 We just over 50 marches played at the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations this weekend ultimately the curtains come down on what has been an enthralling piece of African soka on show in Abizho as well as the rest of five cities in Ivory Coast and of course this particular one today it is the third place player of course Democratic Republic of Congo facing off against Bafana, Bafana, South Africa that's the march will be kicking off at 11 p.m. is african time and tomorrow of course the pina ko the climax of the tournament that's the final coming on at 11 p.m. as well between the hosts Ivory Coast against Nigeria Teraswayaki welcome again on fund zone you know and my first question will be has this been the best Afghan ever not just afghan no exaggeration this has been the best tournament I've ever seen all my life and I started watching football tournaments with Mexico 86 Diego Armando Maradona hand of God solo run against England in the quarter finals I've watched I watched Euro 88 Kulit Makovan Boston Ronald Kuman Frank Roycard champions of the European Cup that year so really if we go back back back in time I've watched some of the greatest tournaments in world football and I've never seen anything like this and that's because the game has been given its best of commitment by the players and that has also coincided with very good officiating especially courtesy of VR that has aided a lot of unfairness from taking place and it has also aided a lot of stars being born at the right time at the right place and it has also coincided with the phenomenal growth of football men football has grown football has grown football has grown men football women's football the disables football and Kenya does regularly qualify for the disabled world cup so we're not doing too badly in that front where we need to spruce up is the men's and women's sort of able bodies quote unquote football that's that's where we are lagging behind but the kind of football we've seen in this tournament is absolutely spectacular now how can how can the continent build on its success sticking to VR we need the there's been one or two decisions that can slow down that success for instance if you remember Mali Ivory Coast it was a blatant and obvious clear handball from Ivory Coast inside the box that was a penalty not given but a minute or two later Mali were given another penalty so you see the guy would cut the handball in the first instance and got away with it VR did not even check the first instance so you can see when you leave room for that kind of thing it makes us again now start blaming Africa we say you see Africa the problem with us why we can't grow and win a world cup this is what we always do so that kind of thing can mess up a whole tournament such as this Mali really I felt paid to them so you say Africa should build on the successes of the tournament but what are the successes the successes are like that VR and even the English commentators some of the best like Gary Neville have commented us for that BBC did a proper coverage on VR in this tournament they said English Premier League and Europe in general has a lot to learn from the way the Afghan VR has been handled so that's one huge success that we can build on and avoid those kind of small small errors that can give loopholes to the tarnishing of our reputation so another area is the areas of Africa that have grown very well football wise we can see that in West Africa North Africa have also grown but a few of them are lagging behind but East Africa we've been left behind talk about infrastructure that we've seen in Ivorikost yes yes look at the stadiums spectacular in five cities you look at Ivorikost GDP way below Kenya they're not at our level but it's about sports investment taking it seriously that's what I'm saying East Africa we've lagged behind you look at the level of football here and you imagine throwing Harambe stars over there in the mix and you just hold your head and say why why why why why it would have been very embarrassing for us and we only have three years remember we are co-hosting the Africa Cup of Nations in 2027 fingers crossed if all goes well if we don't mess up so we have a very short window to make full use of and reach in terms of infrastructure and also in terms of our game our game needs to step up because infrastructure we've seen even the ground that will host the final tomorrow that's the Alasen Water or Stad Olympique Bimpas they call it and it took they built it for three years to just get ready for this particular championship and looking at some of the sound bites from Kenyan authorities and that's the sports cabinet sector promising that there will be a new stadium that will be built from ground up that's the Talanta stadium that's along Gongro football only stadium so when that happens I think when that will be launched then we have said that Kenya is just 50% there but now let's see the real work beginning we have two years for that because I watched an interview Denny Soliat you know was in Ivory Coast and apparently he was told by one of the the calf guys that we only have until 2026 to be ready infrastructure wise because the inspection team will be here soon 2026 and the tournament is in 2027 if we are not ready by that time we stand a chance of losing the course and it's all about remember that the East Africa Pamoja been Kenya was a late entrant into that particular partnership but Uganda and Tanzania had already shown their interest their approach to have the to host or to stage the games in 2027 so I think maybe it will take a lot of collaboration between the East African Afrika Mashariki Ile Ushikamano Kenya USA kuku watayari we have to play our part though it will have to evolve all the three countries for each country to pull we've seen Tanzania staging the inaugural the Africa Super Cup the Africa League the Africa League you saw the opening ceremony it was crazy in