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Finals fever grips African hopefuls
Almost every conversation about Angola's future includes soccer. "If we can do it in football, we can do it in other areas of life,"... "It makes me very optimistic about the future."
Things are different now. The country isn't there yet but qualifying has reunited people a bit,"
- Cornelio Caley, Teacher at Luanda's Agostinho Neto University
Things are different now. The country isn't there yet but qualifying has reunited people a bit,"
- Cornelio Caley, Teacher at Luanda's Agostinho Neto University
Ivory Coast - From young boys kicking bundles of rags around slums to the highest politicians, soccer is cutting through all social boundaries. Togo declared a national holiday after its team qualified. Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo gave each player a villa.
Even so, qualification has lifted spirits in violence-plagued Angola, Ivory Coast and Togo. Better known for a 27-year civil war which killed some one million people and destroyed much of the infrastructure, Angola is now basking in a warm glow.