The African Cup of Nations has been dominated in the past by countries from North, West and Central Africa. Zambia were Southern Africa’s first representatives at the tournament, reaching the final on debut against Zaire in 1974.
They reached the final again in 1994 when they were again pipped at the post, this time by the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
South Africa picked up the trophy in 1996 and are making their fifth consecutive appearance this year, while Namibia made the tournament in 1998 in Burkina Faso.
This year another sleeping giant of the south, Zimbabwe, will be making a first appearance — but they face a baptism of fire in a tough group that includes Algeria and Cameroon and Egypt, both three-time winners.
With Zimbabwe in political and economic ruin the Warriors, as the team are known, will be expected to soldier on in Tunisia and at least bring some joy to their countrymen.
But on paper the Warriors do not look capable of doing what first-timers such as South Africa, Burkina Faso and Mali did when they first played in the continental showpiece. Â
The Warriors did not qualify from a strenuous group and there is no reason to believe that they can cause a major upset in the tournament. In their qualifiers the Zimbabweans faced 2002 quarterfinalists and hosts Mali, Eritrea and Seychelles.
They were given a scare by Seychelles en route to qualification when they were beaten 2-1. All that Zimbabweans can realistically wish for in this year’s Nations Cup is an honourable exit after the first round and experience to build on that for the next tournament.
With that said, however, the mood and expectation among the fans is for something more than a first-round exit. The people of Zimbabwe have been in a jovial mood since their qualification.
Vincent Kahiya, a journalist with the Zimbabwe Independent, said: ‘The people are happy — including government — that Zimbabwe is going to Tunisia. They have even composed songs for the national team.â€Â
But preparations by the current Council of Southern African Football Association (Cosafa) Cup champions have not gone well. They last played a competitive match against Botswana a month ago, which they won 2-0. They also played a friendly against a hastily assembled and second-rate El Salvador national team two weeks back. Since then, they have seen no action.
The final squad selected by coach Sunday Marimo has not received much criticism from supporters.
Zimbabwe’s hopes in Tunisia will rest on the shoulders of Sheffield United striker Peter Ndlovu, who has been an inspiration to the team and has scored the most goals (five) in the qualifiers with the aid of his brother Adam Ndlovu (two) and Benjamin Mwaruwari — who will miss the tournament through injury.
The Warriors have comfortably beaten opponents at home but have not been known to do well when they trek to North Africa.
Marimo says that he will be treating each game as it comes but their lack of preparation could be the Warriors’ downfall.
The team has not had much time to gel as some players arrived in camp only a week before flying out to Tunisia. The expectations of Cameroon and Egypt, both looking to win the competition for a fourth time, could be too much pressure for the Zimbabweans to contain.Â