fact Tanzania the Benjamin Kapa stadium was filled to the rafters and you look across where that particular tournament was like in Luanda even in Pretoria or in Cairo it was the same scene like these soka mad places so I think that was a really good entry or a good picture to tell the calf that East Africa was ready for this particular championship so no doubt, Kenya will be ready we only need to have like mediums so we just need to to the minimum best we can do but we can all be optimistic we can all talk occupy such positions where we are sitting right now and be optimistic that Kenya will be able to pull off that particular tournament and of course this year also we could be hosting chan and that will really give us that impetus to work harder and beat the deadlines that calf has put up as when we should be ready but let's go back to AFKON should FIFA respect this particular tournament more of course we know the background of that particular question yes FIFA have given us a lot of respect as far as calf is but this is why I am asking this is why I am asking in regards to calf to AFKON right remember they have been pushing pool on the dates right now the tournament is happening at the mid season there are many leagues a good number of AFKON players apply their trade there very many players apply their trade in these lupin leagues we saw the 2019 edition being held in June July the 2021 which was in 2022 but early January it happened in January so it happened they have been pushing pool of having this particular tournament go back to where it happened in 2019 when the season is off and this has amounted in some quarters to lack of respect for Africa is being pushed around take this tournament to this particular date when clubs in Europe can but certainly Africa is not where the money is the money is in Europe you see the thing is the last two AFKONs the one for 2021 held in Kameru in Kameru in 2022 and this one the issues had to do a lot with the weather which was more in turn more African than to do with FIFA so they said the weather is best this time of year as opposed to June July in the neck of the woods so it's really an issue of us having caused the change of timeline but in terms of releasing footballers to come and participate in the Africa Cup of Nations FIFA has been supportive where there has been push and pull is clubs in say Europe finding it very hard to release their players to come and play in the Africa Cup of Nations which even to look at it from a neutral point of view is also understandable because in this sense I have a contract with you I bought you for so much amount of money I bought you to win the league for me or to keep me up in the league I pay you well I treat you well and then your country comes in and they say they want you mid season when I'm really counting on you to do the business naturally there will be a push and pull naturally it can't just be like ah no you want him no problem have him there will be that push and pull that's how it goes with the repeat teams even the Asian clubs right now the Asian cup is ongoing but you can't see such push and pull it's there they don't just do it gladly it's there and it's something that is not new it has caused problems for years that's bang mid season as you put it the argument has always been from the clubs why don't you do this off season when we won't have an issue in June-July June-July 2019 Africa Cup of Nations did you hear the European clubs for example complain no because it was off season so the bone of contention is this thing of you living mid season having said so afrika nations so now because it's about self interest they also get a podium on which to complain this thing as long as it's held in January-February this bone of contention will always be there that's a fact of life and that's the way it is so anyway I would suggest that we have this tournaments in June-July but then what will happen some countries won't be able to host these tournaments because they say the vagaries of the weather but there's ways around it build stadiums that can cope with that kind of weather during that time of the year you just need to have a rooftop have it air conditioned just do that and we won't have these issues there countries in Europe take Sweden for example very cold country most of the time is night time because it gets dark very early they've put up stadiums that can cope with that kind of weather or in Qatar where it was 30 plus in Qatar where it was 30 plus just do that and outside the stadiums build infrastructure that can cope with that kind of weather and life goes on but most importantly the stadiums and of course that particular debate you read most of the views about the push and pull the tag of between European clubs I think it's now dying down because most of the coaches now know what to do we just saw like in Bundesliga Shavi was losing quite a good number 6 or 7 players from key players that have really been part of the cog that have put them at the top of Bundesliga and what he did was a week before the Afqon started he had released all the players that were coming to Africa to play for their respective countries the previous match he did just have players in those positions already like you try it out you prepare yourself so most of the coaches really put in a plan because what happens in the end is African players lose out because when you go back when you buy an African player initially you'll be going to buy an African player and you think this guy will be going home after mid season when I need him most let me look for someone in Europe or from Brazil and Brazil also go for also are released mid season to go for their Kupamerika is usually June July so it then affect the season it's Africa cup of nations that's most notorious and the preparations for the new season so African players will lose in the long term you remember Sir Alex Fagas or never used to buy African players