AFCON 2012: Social media to claim fans’ slot


  1. Sanday Chongo Kabange in Dhaka, Bangladesh
    With only weeks before the kickoff of the 28th edition of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by west African states of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea some football craze fans across the continent have taken to social media networking sites to cheer and rally behind their national teams. The social media explosion has cut across all spheres of society - politics, economics and social aspects of life.
    Afcon 2012
    During the last edition of the continental tournament hosted in the southern African state of Angola, there was less social media usage to cheer football, discus and debate the games. There was also limited usage of social media during the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa.

    The blow-up of social media after the Arab spring that toppled three regimes in Northern African countries of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in 2011 has led to the expected increase in the use of social media during the 2012 AFCON.

    The uprising in North Africa and to some extent the invention of new and more interactive social media application and tools are expected to create an upswing in the use of social media.

    Weeks before AFCON 2012 starts on January 21, several Internet savvy football fans are signing up on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare, Dipidy, Vuvox and StorifyThis and other social media sites to share their football story, show support to their team or simply spark debate.

    Soccer stars, administrators, commentators and officials have profiles or accounts on different social media platforms. They have equally been caught up in the social media frenzy where they are interacting with their African soccer lovers.

    The stars are tweeting or posting materials ranging from match fixtures, venue logistics, friendly matches, practice sessions, potential winners or losers of this year’s tournament.

    There is also a fair share of personal stuff that is filtering through the wire like what stars hope to have for their meal while in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea or how they hope to celebrate in an event they scored or won the trophy.

    The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations tournament will run from January 21 – February 12, 2011.

    The Africa Cup of Nations - the football championship of Africa - is organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the continent’s soccer government body.

    Gabon and Equatorial Guinea won the right to host the tournament after defeating a Nigerian bid along with two other bid winning nations, Angola and Libya.
    Bids from Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Senegal were rejected.

    For the first time in CAF history, the hosts of three successive tournaments were chosen at the same time; Angola was chosen to host in 2010, Gabon/Equatorial Guinea were chosen as hosts for the 2012 cup and Libya for the 2013 edition.

    Nigeria was chosen as a stand-by host in the event that one of the chosen nations was rendered unsuitable.


Reactions

  1. Image of lhauri


    116 berichten
    Lid sinds February 2012


    timeline profile covers is the best strategy for you. i am sure that we will see improvements in this area.



Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive