GHANA'S 3-0 DEFEAT AGAINST BRAZIL HASN'T JUST DASHED JOSEPH BLATTER'S HOPES OF SEEING NEW FOOTBALLING POWERS EMERGE IN GERMANY, IT HAS ALSO DELIVERED A BLOW TO AFRICA'S PLANS OF HAVING A BIGGER CONTINGENT REPRESENTED AT THE NEXT WORLD CUP, REPORTED DPA. ONLY FOUR YEARS AGO, SENEGAL WERE STUNNING THE WORLD BY DEFEATING DEFENDING CHAMPIONS FRANCE AND MAKING IT ALL THE WAY TO THE QUARTER- FINALS. THIS TIME ROUND, NO NATION HAS COME EVEN CLOSE TO DISRUPTING FOOTBALL'S TRADITIONAL POWERHOUSES. OF THE COUNTRIES REPRESENTED IN THE GERMANY 2006 QUARTER-FINALS, SIX ARE FROM EUROPE AND TWO FROM SOUTH AMERICA. "THANK GOODNESS THERE'S GHANA," BLATTER HAD SAID ONLY A FEW DAYS AGO." THE HEAD OF FOOTBALL'S GOVERNING BODY, FIFA, HAS OFTEN SAID HE WOULD LIKE TO SEE NEW CONTINENTS BREAK THE EUROPEAN-SOUTH AMERICAN MONOPOLY. AND WITH THE NEXT WORLD CUP BEING HELD IN SOUTH AFRICA, HE HAS ALSO MADE IT CLEAR HE WOULD LIKE THE AFRICAN CONTINGENT TO BE RAISED TO SIX FROM THE PRESENT FIVE IN FOUR YEARS' TIME. "IT'S NOW FOR AFRICANS TO FIGHT FOR MAINTAINING THEIR QUOTA OF FIVE TEAMS, PLUS THE ORGANISING COUNTRY. THE FIVE COUNTRIES WHO ARE GOING TO BE IN GERMANY HAVE TO SHOW THE QUALITY AND STRENGTH OF AFRICAN FOOTBALL ON THE PITCH," HE HAD TOLD REPORTERS AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR. JUDGING FROM THEIR RESULTS, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT THEY WILL HAVE DONE ENOUGH TO ADVANCE THEIR CAUSE. OF THE FIVE AFRICAN NATIONS TAKING PART IN THE TOURNAMENT, ONLY GHANA MADE IT THROUGH TO THE ROUND OF 16. THE OTHERS - TOGO, ANGOLA, TUNISIA AND THE IVORY COAST MANAGED JUST ONE VICTORY IN ALL, SCORING NINE GOALS AND CONCEDING 17 IN THEIR FIRST ROUND MATCHES. --MORE 28/06/2006 00:12 ت م
