Tunisia

FOOTBALL IN TUNISIA The Tunisians have been a dominant force in African club soccer for several years now and are seeking to establish the same reputation at the national level. They finished runner up to South Africa in the African Nations cup in 1996 and made it to the semi-finals in 2000. However, given that there are very few Tunisians playing outside the country, they may struggle to reach dizzy heights on the world stage. Most football in Tunisia is played at the amateur or semi-professional level and there is no lack of enthusiasm for the game given the amount of children to be seen kicking a ball at every given opportunity. STATE OF THE ECONOMY Traditionally an agricultural economy, the discovery of oil in 1964 and natural gas a few years later diversified the economy towards mining, energy and manufacturing. More recently, tourism has become increasingly dominant and continues to be Tunisia’s most important foreign exchange earner. Tunisian GDP has grown at an annual rate of 4%+ since 1996 with non-agricultural GDP closer to 6% per year. This healthyGDPgrowth is due to reform efforts over the past few years. Although still heavy, governmental control of economic affairs has gradually lessened over the past decade with increasing privatisation, simplification of the tax structure, and a prudent approach to debt. Robust economic activity and trade liberalisation led to a surge in international trade in 2001. The continued removal of trade barriers with the EU post Tunisia’s association agreement signed in 1998 has helped foster this growth. However, the current account deficit of 4.3% of GDP is financed by borrowing on international financial markets. STATE OF THE NATION Proactive social policies accompanying the strong economic performance have fostered cohesion and political stability, and Tunisia continues to provide a good example of a progressive African country. However, Islamic fundamentalism remains a source of possible instability and the government has cracked down on such groups. Consequently civil liberties continue to be limited and the press remains tightly controlled (but not by African standards). The leadership has promised political reforms although Tunisia has not yet become more than a semi-demcratic state with opposition parties only allowed to exist when sanctioned by the government. The current President, Ben Ali came to power in 1987 after a bloodless coup and his rule has become increasingly authoritarian. At the beginning of April 2002, the constitution was changed for the second time to allow Ben Ali (and subsequent presidents) to run for president an unlimited number of times as long as they are under 70. Originally the President was only allowed a maximum of 2 terms. THE 2002 WORLD CUP Tunisia arrive at their thirdWorld Cup finals after comfortably coming top of their qualifying group. They went unbeaten in the qualifying rounds winning 6 matches and drawing two. The departure of coach Francesco Scoglio back to Italian football during the campaign was the only upset. The team is currently managed on a temporary basis by two locals – Ammar Souyah and Khemaies Laabidi, after the Tunisian football authorities refused to appoint another foreigner! The Tunisian team is built around a core group of players first brought together for the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and many played in the last world cup. Now they are a highly efficient unit bringing together veterans such as goal-keeper captain Chokri El Ouaer and Sirajeddine Chihi and youthful talent with the likes of Hassen Gabsi and Ali Zitouni. Tunisia go in to the Korea/Japan World cup with a bit of history on their side as they were the first African nation to win a world cup match beating Mexico 3-1 in 1978. They will be hoping bring shades of that victory into thisWorld cup during the group matches as they face hosts Japan, Belgium and Russia in group H. Previous Appearances: 2 1978, 1998