The Africa Cup of Nations kicked off last week in Equatorial Guinea, one of the smallest countries in a continent that’s never short of surprises. Teodorin Obiang, the playboy son of the country’s president, promised the national team Sh87 million for a win against Libya — in the opening match alone — in a soccer fanfare that belies deeper problems that ought to be red-carded.

Equatorial Guinea is co-hosting the tournament’s 28th edition with Gabon, which has forked $500, 000 million towards the biennial soccer fiesta.

Located in the western coast of Africa, Equatorial Guinea borders Cameroon and Gabon. It is the least ranked country in the Nations Cup at position 151 worldwide, and sits calmly behind war-torn Yemen and Samoa in the January 2012 Fifa rankings.

Obiang, the Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, is famous for all the wrong reasons. He acquired a mansion in Malibu, a Gulfstream jet and Michael Jackson’s white, crystal-covered glove last year.

That didn’t have him turning his pockets inside out. Instead, he promised a further $20,000 (Sh1.7 million) for every goal scored by the Nzalang Nacional (National Lightening), as the national team is christened.

And Spanish-born Equato-Guinean midfielder Javier-Angel Balboa did not disappoint home fans when he slotted an 87th minute shot into the top corner of the goalpost, past Libyan goalie Samir Abboud, inside the 35,000-seater Bata Stadium in Bata, the former capital city.

The National Lightening won its debut match against Libya with the solo goal and pocketed the $1,020,000.

“They use money, I use mentality,” Libya’s Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta sneered before the game. A memorable quote this one. One, for its refreshing grammar. Two, for its echo of Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saadi, who in a way was the face of Italian football when money was not a problem.