Category Archives: African Nations Cup

From Salt River to the sea

“As the fans streaming toward Athlone Stadium in Cape Town were greeted by vendors selling Palestinian flags, it became clear the match about to take place would be as noteworthy as it was unusual: the Palestinian Men’s National Team, fresh off their surprising success in the AFC Asian Cup (where they had reached the knock-out stages before losing to Qatar) were to play a ‘South Africa XI’ in front of a large crowd. Organized by an ad hoc group calling themselves Football 4 Humanity, the match was the second of two ‘solidarity matches’ held a week apart at Athlone Stadium in the middle of February as a show of support for the Palestinian people in the midst of the genocide in Gaza. …”
Africa Is a Country

The affective politics of AFCON

“The dust is settling on the training pitches and stadiums of the 2023 edition of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), as Morocco gears up to host the next tournament in 2025. To be sure, it was a spectacular AFCON. Not only did the host nation’s team make quite the comeback—deemed by some to be a resurrection—but the performance of other teams as well, which sent some of the most revered giants of African football home earlier than expected, was nothing short of astounding. This AFCON absolutely delivered on plot twists. It also delivered on fun and banter or, to put it more succinctly in Nouchi, an Abidjan urban vernacular, on enjaillement. …”
Africa Is a Country

The first African diaspora

Cabo Verde vs Ethiopia, January 2022.
“Football, at times, can be an emotional catalyst, and is capable of uniting the hearts of an entire population. Particularly, if this population is made up of barely a half a million people distributed over seven habitable islands of an archipelago nation. The islands of Cabo Verde sit a little bit more than 500 miles off the coast of Senegal in West Africa. Their independence, conquered after years of armed struggle in the forests of Guinea [Bissau], came in 1975. The leader of this liberation movement, called the PAIGC (Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde), was Amílcar Cabral, one of the most important names of African liberation. …”
Africa Is a Country

Ivory Coast are AFCON champions: From sacking manager to lifting trophy, this is their story

“Children were dancing on the pitch, kissing the turf and throwing confetti in the air while a security guard chased after them. Three hours after Ivory Coast beat Nigeria 2-1 to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the third time, hundreds of people were still inside the Alassane Ouattara Stadium. Volunteers wanted to go home, but supporters wanted to cling to this magical moment for as long as possible. They gatecrashed the mixed zone, where players speak to reporters, and grabbed selfies with Max Gradel or asked him to sign their shirts. Sebastien Haller and Odilon Kossounou flashed their medals for the cameras. Oumar Diakite, Christian Kouame and Jean-Philippe Krasso walked through with a speaker blasting music. The group of children running around the centre circle briefly disappeared to follow the team bus but came charging back minutes later. …”
The Athletic
GuardianIvory Coast’s Afcon win shows there’s no blueprint for tournament success – Jonathan Wilson
W – 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
The Athletic: AFCON final: Haller’s fairytale finish seals glory as Nigeria and Osimhen fall short
YouTube: HIGHLIGHTS | Nigeria 🆚 Côte d’Ivoire

Nigeria vs Ivory Coast: Star men, key battles and how the AFCON final will be won and lost

“This year’s Africa Cup of Nations has been packed with incredible nail-biting drama, and we now have a showpiece final ahead of us. Nigeria, who are hoping to win the competition for a fourth time, face host nation and two-time winners Ivory Coast in the deciding game on Sunday night. These two sides already met in the group stage, with Nigeria winning 1-0, and have been on completely different journeys to reach the final. …”
The Athletic
The Athletic: The story of Amad Diallo – and the man accused of trafficking him to Europe
Africa Is a Country: Palestine at AFCON
BBC – Afcon 2023: Kolo Toure hopes Ivory Coast beat Nigeria in final to spark party

Traders at Adjame market
AFCON and juju – an attempt to explain African football and superstition. “Football – wherever it is played in the world – carries a streak of chaos. … Fans can shrug off freak results. But a string of bizarre occurrences often leads to suggestions of something else. At AFCON, that means talk of juju. It is a nebulous and catch-all term, trying to cover an array of practices that do not fit anything found in major organised religions. Be it called juju, voodoo, black magic, muti, otumokpo or something else; there is the idea that AFCON sees players, fans, and even coaches turn to alternate forces to affect games. …”
The Athletic: AFCON and juju – an attempt to explain African football and superstition
BBC – Afcon 2023: Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong dreams of lifting trophy (Video)
BBC – Afcon 2023: Ivory Coast ‘spirit’ praised after rollercoaster run to final (Video)

A voodoo priest in Benin tries to bring luck to their team at Afcon in 2019.

