WABA Aba, the MTN Africa Cup of Nations official ball which was manufactured by giant sportswear company Adidas and presented to Caf last October during the draws, has become the darling of players.
The ball which is light, fast and swerves on impact has aided players to score some cracking goals, making the Ghana 2008 opening week a joy to watch.
While outfield players have enjoyed 'Waba aba', it has become a nightmare for goalkeepers who have been made to look ordinary. At 26, this year's tournament has the highest number of goals scored in the first eight opening matches.
This translates into an average of 3.25 goals per match, compared to 2.62 goals per game in 2000 and 0.62 goals per match in 2002. Tunisia 2004 meanwhile had an average of 2.25 goals per match while in Egypt (2006) the average after eight games was 2.5 goals per match.
The evening kickoff has also contributed to the good football so far witnessed in the tournament.
Previous tournaments in West Africa contributed to the poor performance of Euro based players as they could not easily adapt to hot weather.
The pick of the goals include Medji Traoui's stunner against Senegal, Sulley Muntari's late leveler against Guinea , Elrio van Heerden's equalizer for South Africa against Angola and Mohamed Zidan's third goal against Cameroon.
Soufiane Alloudi of Morocco is the leading scorer with three goals following his hat-trick against Namibia.Cameroon's 26-year-old striker Samuel Eto'o is only one goal away from equaling the all time Nations Cup goals record held by Cote d' Ivoire's Laurent Pokou.
Thousands of journalists have meanwhile struggled to get accreditation to cover the tournament.
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