/ 9 September 1999

SA set to fight for gold

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 11.00am.

Tradition suggests South Africa will be strong challengers at the All-Africa Games football tournament with five of the previous six hosts reaching the final.

Congo, Nigeria and Algeria won the first three championships and Kenya and Zimbabwe were beaten by Egypt, who flopped at home in 1991 when Cameroon defeated Tunisia.

The seventh edition of a competition set to rival athletics for centre stage at the 1999 finals in Johannesburg kicks off on Thursday when South Africa meet Algeria and Mali tackle Uganda in Group 1 matches.

Cote d’Ivoire play Zambia and Cameroon face Mauritius in Group 2 on Friday. The mini-league action continues until September 14 followed by classification matches, semi-finals, a third-place play-off and the final.

South Africa, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire appear the best bets for gold in an intriguing event with Mali and Zambia dark horses, Algeria and Uganda outsiders, and Mauritius no-hopers.

European club commitments will deprive South Africa of senior squad players Aaron Mokoena, Bradley Carnell, Quinton Fortune and 1998 African Nations Cup hero Benni McCarthy.

And while some contenders have been in camp for several weeks, local coach and former star Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba has just four days to mould a winning combination.

While African Champions League commitments rob Cote d’Ivoire of the teenage stars from defending champions ASEC, they remain a formidable force having qualified from the toughest zone.

The Ivorians finished above hosts Ghana and Nigeria in a mini-league that demonstrated their defensive strength with just one goal conceded in three rounds.

Cameroon proved particularly impressive in away matches en route to South Africa, scoring four goals in Rwanda and three in the Central African Republic.

Zambia proved their worth with home and away wins over Zimbabwe, although the absence of midfielder Andrew Sinkala, who joined German giants Bayern Munich in mid-year, is a blow.

Mali boast an excellent record in age-limit competitions with the youth team finishing third behind Spain and Japan at the world championships in Nigeria last April.

A tough passage should leave Uganda well prepared while the potential of Algeria and Mauritius is unknown because they received byes into the tournament.

Qualifiers were restricted to players born on or after January 1 1977, but three over-age players will be permitted during the finals at the Johannesburg, Orlando and Rand stadiums. — AFP