Ivory Coast, at long last, look like a force to be reckoned with again

“The Alassane Ouattara Stadium is located in Ebimpe, a 50-minute drive north from the main area of Abidjan. When you make the return journey late at night, you pass a bridge that crosses the Ebrie Lagoon, which is lit up in green, orange and white to represent the Ivory Coast’s flag. On Wednesday, it provided a serene and subdued scene compared to the madness that had taken place in Ebimpe a few hours before. Smoke from green and orange flares swirled up into the sky. Emerse Fae leapt around on the touchline, unable to contain his happiness. Sebastien Haller thumped his chest while home fans waved their hands up and down. Outside the ground, police sirens were blaring as they tried to safely control thousands of people partying. It tells you everything that you need to know about this weird and wonderful tournament that, despite sacking their head coach Jean-Louis Gasset after the group stages and being on the brink of elimination multiple times, hosts Ivory Coast will face Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations final. …”
The Athletic (Video)
Guardian – Hope and miracles: Afcon’s unlikely semi-finalists carry weight of history – Jonathan Wilson
Africa Is a Country: On eagle’s wings
The Athletic – Haji Wright on his ‘crazy’ World Cup goal: ‘I was like, “OK, I’ll take it!”’
The Athletic – Watching Nigeria make AFCON final with the fans: “My heart can’t take this – I’m going to throw up, bro”
***NY Times: Playing Soccer in $1.50 Sandals That Even Gucci Wants to Copy
BBC – Afcon 2023: Ivory Coast ‘spirit’ praised after rollercoaster run to final

Back in Bouaké

“In Saturday, February 3, the Stade de la Paix—Stadium of Peace—will be packed to the rafters as the Ivorian party arrives in Bouaké, the country’s second-largest city. The Elephants come to town still with much to prove despite knocking out African champions Senegal in the previous round of the Africa Cup of Nations. The team is still coming to terms with its 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in the group stage, the country’s most humiliating moment in sport. Since being given a lifeline by qualifying for the Round of 16, the team has been on a journey of redemption and there is nowhere better for it to placate a nation in pain. After all, this stadium has seen it done before. …”
Africa Is Country
Guardian: Diakité’s 120th-minute strike sinks Mali to send 10-man Ivory Coast into last four
The Athletic – Flipped chairs, breakdancing and a flying wig: Watching Ivory Coast upset the odds. Again.

AFCON finally has African managers. But the rest of the world has not caught up

Gasset was dismissed after Ivory Coast’s final group game
“Somebody had to pay the price for the Ivory Coast’s horrendous performance in the group stage of this Africa Cup of Nations. The hosts beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 in their opening game, but then lost 1-0 to Nigeria and imploded against Equatorial Guinea. The Ivorians were thrashed 4-0 in the latter match and manager Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked afterwards, even though they ended up progressing to the round of 16 as one of the best third-placed sides and are now in the quarter-finals having beaten holders Senegal in a penalty shootout under interim boss Emerse Fae. …”
The Athletic

Lookman knocks Angola out in quarter-finals as Nigeria stick to Afcon script

“The greatest shock of all, perhaps, is when there is no shock. In a Cup of Nations in which reputation and pre-tournament billing has meant nothing, there was at last a game that went the way that might have been expected, as Ademola Lookman’s first-half goal and a fourth clean sheet in a row carried Nigeria to the last four of the Cup of Nations for the 16th time. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

The ‘magic’ of the beautiful game

“‘Magic,’ ‘sorcery,’ and ‘witchcraft’ come up over and over again in discussions about football in Africa. They are allegedly widespread in the African game and make for intriguing and controversial debates. In the ongoing African Cup of Nations, religion has made an appearance: a Ghanaian Christian prophet predicted a player’s demise, and the Egyptian Football Association sacrificed a cow to bring luck to the national team. The prophecy did not come to pass and Egypt was knocked out by the DR Congo. This might be a good moment to reassess debates about religion and spirituality in African football and find better ways to think about them. One perspective is that football ‘sorcery’ is a harmless practice that adds color and uniqueness to the African game and aids in players’ psychological preparation. However, debates about the morality and appropriateness of football ‘magic’ are highly charged. …”
Africa Is a Country

From chaos to champions? Don’t rule it out in Ivory Coast’s madcap Afcon

An Ivory Coast supporter celebrates Monday’s victory over Senegal on a street in the northern city of Korhogo
“The fact that Ivory Coast hired a veteran French coach – Jean‑Louis Gasset – with no experience in African football before the Africa Cup of Nations, only to sack him after their miserable performance in the group stages and replace him with a former international player but novice manager, Emerse Faé, for their last‑16 game against Senegal speaks to the cocktail of incompetence and chaos that is Ivorian football. Not even the pulsating, national morale-boosting penalty‑shootout win against Senegal on Monday, which sent the streets of Ivory Coast’s capital Yamoussoukro into a frenzy of jubilation into the early hours of Tuesday, can mask this fact. …”
Guardian
South Africa knock World Cup semi-finalists Morocco out of Africa Cup of Nations

