UEFA Forum
Nigeria was a step ahead of Spain in the final and won
the first edition of the Meridian Cup.
PHOTO: AMILCAR TEIXEIRA
Europe and Africa join hands in Lisbon
Lisbon was the venue at the end of January
for an All-Star match between representati
ve teams from Europe and Africa, as well as
for a joint meeting of the Executive Com
mittees of the European and African confe
derations, UEFA and CAF. The events took
place as part of the "Meridian Project", a
common footballing venture between the
two continents.
These were then followed by the inaugural
"Meridian Cup" competition, a tournament
for Under-17 youth teams involving four
teams from Africa (Ghana, Guinea, Ivory
Coast and Nigeria) and four from Europe
(France, Greece, Spain and Portugal).
Matches in the competition were staged in
the Lisbon Region.
The focal point of the "Meridian Cup" was
not only, from a sporting point of view, the
extremely exciting and interesting compa
rison between two completely different
playing cultures and philosophies, but also
the friendly contacts and "rapprochement"
between the two continents.
It was precisely in this respect that the first
"Meridian Cup" - scheduled to take place
every two years, with the venue alternating
between Europe and Africa - was a resoun
ding success. There was a friendly and con
vivial atmosphere among all participants
during the tournament. Sportsmanlike con
duct on the field carried over to the team
hotel, with spontaneous contacts taking
place between the various delegations.
Another successful aspect of the competi
tion was the working relationship between
the two continental confederations, thereby
demonstrating that both UEFA and CAF are
pursuing a common goal, namely the healthy
promotion of the youth footballing sector.
The tournament showed that considerable
talent exists at youth level in both Europe
and Africa. It was also clear that African
players at this age level are, to a great
extent, ahead of their European counter
parts in terms of athleticism and even
playing skills. However, European young
sters are more mature as far as tactical ski
lls are concerned. A notable feature of all
matches was that the Europeans mainly
built up their moves from a solid defensive
basis, while the African teams, displayed
their considerable footballing pleasure and
creativity. This was probably the reason why
Nigeria were able to overcome the challen
ge of strong opposition in Greece, Portugal
and Spain to become the first winners of the
"Meridian Cup".
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