Countries invest big in staging showpiece, for its benefits

What are the benefits of hosting the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations tournament?

This is the question that has been asked since Gabon and Equatorial Guinea won the rights to co-host the championship back in 2006 and will probably continue to be well after the final whistle ends this tournament on February 12.

It is a question that has polarised opinion among residents of both countries.

It is still not clear how much the host governments have spent in preparing for the tournament.

However, some people weigh the financial and material gain while others prefer to look at the achievement of the countries in staging an event of such magnitude in the first place, despite scepticism.

There may be huge pressure on the co-hosts but the pride they feel that staging the football showcase is obvious.

For instance, Gabon spent an estimated $500 million (Sh41 billion) despite being tinier to hosts of other major tournaments, like China, who spent an estimated $42 billion (Sh3.4 trillion) on the 2008 Olympics.

On the bigger picture, hosting the tournament means very many opportunities for the Gabonese and Equatoguineans.

Factor of economic development

The benefits won’t start flowing in immediately, but the west Central African neighbours have gone big in the required infrastructure such as roads, stadiums and hotels.

Indeed, with each new edition of the competition, the Nations Cup has become a factor of economic development in terms of structures and infrastructure; else, there would be none of these beautiful stadiums in Africa.

Roads have been constructed, medical facilities built, electricity installed and development of new technologies accelerated.

It is something Caf can legitimately be proud of.

Nations Cup is the third biggest football tournament after the World Cup and Uefa Champions League.