Sport Industry Group

13 Jan 2012

Mr Louis Claude Moundzieoud Koumba, Head of Communications & Marketing, Organising Committee (CoCan) of Africa Cup of Nations Gabon, speaks to Sport Industry Group about what it means for the country to be co-hosting the Africa Cup of Nations 2012, which kicks off in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea later this month.

What are the challenges of co-hosting a competition?

Gabon and Equatorial Guinea work very closely together. For example, we have daily meetings between the two Organising Committees to harmonise our strategies on ticket prices, transport, mascot usage, etc and ensure everything works together. It is a supportive collaboration between two countries and two committees to meet Confederation of African Football (CAF) deadlines.

How difficult is it to host an event like this in Gabon, compared to a more developed market such as South Africa or Egypt?

There are many restrictions imposed by the specifications of the CAF when organising the Africa Cup of Nations. The CAF protects its sponsors, which makes marketing on a local level very difficult as companies can’t support the CoCan specifically. 

As Gabon is a mining and oil country, it’s been difficult to position us as a great country for a football tournament, but we have achieved many of our objectives to-date.


What are the challenges of holding the competition in the middle of the European season? Do you think the calendar needs standardising?

Organising the AFCON has been a great challenge and one that we have really enjoyed. It is an opportunity for Gabon to develop our infrastructure and build new hotels and roads for the tournament. It has also given Gabon an opportunity to build a modern new stadium with 40,000 seats.  

The dates of the AFCON have been known for a decade and European clubs know that they have to release African players to take part in the tournament. That makes it challenging, but clubs are more prepared these days. Each confederation is also free to organise its own specificities with releasing players.  

How involved is Orange as a title sponsor? What do they do other than offer financial support?

Orange is a CAF sponsor, so each CoCan receives 10% of beneficiaries from that sponsorship.  It brings no direct financial support to Gabon.

Has it been difficult to promote the competition with the absence of big names such as South Africa, Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria?

We have not found it difficult at all to promote the tournament with the absence of these countries. The Cameroon, Egypt and Nigeria teams are at the end of a cycle of great players, so we don’t see their absence as an obstacle for the quality of the competition.

There are some surprises in the field, like Botswana and Niger, but also those you would expect like Ghana and Senegal – it’s the magic of football like Greece in 2004, or Denmark in 1992.  The line-up is proof that African football is moving forward across the continent.