LUANDA: For many fans overseas, the deadly rebel attack on Togo s team overshadowed the Africa Cup of Nations. But Angolans quickly moved past the tragedy to celebrate the continent s premier football event.
From the first blast of fireworks at the opening ceremony in Luanda until the final cheers three weeks later, Angola has seized the event to boost the national spirit.
Slogans like United by Football were painted in rainbow colors onto walls across the oil-rich nation, still recovering eight years after 27-years of civil war.
Red, black and gold Angolan flags poked from every sunroof and hung from every balcony, with nearly everybody sporting an Angolan shirt, cap or sarong, and many also in wigs, flip flops and beads.
Angola s one victory against Malawi (among two draws and a loss against Ghana in the quarter finals), triggered unprecedented celebrations in the capital Luanda as thousands poured out into the street screaming and jumping on cars.
It s been like a party for our country, insurance worker Jose Rodriques, 45, told AFP. It s the first time that we realize a championship like this and it s made the Angolan people very happy.
Angola s president of 30 years, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, played an unusually public role, attending all the games in Luanda and presenting Egypt s players with their winning medals.
He used his speech at the opening ceremony to condemn the attack in the restive northern enclave of Cabinda, where two members of Togo s squad were killed by separatist rebels.
And his people seemed to listen, as most Angolans got on with the business of watching football and partying, with few talking about the Cabinda incident.
In a bid to fill the stadiums, particularly after Angola was knocked out in the quarter finals, the government gave away tens of thousands tickets, already heavily subsidized at just a few dollars each.
Those who did make it to the games had nothing but praise for the four super modern stadiums which were built by Chinese construction firms at a cost of $600 million.
Altogether Angola spent more than $1 billion on preparing itself for the cup, with new roads, airports, hospitals and hotels.
Critics complain the country went over the top and will never recoup the investment, but deputy sports minister Albino da Conceicao brushed off the concerns.
Even if the final amount is more than one billion, it will still be small because we had to do so much in the country after a long period of war, he said.
We think we did very well, that experience was very good and I think that the people are happy.
And when you fund sport, you are funding health and social areas as well.
Angolan economist Justino Pinto de Andrade welcomed the new infrastructure, but questioned the maths behind the investment.
I don t have any doubt that they paid three times more for these stadiums than you d pay in Europe, in part because of bad negotiation over the contracts and a lack of transparency in the way deals were done, with some people benefiting a lot personally, he told AFP.
I have a big fear that these facilities which were built for the Cup of Nations will go into disrepair because the sporting activity in Angola is not sufficiently dynamic to guarantee occupation of the stadiums and their maintenance.
Most Angolans don t seem too concerned about the enormous spending, even though two thirds of the population live on less than two dollars a day.
I think they spent what we needed to make a great football tournament, a great spectacle for Angola and Africa, customs workers Elio Paz, 31, told AFP.
