A Glorious Moment

Yesterday was definitely one of the happiest days in Ethiopian history. The public in general and the football-loving community in particular, were in a festive mood throughout the evening, and even, today. After a 31 year absence, our country has returned to Africa’s biggest football event, the Cup of African Nations (CAN). This was made possible after the Walias, as the Ethiopian men’s national team is nicknamed; beat their Sudanese counterparts 2-0 at the return leg of their qualification match (5-5 on aggregate, but Ethiopia won by the “away goal” rule). This victory, as many people here agree (myself included), is a “once in a lifetime”event. It is, evidently, more than the game; it’s a sign of national unity, harmony, and the dawn of a new era.

I was about five years old at the time of Ethiopia's last CAN appearance, which was in 1982. I remember the feeling of the day, although it was not a time when we were lucky to watch the games live on TV as we do these days. But the promotion made for the national squad, which was reorganized after seven of its players gone missing at Côte d'Ivoire, was huge. The newly organized squad have managed to send Guinea out of the qualifying round, and thus qualified for the finals. As I remember, though, the squad was short of the much needed team spirit and national feeling; hence lost all of its group-stage games. And that was the last of Ethiopia’s participation at the football event of the continent that it co-initiated 56 years ago…, until yesterday.

A lot has happened over the last three decades; many federation leaders, various coaches, three generations of players, millions of fans… All of that has finally been paid off on Sunday. We’re now on our way to the 2013 African Cup of Nations to be held in South Africa in January. Such a joyous moment!

The last 10 minutes of the game, which were added by the referee after the Ethiopian goalkeeper, Jemal Tassew, was stretched off and taken to hospital by an ambulance after a nasty fall by the back of his head, were, perhaps, the longest times that I have spent worrying in my entire life. With ten men on our side, and the last minute struggle by the Sudanese against the midfielder Abiy Hntsa, who took up with the charge of keeping the goal since the team has already used all its three substitutes, I could say we were both lucky and strong all along.

At the sports bar where I watched the game, people were happy and crazy like hell. With each goal or every goal attempt, the crowd, both men and women, were screaming, jumping, and cheering from start to finish. When Adane Girma scored the opener, the place was banged with the scream and chanting of the crowd. A guy who sat next to me stumbled on my feet twice, as he jumps on the chair and came down hard with joy. He even took his shirt off when the second goal by Salahdin Seid was scored. Over the last 10 minutes of the game, I was on the edge of my seat. It was so painful to watch those moments. What if the Sudanese scored at the dying seconds? In fact, they have scored, only it was scored a couple of seconds after the ref blew the whistle marking the end of the game. Those were agonizing moments.

It’s all over now. The Waliashave secured their place in CAN2013. But we have much to celebrate; their female compatriots, The Lucy, will participate in the African Women’s Championship in Equatorial Guinea in a couple of weeks, the U-17 squad beat one of the continent’s super powers in football, Tunisia, 3-0 on home soil, and put one feet on the African U-17 Championship to be held in Morocco around April 2013. So I think 2012/13 is a year of football fiesta for the nation. And the moment that we’re right now, is a glorious moment!

As we celebrate these achievements, though, I believe we should also set our concerns towards the future. A well-planned and adequate preparation for the upcoming competitions must be held starting now. Our national squads need international match experiences. The national federation must take up this task quick and coordinate all prospective stakeholders into action. I also believe that it is high time we must think really hard on sports professionalism. The days of amateur sportsmanship are long gone in the modern sports world. As our Amharic saying goes, "There’s no one that has ploughed by the old day ox." The world’s changing fast, so shall we be.

 Adane Girma, Scorer of the First Ethiopian Goal

Congratulations to our men and women footballers! You’ve made a nation united and proud. Your efforts for your country’s success will not go unnoticed, and will be remembered throughout generations. Thanks to Sewnet Bishaw, Abraham Teklehaimanot, and Yared Tolera, head coaches of the senior men’s, women, and U-17 teams, respectively, and their staffs for their unreserved dedication for their respective teams and magnificent leaderships. And congratulations to the people of Ethiopia, who’ve stood by the teams and against all odds for all those years that the nation was merely a participant of the international football arena. Let’s enjoy the moment, look for a bright future, and start working for the better of our success.

God Bless Ethiopia!!!