Three Days in, and This Thing is a Total Shambles

So, a mere three days into the African Nations Cup and the thing is already a strong contender for most embarrassing shambles of the year.
They have been putting out fires daily in Ghana and have moved from one crisis to the next since what is supposed to be the continent's football showpiece got under way at the weekend.
But judging by the litany of schoolboy howlers that have become so synonymous with the limping event over the past few days, this thing will have embarrassed the continent even further by the time it comes to an end on February 10.
Perhaps the alarm bells should have gone off last week after guests arriving in Ghana apparently found out that the hotel they thought they'd booked into was still under construction.
The organisation of the tournament spiralled into complete chaos from that point and it seems the organisers of this clumsy mess still do not have a plan and have simply made it up as they go along.
Every day has been such an unfortunate adventure that journalists were also unwilling co-stars of this horror movie after they spent hours waiting for their accreditation to Sunday's opening game between Ghana and Guinea.
Apparently the police and soldiers were so desperate to see their mugs in the newspapers that they roughed up the hapless members of the media while they waited for their accreditation.
Those who were able to make it into the stadium found to their horror that they were expected to work in an area that did not have desks or even power sockets.
And just so you understand that nobody is immune to the chaos, the Ghana national soccer team was kicked out of their hotel after the owners decided to allow greed to get the better of them.
The Black Stars, as the Ghana national team is known, were enticed into booking into this luxury establishment at a reduced rate months ago and they went to their Abu Dhabi pre-tournament training camp happy in the knowledge that accommodation was taken care of.
But they found out on their return that their bookings had been cancelled -- remember, they were at a reduced rate -- because the owners decided to take advantage of the unexpectedly huge demand for accommodation and are now charging something in the region of R2000 a night for a standard room.
Matters on the pitch are just as crazy, as Ghana coach Claude le Roy unwittingly informed the world this week. The Frenchman was so horrified by the state of the pitch during Ghana's encounter against Guinea that he described it as the worst he had ever seen in his life.
Hell, the grazing hills in the Eastern Cape village of Tsomo Mission are a lot more even than that bumpy cabbage patch at Ohene Djan Stadium -- it had grass long enough to keep Osama bin Laden hidden for months.
Anyway, things were happily moving along at a chaotic pace at that point and perhaps only a handful were surprised by what was to be bungle of the week.
Millions of people around the world looked on as the floodlights failed just minutes before Monday's match between Benin and Mali started.
The place was plunged into darkness and the two teams completed their pre-match formalities in the dark.
Play started after a 12-minute delay, much to the delight of those who love to associate everything and anything with the 2010 Soccer World Cup in SA.
Those cynics who are in Ghana for the sole purpose of finding some sadistic way to further cast doubt on our ability to host the World Cup could not resist the urge to ask if the scenes in this West African nation were not a prelude to what will happen in SA in two years' time.
They've been rather quiet -- too quiet, in fact -- and were definitely not going to pass up the opportunity to ridicule SA, though it's becoming increasingly evident that this World Cup is not going anywhere.
But unfortunately, this African Nations Cup tournament is going to provide enough material to keep them entertained for weeks because, let's face it, the smart money is on more embarrassing bungles coming out of Ghana.
Ntloko is deputy sports editor.

So, a mere three days into the African Nations Cup and the thing is already a strong contender for most embarrassing shambles of the year.
They have been putting out fires daily in Ghana and have moved from one crisis to the next since what is supposed to be the continent's football showpiece got under way at the weekend.
But judging by the litany of schoolboy howlers that have become so synonymous with the limping event over the past few days, this thing will have embarrassed the continent even further by the time it comes to an end on February 10.
Perhaps the alarm bells should have gone off last week after guests arriving in Ghana apparently found out that the hotel they thought they'd booked into was still under construction.
The organisation of the tournament spiralled into complete chaos from that point and it seems the organisers of this clumsy mess still do not have a plan and have simply made it up as they go along.
Every day has been such an unfortunate adventure that journalists were also unwilling co-stars of this horror movie after they spent hours waiting for their accreditation to Sunday's opening game between Ghana and Guinea.
Apparently the police and soldiers were so desperate to see their mugs in the newspapers that they roughed up the hapless members of the media while they waited for their accreditation.
Those who were able to make it into the stadium found to their horror that they were expected to work in an area that did not have desks or even power sockets.
And just so you understand that nobody is immune to the chaos, the Ghana national soccer team was kicked out of their hotel after the owners decided to allow greed to get the better of them.
The Black Stars, as the Ghana national team is known, were enticed into booking into this luxury establishment at a reduced rate months ago and they went to their Abu Dhabi pre-tournament training camp happy in the knowledge that accommodation was taken care of.
But they found out on their return that their bookings had been cancelled -- remember, they were at a reduced rate -- because the owners decided to take advantage of the unexpectedly huge demand for accommodation and are now charging something in the region of R2000 a night for a standard room.
Matters on the pitch are just as crazy, as Ghana coach Claude le Roy unwittingly informed the world this week. The Frenchman was so horrified by the state of the pitch during Ghana's encounter against Guinea that he described it as the worst he had ever seen in his life.
Hell, the grazing hills in the Eastern Cape village of Tsomo Mission are a lot more even than that bumpy cabbage patch at Ohene Djan Stadium -- it had grass long enough to keep Osama bin Laden hidden for months.
Anyway, things were happily moving along at a chaotic pace at that point and perhaps only a handful were surprised by what was to be bungle of the week.
Millions of people around the world looked on as the floodlights failed just minutes before Monday's match between Benin and Mali started.
The place was plunged into darkness and the two teams completed their pre-match formalities in the dark.
Play started after a 12-minute delay, much to the delight of those who love to associate everything and anything with the 2010 Soccer World Cup in SA.
Those cynics who are in Ghana for the sole purpose of finding some sadistic way to further cast doubt on our ability to host the World Cup could not resist the urge to ask if the scenes in this West African nation were not a prelude to what will happen in SA in two years' time.
They've been rather quiet -- too quiet, in fact -- and were definitely not going to pass up the opportunity to ridicule SA, though it's becoming increasingly evident that this World Cup is not going anywhere.
But unfortunately, this African Nations Cup tournament is going to provide enough material to keep them entertained for weeks because, let's face it, the smart money is on more embarrassing bungles coming out of Ghana.
Ntloko is deputy sports editor.