The first ambition of Nigerian Stephen Keshi and Ghanaian Kwesi Appiah at the World Cup is to reach the second round and end decades of failure by African coaches.
Since 1978, when Tunisian Abdelmajid Chetali became the first African coach to lead his country at a World Cup, all 11 have failed to secure a place in the knockout stages.
Despite this grim record, Appiah and Keshi are strong backers of African coaches, although three Europeans achieved the best results for a continent that has never gone beyond the quarter-finals.
Russian Valery Nepomniachi guided Cameroon to the last eight in 1990 and Frenchman Bruno Metsu and Serb Milovan Rajevac equalled the feat with Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) respectively.
“The white guys are coming to Africa just for the money – they are not doing anything we cannot do,” Keshi said in an interview.
“When an African is appointed, he must win every friendly, the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup.
“But whites get a year to adapt, to know the country and the players. That is unprofessional.”
Appiah is aiming much higher than the second round, telling reporters his ‘Black Stars’ are powerful enough to lift the trophy.
“To become world champions you need strength in depth,” said the reserved 53-year-old former national team full-back.
“Ghana boasts a strong squad and I believe we can go very far – even become world champions.
“African football is rising and other countries from the continent can also do very well in Brazil.”
However, a first round Group G including European powerhouses Germany and Portugal spells trouble, even for talented Ghana.
Keshi, who skippered Nigeria on their World Cup debut 20 years ago, appears better placed to create history.
While Argentina are Group F favourites, Nigeria are capable of taking a place with them ahead of Bosnia and Iran.
The outspoken Keshi, 52, refuses to be drawn on the chances of the ‘Super Eagles’.
“Some Nigerians believe we got an easy draw and qualification is guaranteed, but I disagree.
“It would be a terrible mistake to underestimate Bosnia and Iran as they survived tough qualifying campaigns just like us.”
For Ghana and Nigeria to progress, Appiah and Keshi must succeed where coaching legends like Algerian Rabah Saadane and Egyptian Mahmoud El Gohary failed.
A North African duo – Algerian Rachid Mekhloufi and Moroccan Mahieddine Khalef – came closest to getting past the first round though.
They masterminded a stunning 1982 triumph over West Germany in Spain and also a victory against Chile.
But Algeria finished third on goal difference after qualifiers Germany and Austria were involved in a shameful final group game.
A narrow win for Germany would ensure they and Austria advanced and after the Germans took an early lead, the match became a farce.
Both teams passed aimlessly while Spanish spectators chanted “fuera, fuera” (out, out) and furious Algerians waved banknotes at the players.
Germany won 1-0 and although Fifa rejected Algerian pleas for a replay, they ordered final group fixtures at subsequent tournaments be played simultaneously.
Unfortunately, the record of African coaches since Algeria were eliminated is embarrassing with just one victory in 25 World Cup matches.
That was achieved by Jomo Sono, a South African star deprived by apartheid of the chance to display his skills at a World Cup.
The ‘Black Prince’ coached his country at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea-Japan and ‘Bafana Bafana’ (The Boys) overcame Slovenia.
But Spain and Paraguay advanced, leaving Sono third, just like Mekhloufi and Khalef, Chetali and Angolan Luis Oliveira Goncalves.
Chetali was the other coach to savour victory as Tunisia defeated Mexico in 1978 – the first African triumph at a World Cup.
Teams coached by Saadane (twice), Tunisians Ali Selmi and Ammar Souayah, El Gohary, Moroccan Abdellah Blinda and Nigerian Festus Onigbinde finished winless and last.
Now it is the turn of Appiah and Keshi and it would be a massive disappointment for Africa if neither breaks the barrier.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khaldoon%20Bushnaq%20and%20Tariq%20Seksek%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20100%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20to%20date%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2415%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The five pillars of Islam
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
