should key into the Chinese sports diplomacy funds to upgrade, or build new infrastructure if it desires to host an international competition as big as the AFCON or the African Games.

“We are talking about how good Cote d’Ivoire 2023 was, but we forget that they had external help in building some of the new faculties. I am aware that China helped to build some of their facilities, just as they did for Ghana in 2008 and Mozambique in 2011 when they hosted the African Games.

“China built prefabricated houses to accommodate people during the 2008 AFCON in Ghana and at the end of the championship, these houses were dismantled and moved to other areas that lacked proper housing facilities.

“They helped Mozambique to build a new stadium and Games Village for the 2011 African Games, among other infrastructure; so, they can also do that for Nigeria if we so desire.”

He said the expected gains in hosting global championships far outweigh whatever monetary consideration people talk about, adding that some of the legacies from past events are still being enjoyed by the country.

“The 1973 African Games gave Nigeria the Games Village at the heart of Lagos, which houses hundreds of families. These houses were built to accommodate teams during the event and at the end they were sold to Nigerians of different levels of income.

“FESTAC ’77 gave Nigeria the Festac Town, which is a big community of its own. Agreed, we mismanaged gains that we would have made from subsequent hosting rights, but that was because the government was not sincere in monitoring the championships. We know who did what at the U-20 and U-17 championships, as well as COJA, but we did nothing to them. “In some other countries, some people would have gone to jail for misusing public trust as they did in COJA, but we allowed everything to end like that.”