Thumbs up for Meridian Cup

By Andrew Haslam

The 2005 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup is drawing to a close in Turkey, with the final round of matches being played on Friday afternoon. As far as Baba Sakho, the head of the CAF delegation, is concerned, however, the success of the event is already assured.

'Very good tournament'
"I think the tournament has already achieved its aims in every sense," the Guinean official told uefa.com. "This is the fifth edition and the organisation has improved each time, the tournament has been characterised by Fair Play and it's a good atmosphere, which is all in the spirit of the Meridian Project. I think that it's a very good tournament."

Wider horizons
Every coach involved in this year's event has stressed the significance of inter-continental competition, an outlook with which Sakho is in full agreement. "This tournament is very important in terms of player education," he said. "Every team has played with pride at being part of this project, which continues to build bridges between Europe and Africa. What you give you receive, and everyone here offers something and gets something back in return."

Historical link
The Meridian Project was launched nine years ago, as Sakho explains. "The initial idea was that Africa and Europe are two continents linked by history sharing the same culture. Our continent's respective representatives at FIFA therefore came up with the idea of forming a partnership, which was sealed in Lisbon in 1996 thanks in no small part to the effort of UEFA President Lennart Johansson and CAF President Issa Hayatou.

Numerous benefits
"They had the excellent idea of building fraternity and understanding, and that European football had a lot to offer African football in terms of structures, organisation and technical development," Sakho went on. "A number of African countries have benefited in technical and material terms, and in wider terms the whole African continent has benefited hugely from this partnership. For example, all the African federations now understand the value of youth development."

Mutual advantages
Over the years, a number of African players have shone in UEFA club competitions, as Sakho is quick to point out. "African footballers are gifted athletes, but development and preparation is another thing entirely. When our players move to European clubs and make use of top-class technical expertise in perfect surroundings, their natural talent is allowed to blossom.

African talents
"[Didier] Drogba is the most recent example," Sakho said. "No one knew him when he first moved to Europe but he is now one of the most feared strikers in the world. There are players like Samuel Eto'o who are now at the same technical level as the Europeans and have shown the world their talents. European clubs help us to prepare our players and fortunately, this relationship is strengthening our national teams."

Fight against racism
One of the original ideas behind the Meridian Project was to fight against racism, an aim Sakho believes it is well on the way to accomplishing. "I have not experienced any racism since the project started; on the contrary, people meet, make a connection and form bonds. This is the spirit of the project, and has to be reinforced because racism is just the fear of other cultures. If you are open minded and willing to embrace others, it will be no more."

Future development
Sakho ended by looking to the future, saying: "I think that the Meridian Project will adapt in time. We need to keep evaluating it, look at what is working and what is not, but it is a very valuable project and I hope it continues for a long time."