The African Cup of Nations in group A has been concluded with the host nation winning the group. It’s always good for any tournament when the hosts stay in the competition. When Angola play in the 11^th November Stadium the place is full of noise and colour which you would expect from this competition. If there was a prize though for the most colourful fans it would surely go to the fans of Burkino Faso. The 150 strong contingent were as bright and noisy as any I have ever seen. As I have been working in the stadium over the past few days my thoughts have turned to what might happen here in Angola beyond the tournament. I have been speaking to Mr. Maniche the stadium manager. Mr.Maniche works in the Angolan government and is on a special deployment for the competition. He tells me that after the final game the stadium will host games in the National league. Stadia are scarce in Angola and in the city of Luanda several teams play in the same stadium. My colleagues have been to the old national stadium as it is one of the training venues. It’s not one SIS worked on and reports are it is in a poor state. The pitch is rutted and holed and even the most basic equipment is not available to the grounds man. Quite a contrast then to what they are going to inherit after the final on the 31^st. The country now has four brand new stadia built to FIFA standard and another 10 specially built training pitches. The game in Angola will certainly benefit from this addition. The grounds man will also notice a massive change in there working environment. Part of the SIS contract beyond the final is to train local grounds man to look after the pitches. They are going to have some of the most state of the art equipment to hand to carry out their work. All pitches have automatic irrigation systems. Quite a thing in itself in a country where the majority of the population do not have access to running water. A large part of the contract was also the supply of machinery. Approximately $1.2 million dollars worth of kit in the shape of tractors mowers markers and tools are all now here in Angola. 40hp New Holland tractors are on each site supported by two larger 95 hp machines that can move between the venues. The training centres are mown by Toro ride on machines while a Fleet of Mastiffs have just arrived this week after logistic problems in transit. Line marking will now be carried out using Fleet Kombis. Attachments for the tractors include seeding machines verti drains top dressers and slit tine machines as well as sprayers are now all here. The government have been criticised for the money spent to bring the tournament here to Angola while the needs of the people are great. As well as the stadia new roads and an airport terminal have been added to Luanda. One of the hardest parts of the day is the journey to work from the hotel to the stadium. The poverty is shocking and heart breaking. My personal hope for Angola is that football the global game can help move this country forward. There is no reason why the stadia can’t become community stadia as many in the UK and Europe are. The new suites and rooms can offer readymade educational rooms for the children while clinics could be held in the medical areas when they are not being used for football. If the government take this route then the effort will have been worthwhile and the criticism should ease.

Back in the UK the big freeze has given way to the big thaw. My crew did a great job getting last Saturday’s game against Coventry on. Their efforts were rewarded when the team won with a last minute goal from Pablo Counago. Pablo is a popular player with both fans and staff and had not been playing regularly. He feeds on confidence like any player and will take a huge boost from his goal which from all accounts was a bit special. The thaw has brought the usual problems with it with mould being treated on all pitches. Thankfully our aeration programme has allowed much of the rapidly thawing snow to pass through the pitch tops without causing too much trouble. I have to mention our under 18 team who this week knocked Arsenal out of the FA Youth Cup. Any victory over a big club is special but this was the third time our kids have beaten them at this level this season.

In this post I am going to talk about two extremes. I am still in Angola working in the National stadium in Luanda looking after the games in group A of the African cup of Nations. This has been my first prolonged experience with warm season grasses and I have to say I have been impressed. This pitch has been hammered and does not have any right to have a single leaf of grass on it. This tournament for the  government of Angola is about showing the world they are on the up. In a city of up to 8 million people only a very small percentage live a decent life. The run up and opening ceremony was all rehearsed on the pitch with no protection. The leaf was pounded into the ground but amazingly has started to pick up. A bigger problem for the pitch is the sand that forms part of the rootzone. There is millions of tons of sand in Angola but none of it suitable for building pitches. As a result the surface is not as stable as we would want it. The Bermuda roots are going into it but need time to develop. Time is not on its side. The main activity on the pitch is rolling. I have never rolled a pitch so much and anyone watching us would think we were preparing for a cricket match. Carlos Riess my colleague from Sporting Lisbon has put to gether a feeding programme. The programme is very aggressive and geared to pushing the pitch on. As well as the high rate of Nitrogen required the pitch also has to be regularly sprayed with Fugicide to guard against disease. If this pitch is to make through the three weeks we cannot afford to succumb to any fungal attack.  After our second game we over sowed the pitch with another 50 kilos of the Princess 77 variety. After our double header this week on Thursday we only have one game in nine days and our aim is to recover the pitch as much as possible and start building towards the show piece final. Luanda is not the only pitch the SIS company has built in Angola for the competition. Another 13 pitches were built including three stadium pitches as well as a number of training pitches. All the others are mostly Bermuda with the only Ryegrass pitch in Lubango. All pitches are going as well as can be expected.

Back in Ipswich my crew are building towards Saturdays game with Coventry. The pitch has been under the cover for almost two weeks and the hope is to get it of by the end of the week. Snow clearing has been going on around the stadium as the club have as big a responsibility to the surrounds as they do to the pitch. We have been lucky over the New Year period in as most of our games have been away from home. The training centre has been more difficult as almost two feet of snow had built up over a period of time. The lads have managed to get the team on grass by clearing snow. It is important to try and keep the team active.

A Belated Happy New Year to everyone who reads my blog. In my job every now and then great opportunities come along. I am enjoying such an opportunity right now writing this post in my Hotel room in Luanda Angola. For the next three weeks I am on a working holiday helping with the maintenance of the new pitch at the National stadium ahead of the African cup of Nations. Football is a global game but things are certainly different here in Angola. Support in Sport are the company who took on a contract to deliver 14 pitches for the tournament. I have to take my hat of the Support CEO George Mullan for having the courage to take this on. Building 14 pitches anywhere is a tall order but to do it in Africa takes some doing. Despite problems along the way with delayed contract signings customs problems and African life in general the pitches are ready to go from Sunday night. I am working in a team of three supported by local labour. Carlos Riera who I first met while doing a re turf at Sporting Lisbon is leading the site. Carlos has huge experience in warm season grasses and being Portuguese is ideal to deal with the locals.