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As the African Nations Championship (Chan) entered the quarterfinals stage on Friday, there were plenty of captivating storylines primed to unfold.
Hosts Algeria steamrolled through Group A and it looks like early favourites, Senegal, have scores of young talent that seem ripe for European football, and debutants Madagascar have also secured a historic berth in the knockout stages.
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But, the main story of the Chan is still not about what happened on the pitch so much as the overall organisation of the tournament and its geopolitical implications.
Defending champions Morocco did not make it out to Algeria for the Chan, pulling out on the eve of its starting, citing logistical reasons after the team was denied permission to fly directly from Morocco to Algeria using their national airline.
And this row has overshadowed everything since.
Rachid Oukali, the president of the organising committee of the Chan (Cochan), told BBC Sport Africa that his body received nothing directly from the Moroccan authorities and that the FRMF statement was ill-received.
Oukali explained:
In addition to Morocco’s non-participation, another source of controversy during the initial stages of the Chan was the opening ceremony at the freshly inaugurated Nelson Mandela stadium in Algiers.
The disputed territory in Northwest Africa has long been a source of tension between Algeria and Morocco and the latter were quick to file a letter to both CAF and Fifa, calling Mandela’s comments, "obviously premeditated and totally unacceptable".
Oukali denied that Mandela’s comments were premeditated.
"The stadium is named after Nelson Mandela, so that is why we invited his grandson for the inauguration," he told Sport Africa.
Oukali continued:
Successful tournament?
Once the matches got under way Oukali had been happy about the general success of the tournament thus far.
He said:
For now, the Maghrebi kerfuffle seems to be forgotten but it promises to stretch into the following months as Morocco have qualified for the Under-17 Afcon, which will also be hosted in Algeria in April.
The North African nations are also the two leading contenders to host the 2025 Afcon, which was initially supposed to be held in Guinea.
