Argentina friendlies no fairy tale for African footballers

ABIDJAN, OCT 9: When Benin and Burkina Faso flew to Buenos Aires for friendlies against Argentina -- including superstar Lionel Messi's swansong-- it would have seemed like dreamland for players who rarely if ever rub shoulders with the aristocrats of the 'Beautiful Game'.

In reality, the organisation was a shambles, a member of the Benin delegation told AFP.

The flight to Buenos Aires took not hours but days. There was no hot water in the hotel. Training facilities were "not up to scratch".
And the African football associations invited didn't receive any of the profits from the match, which potentially generated millions of dollars in revenue and TV rights, he said.

Before the match, the state-owned daily La Nation in Cotonou looked forward breathlessly to the team "showcasing Benin to the whole world" and the national football association revelled in the "privilege" of being selected to play.

"I'm going to tell Messi, 'You are a god'," Benin defender Mohamed Tijani informed the Argentine press of the country's legendary No 10. "He's the best player in the world."

The Cheetahs lost 3-0.

Whilst there is no standard practice for organising international professional friendlies, smaller African teams generally rely on agencies to manage their away fixtures and don't necessarily make any profit from the games.�"AFP