Wednesday, 2 February, 2000, 11:40 GMT
Ivory Coast football squad detained

The "Elephants" were eliminated after three matches

By West Africa correspondent Mark Doyle

Ivory Coast's national football squad has been detained by the military
authorities in an army camp following its elimination from the African Cup
of Nations, which is currently taking place in West Africa.

A spokesman for the military government of Ivory Coast said the squad was
being held for its own protection, to guard against possible reprisals by
angry fans.

The Ivory Coast team, known by its nickname, the Elephants, was eliminated
from the tournament after three matches.

They beat Ghana with a respectable 2-0 score line, but only managed a draw
against the much smaller state of Togo and were then thrashed 3-0 by
Cameroon, one of the best clubs on the continent.

'Fell apart'

Ivorian fans said the team seemed to fall apart during the match with
Cameroon and they said they were angry because each of the mostly
foreign-based players was reported to have received the equivalent of
thousands of dollars to represent the national side.

Friends of the players are now making their way to the military camp to try
to obtain the squad's early and safe release.

This incident shows once again that soccer is not so much a sport in Africa
as a religion.

Foreign teams

Most of the members of the detained 22-member Ivory Coast national squad
play for clubs in Europe.

Many are in French or Belgian teams, but one player, Olivier Tebily, plays
for the Scottish side, Celtic.

Meanwhile, the African Nations Cup competition continues.

This year fixtures are being played for the first time in two neighbouring
states, Nigeria and Ghana.

Four national teams have so far qualified for the quarter finals. Egypt and
Senegal are through, as are the two teams which helped knock out the
unfortunate and now incarcerated Ivorians: Ghana and Cameroon.

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