The venerable tournament has long fought for recognition and sniping over its scheduling ignores its joys as a spectacle
Ideally, the discussion leading up to the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on Sunday as the hosts Cameroon face Burkina Faso in Yaoundé, would have centred on potential winners, surprise packages and stand-out players. Can Algeria defend their crown? Can Mohamed Salah inspire Egypt? Can a north African side win for only the third time in sub-Saharan Africa? Will Senegal, with their depth of talent, triumph for the first time? Why do Nigeria have an interim coach?
But instead the discussion, in England at least, has centred on which Premier League clubs will be worst affected by the tournament. A lot of international football can seem like an imposition on the club game but it feels as though the Cup of Nations is always having to justify its existence. More than any other competition, perhaps, it exemplifies the difficulties of drawing up a calendar for a truly global sport.
