Tantalizing football is in waiting as this year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals kicks off this Friday in Egypt.
Our focus is on the heavyweights who missed this year’s finals due to poor run of results in the qualifiers.
2012 Africa soccer champions, Zambia headline the list of heavyweight teams that failed to qualify to this year’s finals alongside 1987 runners up Libya.
Unfancied ‘Chipolopolo’ defeated third time finalist Ivory Coast after a dramatic penalty shootout in the final after a barren draw in the normal and extra time to win by eight goals to seven.
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The Zambia team dedicated their victory to the members of their national soccer team who perished in a place crash near the final’s venue in Libreville in 1993.
The 2012 finals was co hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Ethiopia who qualified to the Africa Cup of Nations in 31 years in 2013 will also miss this year’s finals in Egypt.
Gabon who have experienced and top scorer Pierre Emerick Aubamayang of Arsenal did not qualify to the finals too.
Togo who reached the 2006 World Cup group stages also failed to make it to this year’s finals.
The continental showpiece will kick off this Friday where all matches will be aired live on KBC Channel One, Radio Taifa and all its vernacular radio stations.
