Continents get closer
Africa and Europe have come together in the Meridian Cup
The African Football Federation, CAF, and the UEFA have launched the fourth edition of the Meridian Cup in Egypt, describing it as a "symbol of the special friendship and cooperation which binds the two continents".
The UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup brings together the best under-17 football teams from Europe and Africa in an eight-nation tournament. After being staged every two years since 1997, first in Portugal, then South Africa and Italy, the competition shifted this year to the northern part of the African continent for the first time. Nigeria won the inaugural Meridian Cup, followed by Spain in 1999. In 2001, in Italy, no one team won. The format had been changed so that the winner would be a continent. Europe beat Africa on points 36-8.
The tournament in Egypt, which opened with a showcase gala match involving Ajax of Amsterdam and Ahli of Egypt, is held under the Children and War logo and has the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Egyptian Red Crescent as official charity partners to help raise awareness of their humanitarian campaign designed to protect children in war-torn regions.
Matches are to be played in Ismailia, Port Said and the city of Canal. Egypt kicked off the competition on 25 January against the Swiss in Ismailia where it lost 2-0. Spain thrashed Mali 6-1, England edged Burkina Faso 3-2 and France got by Nigeria 3-2.
"It's the first time for the players to play against European teams," Mohamed Ali, Egypt's coach, said. He said the players were selected only two months ago but added, "I think they will do better in coming matches especially since they're still young."
In the tournament, the final of which will be played on 1 February, Africa is represented by Egypt as the host country plus the three sides that participated in the FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Trinidad and Tobago in September 2001. Nigeria was a finalist against France, Burkina Faso finished third and Mali sixth.
Europe is represented by the teams which finished in the first four positions at the UEFA European U-17 Championship held in Denmark. Switzerland was European U-17 champions, France a finalist, England finished third and Spain fourth.
The Meridian Cup is played in a round robin format where each team will play four matches against opponents from the other continent. The points will be added to the continent's overall total.
Awards will go to the top scorer and best goalkeeper. A Fair Play trophy will also be given in the final.
"Since the first cooperation agreement between UEFA and CAF was signed in Lisbon in 1997, we have been building important bridges between European and African football," Senes Erzik, UEFA's senior vice president and chair of the Meridian board, said at a press conference. "The Meridian Project has played a key role in linking European and African associations and encouraging dialogue, visits and education between partner associations. UEFA is proud to continue to provide direct support to two nominated football associations within CAF," Erzik added.
The Meridian Cup itself is a symbol of the special friendship and cooperation which binds the two continents, bringing together the best of African and European youth players. It is 40 centimetres high and weighs seven kilogrammes. The top part, made of Plexiglas, is a globe onto which all the continents are engraved. The sphere is crossed by a line that represents the centre of a football field.
"This is truly an event for now and for the future," Gerhard Aigner, a UEFA official and board member, said. "UEFA is proud to be involved in such an event."
Eissa Hayatou, CAF president said, "African teams have benefited a lot from taking part in this event. It helps young players get in contact with each other exchanging different techniques of football."
