Egypt confirmed their place among the giants of African soccer by winning the major national team and club competitions this year.
The Pharaohs lifted the African Nations Cup a record sixth time with ace midfielder Mohamed Aboutraika scoring the only goal late in a tense Accra showdown against Cameroon.
And Aboutraika was a key figure in the Al-Ahly team that overcame surprise finalists Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon 4-2 on aggregate to claim a record sixth African Champions League title.
Egypt are also on track to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after a heroic 1-0 win in the Democratic Republic of Congo lifted them into the final elimination phase.
Striker Amr Zaky completed a memorable year for the North African country with a series of spectacular goals for Wigan as he made an instant impact on the English Premiership.
Reason to celebrate
Nigeria finished second behind defending champions Argentina at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as Africa maintained a good record at the Games, having won gold in two of the previous three tournaments.
Tunisia continue to excel at club level with CS Sfaxien becoming the first team to successfully defend the second-tier African Confederation Cup while Etoile Sahel lifted the African Super Cup.
Tanzania is another country in a celebratory mood as the year draws to an end after securing a place at the finals of the first African Nations Championship, a competition restricted to those who play in their country.
And if the victory parade through the streets of Dar es Salaam took five hours, it was understandable given that the Taifa Stars had not reached the finals of a senior national team competition for almost three decades.
East Africa, often the weakest link in the African soccer chain, also witnessed a long overdue revival by Kenya, with the national team overcoming a domestic power struggle to reach the final qualifying round of the World Cup.
Off the field South Africa has quietened if not silenced those who doubted the country’s ability to host the World Cup.
There’s been steady progress in the areas of stadium building, security planning and infrastructure expansion.
Movers and shakers
Former Cameroon athlete Issa Hayatou, president of the African Football Confederation since 1988, will be returned unopposed next year for another four-year term as head of the Cairo-based organisation.
Mali striker Frederic Kanoute was named African Footballer of the Year after initial first choice Didier Drogba of Côte d’Ivoire lost out because he refused to leave Ghana during the Nations Cup for the awards ceremony in Togo.
Title holders Egypt were given little chance of winning the Nations Cup with hosts Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria the popular choices to win a biennial tournament growing in stature every time it is staged.
But the reportedly tired Pharaohs were quick to show a spring in their step, taking just 14 minutes to lead Cameroon and an impressive 4-2 triumph set them up to top Group C rivals Indomitable Lions, Zambia and Sudan.
Egypt edged Angola in the quarter-finals before trampling on the Ivorian Elephants, winning 4-1 with Zaky scoring twice inside six minutes during the second half.
The final was a tight affair with cautious Cameroon hoping to catch dominant Egypt on the break, but a mistake by veteran defender Rigobert Song allowed Aboutraika to score his fourth goal of the tournament.
Midfielder Hosny Abd Rabou was voted the star of the tournament and four other Egyptians — goalkeeper Essam al-Hadary, defender Wael Gomaa, Aboutraika and Zaky — made the Nations Cup All Stars line-up.
Ahly, after losing their opening match at African rookies Platinum Stars of South Africa, did not slip again and early goals in Cairo from Gomaa and Angolan striker Flavio Amado left Cotonsport playing catch-up.
Any chance of a comeback by Cotonsport, the first Cameroon finalists in 28 years, was effectively snuffed out when veteran midfielder Ahmed Hassan snatched a precious away goal before half-time in the drawn second leg.
But the year ended disappointingly for the Cairo Red Devils as defeats by Pachuca of Mexico and Adelaide United of Australia at the Fifa Club World Cup in Japan relegated them to sixth out of seven starters.
The 2010 World Cup-Nations Cup qualifiers are down to the last 20 teams with the tournament hosts, South Africa and Angola, notable casualties along with DR Congo and Senegal.
It will be the first time South Africa miss the Nations Cup since hosting and winning the 1996 edition while Angola are out of the World Cup reckoning two years after acquitting themselves honourably at the finals in Germany. — Sapa-AFP