PUNCH
By Michael Omisore
It was March 1984. The attention of the whole African continent was captivated by football for two whole weeks as terrestrial radio and TV stations beamed live and delayed footballing scenes and traditional newspapers carried news reports from Bouake and Abidjan, the two Ivorian cities that hosted the matches of the 14th African Nations Cup. And what enthralling matches they were. At that time, only eight countries got to contend for the trophy at the Nations Cup, so qualification for the tournament was stiffer, and playing both stage and final rounds was tougher than now that up to 24 teams are participating.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the 1984 African Nations Cup was the unveiling of Ivory Coast the host country as a force to be reckoned with in football in Africa, like it would be with host Senegal in 1992 and South Africa in 1996. For each of these occasions, it was a show of signs of what was to come from these respective countries. For Ivory Coast in 1984, it wasn’t a totally unfamiliar reckoning as the country had shone to a degree in the past, particularly in the 1968 and 1970 editions of the Nations Cup when legendary ace player Laurent Pokou’s 14 goals, six in 1968 and eight in 1970, lifted the country to some prominence in African football, though Ivory Coast did not win the Nations Cup at that time. Laurent Pokou’s record of 14 goals at the Nations Cup would stand for over three decades, until Samuel Etoo of Cameroun came around to smash it, taking his own goal tally to 18 in six African Nations Cup appearances.
The pedigree Ivory Coast was building with their performance in the late sixties however got deflated in the seventies so much that by 1984 when the country was hosting the Nations Cup, there wasn’t much hope for the country to win and lift the trophy on home soil like it was earlier when Ghana hosted and won in 1978, and Nigeria two years later. And win Ivory Coast did not as host in 1984! The Ivorien team didn’t even have a place in the semi-finals. At the final match played at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny..
