Afcon 2013: Let the games begin

2013 Africa Cup of Nations will officially kick off today with the opening ceremony. Records have it that local and foreign coaches are tied at 14 titles each as the best of African players will also be aiming to be on the top of their games for the ultimate prize, the trophy.
The debate over whether foreign coaches are better than local coaches or vice versa is one that is unlikely to go away, but at the end of the competition in South Africa one set of coaches will have the lead.
Individually local coaches Charles Kumi Gyamfi and Hassan Shehata are the most successful AFCON coaches, each having racked up a treble of wins for Ghana and Egypt respectively.
The legendary Gyamfi won the titles in 1963, 1965 and 1982, while Shehata recorded successive triumphs in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Four-time champions, Ghana have never won the title with a foreign coach, while Nigeria and Cameroon, who have six titles between them, have never won the competition with a local coach.
In the seven competitions played since the turn of the century, foreign coaches have won four, with Shehata claiming his hat-trick in between.
This year nine foreign coaches will be at the African finals where they will be leading – Angola, Mali, Congo DR, Niger, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria and Togo.
Teams which will be led by local coaches, include hosts South Africa, Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tunisia, and Cape Verde.