The Cup of African Nations is almost upon us and I am sure everyone is looking forward to seeing who will be crowned the Champions of Africa.
Congratulations to all the teams who have qualified. It is no easy task to make it through qualification and all of those who have done so are there because they deserve to be. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my Guinness Football Challenge colleague Kalusha Bwalya on Zambia's success in reaching the finals and wish them the best of luck.
In the absence of some of the so-called "big guns" I think it is fair to say that both Ghana and Ivory Coast are the favourites to win. But some of the shock results in the qualifiers have shown that no team can take anything for granted this year.
For me it is a great shame that Nigeria will not be participating. Along with Cameroon and Egypt, we are probably the surprise absentees. However a look through the teams that will be present reveals that African football is changing, as there will also be countries present who have never before reached this level, such as Niger and Botswana. This is a wake-up call for the more established footballing countries in Africa and shows that teams such as Nigeria need to rise to these new challenges in order to return to the top table of African football. But I am confident that with the right levels of commitment and planning, along with a new focus, Nigeria will bounce back.
What Nigeria is currently experiencing is not new in football. Generally speaking, teams that have a so-called golden era tend to have a dip in fortunes when that generation moves aside and the plans for a new generation are laid. However, I believe that Nigeria needs to let go of the past in order to really move forward, and that means focusing on the development of young talent and looking for fresh blood rather than relying on older players, some of who are past their best. Nigeria is blessed with football talent, but that talent needs to be nurtured and developed if we are to get the benefits of it and take our game to the next level.
Following our disappointing displays in the 2010 World Cup and our failure to qualify for CAN 2012, it is the perfect time to go back to the drawing board and try something new.
I was present at the African Player of the Year Awards in Accra, Ghana last month and was very privileged to receive the Legends Award alongside Mustapha Hadji. It was great to see Yaya Toure crowned as the 2011 African Player of the Year as he has been in outstanding form for both his club, Manchester City, as well as for Ivory Coast.
In second and third place came Ghanaian midfielder Andre Ayew and Malian Seydou Keita, while the African-based Player of the Year award went to Tunisian midfielder Oussama Darragi. All of these players are worthy of such accolades. But the fact that no Nigerian player has been in the top three for the African Footballer of the Year award since it was won last by Nwankwo Kanu in 2000 tells it's own story.
This, and the Super Eagles absence from CAN 2012, should act as a huge incentive to the next generation of Nigerian players to rise up and prove the critics and doubters wrong in the years to come. As we have seen in the Guinness Football Challenge, only outstanding players win awards and I believe that Nigerians can start to do that again, both as individuals and as a team, with a new injection of commitment, passion, ambition and, of course, hard work. But the over-riding priority is to start putting the focus on young talent. Just like in the Guinness Football Challenge, the beautiful game is all about reaching maximum potential, and with the right approach, I believe we will see the Super Eagles flying high once more.
Please remember to drink responsibly 18+/21+.
Jay Jay Okocha is a Guinness® Football Challenge™ ambassador and will be appearing on a special episode of the show later in the year.
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