as such anyway, I think for me of being how truly black we are I'll just like Telkaf or Ajkaf to hold on strong don't be cowed don't be swayed to go to Canada that favor where the money is because at long last I think it's more important to play for your national team it is but just change the dates but don't accommodate anyone's views and build stadiums they can just come and dictate to Africa when they should have their own tournament I think that has really not ogred well for most of the the liberators of Africa like who we are the liberators of Africa football anyway let's talk about everyone cosplaying Nigeria how important is it that Ivorikost is in the final unbelievable their first game they come in you expect man Ivorikost these guys and they are playing at home they are going to play beautiful football four minutes into the game kum go Ivorikost but when you look at them football wise you are seeing they are disjointed there is something lacking here full time 2 nil they won that game but still I what's happening they are not really impactful in terms of stringing those passes playing like a proper Ivorikost side that you are used to two time Afghan champions then their next game they play Nigeria now this is where they are exposed proper because Nigeria are not outstanding they are not the super eagles that we have known them to be they are not that team of JJ Okocha, Kanunuanku Daniela Mokachi Finidi George, Imanyu Lamunike Rashidi Ekini and the teams that succeeded they are really really not there they are playing a defensive game they hit you on the counter Mourinho style even their coach is Portuguese like Mourinho Pasero it's Mourinho who gave me the one they give you one nil and they are satisfied with that once they hit you now they go back defensive and you are seeing Ivorikost man they are not there they didn't quite turn up one nil they lost and then came the Thara beating no answer is coming four nil from Equatorial Kini but then because of this window of being third best team for four teams given that opportunity they qualified as the fourth team into the round of 16 they suck their coach and a rebirth takes place they bring in of course someone who is quite well versed with Ivorian football he was the assistant coach the previous coach and even though he spent most of his early life in France won the under 17 world cup in 2001 with France and played for the under 21 team with France before moving to play for Ivorikost at senior level played at the AFKON in 2006 runner up and played at the AFKON in 2008 and played at the world cup in 2006 with Ivorikost he somehow miraculously turns this team around and here they are they are a late bloomer in the true and actual sense even in their game they score late and leave it till late you don't want to leave it till late infact if Nigeria scored the first goal against you you are a shoe out you need to dominate against Nigeria you need to score the first goal but just dictate that game even though they are at their weakest some people are strongest at their weakest so you really have to dominate that game yes indeed we are talking about the AFKON 2023 an exciting championship that has seen the hosts Ivorikost holding the tournament in five cities Bwake, Korogo, San Pedro, Abizho Abizho and Yamasokoro and all that we saw the sports minister Kenyan sports minister there and hopefully we will be able to take good lessons from that particular championship and just give Kenyans an extraordinary show piece of an event since in 1987 when we hosted all afrika games Kenyan has been I was there, I went when the lights went off that was what I was watching at home when I went from home I saw boom nice but the final day I went I watched the final Kenyan, Egypt and that's when the two facilities were built by the two facilities in Nairobi Nyaio Nyaio was earlier 1983 they started construction of that in 1980 and 1983, 1984 that's when Nyaio now became 84 that's when it became a proper stadium ready for use before that they used to use city stadium or now called Joka Dengue stadium and I went to Nyaio in 1980 that's when I watched Murilla play with the naked eye that's all for the all afrika games so in essence what we're saying is that we need those facilities up so that we can host international events of repute but also remember we asked on our facebook page that's the Y24 page on who is likely to take the particular dadim tomorrow who will win tomorrow's final between Nairobi because they host against Nigeria 2023 let me just read a few of them Alex Kalex says Nigeria Kichwa Kichwa what does that mean Nigeria head they are going to win he is betting on them today Kichwa means betting Babachumba saying Kodivua first officer young boy claims to say Avericoste Ushindi and Hosea Masudi says Avericoste Kwakina Drogba and Glenn Blim says Avericoste Alex Kalex I said that Nigeria Kichwa na hapa wingi umabao kwa wekezaaji that's really the language that you were saying So Kiamora Murapa says Nigeria first officer young boy claims to say Avericoste Ushindi and also Willie Bazu kwa hutuzua na apia hutuzua the two kiswaili was they are really marrying each other Babachumba says Kodivua say to the bank kwa hutuzua China boy agrees as well and then Daoudim Zalendo Pan-Africanist Nigeria I'm David Noman Mwangi from Bondenikam Kunji Eldoret Nigeria will win it Thank you so much Daoudim Zalendo and Charlie Charles and Avericoste Kichwa and Abud Kailas Daktario ameno ya kukumayan or who else maybe go back here and see Dennis Nyongesa says hapa ni Kichwa na Muesin Bungoma Tim Avericoste and then K looks like many Michael says Kodivua okay keep your predictions coming through on Y254 and of course the fans on Kamsin we'll talk about the third place player of today Democratic Republic of Hungary South Africa and we just look at the history they are run especially in this particular tournament with Thyrus Wajaki stay on Y254 this the touch line