A Senegal supporter at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium
Ivory Coast’s redemption arc: AFCON hosts go from despair to delirium “Senegal’s supporters banged their drums with such ferocious intensity that it felt like they were rallying troops — maybe that was their intention. Scattered around the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro, in between the thousands of people who swayed their hips and danced for hours, were some supporters wearing grisly lion masks. When Habibou Diallo scored from Sadio Mane’s cross after three minutes, they let off a bright red flare. Ivory Coast boss Emerse Fae, in his first game as a senior head coach, must have wondered if he had accidentally stumbled upon the entrance to Mordor. …”
The Athletic (Video)
Guardian – Afcon: Hakimi misses penalty and Amrabat sent off as South Africa stun Morocco
Africa Is a Country: Abidjan is orange

Why you should be watching the Africa Cup of Nations

“There’s just something about international football and if you haven’t been watching this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, then, frankly, where have you been? This year’s tournament, called AFCON 2023 because it was originally planned to be held last summer, has had it all so far, with spectacular goals and performances heaped among a healthy dose of drama on and off the pitch. From heavyweights Ghana and Algeria crashing out to underdogs Equatorial Guinea and Cape Verde upsetting the odds, there has been something for everyone — and that’s before we even get to hosts Ivory Coast sacking their head coach mid-tournament. Here, a selection of writers from The Athletic reflect on their favourite moments of AFCON 2023 and what they’re looking forward to in the knockout stages. …”
The Athletic

Ivory Coast: A portrait of an AFCON host nation given a second chance Ivory Coast, fans

“On one of the main highways in Treichville, a bustling district in the Ivory Coast’s economic capital Abidjan, people weave in and out of traffic trying to sell you everything you can possibly imagine. Vendors skirt around the hoods of cars and nimbly sidestep out of the way of motorcycles to offer up sunglasses, pillows, toothpicks, perfumes, footballs, socks, carpets and cameras through small gaps in the windows. Women in traditional dresses glide across the cracked asphalt on sandals to supply you with peanuts, fruit and local delicacies while a man strolls through the gridlocked vehicles pushing a large wooden wheelbarrow. …”
The Athletic

Why the Black Stars deserve to fail

“… Fast forward four days and Ghana was two goals up against Mozambique by the 90th minute, qualification all but sealed. Ofori was right after all. Hang on. Not quite. Then came a criminal capitulation of confidence and competence, which ironically had Ofori right in the mix. Mozambique’s Geny Caramo pulled one back by beating Ofori from the spot a minute into injury time. Three minutes later, Ofori, with the ball seemingly heading for a goal kick, hesitantly—and inexplicably—touched the ball, conceding a needless corner kick that dramatically ushered in a late Mozambique equalizer, a glorious glancing header from Reinildo Mandava. The Black Stars, who had a 2-0 lead courtesy of two Jordan Ayew penalties, had found a way to bottle it. It was unbelievable, yet strangely expected. …”
Africa Is a Country

AFCON 2023 round of 16: When do the knockout stages begin? Who plays who?

“It’s business time in the Africa Cup of Nations. The group stage is done and dusted, and from Saturday, January 27 until Tuesday, January 30, the 16 remaining teams will duke it out to reach the quarter-finals as they tussle to be crowned kings of the continent. Reigning champions Senegal led the way by winning three games from three in the group stage but some of their fancied rivals have struggled to replicate the same level of success, with the likes of Egypt, Cameroon (and hosts Ivory Coast) qualifying for the knockout rounds by the skin of their teeth. Meanwhile, for as much as Equatorial Guinea and Cape Verde have impressed by sauntering to qualification, Ghana and Algeria are among the heavy-hitters that have already returned home with their tails between their legs. Here, The Athletic runs through the last-16 showdowns on the horizon. Who faces who, where are the games and when will the first knockout matches of AFCON 2023 take place. …”
The Athletic (Video)
Africa Is a Country: Explaining Afcon upsets
Guardian: How Zambia’s Patson Daka stayed focused to write history at Afcon

AFCON 2023 permutations: How Ghana, Ivory Coast and other teams can still reach knockout stage Ivory Coast

“The Africa Cup of Nations has been every bit as exciting as it promised to be. Equatorial Guinea, a nation with 1.6million inhabitants, thrashed hosts Ivory Coast 4-0 on Monday. Cape Verde, an archipelago of 10 small volcanic islands off the coast of west Africa, threw up the tournament’s first upset on the second day, beating four-time winners Ghana 2-1. And we have not even reached the knockout stage yet. …”
The Athletic

The Gambia at AFCON: Several pay rows, one near disaster and a 3-0 defeat

“As a small Air Cote d’Ivoire propeller plane took off from the Gambian capital of Banjul last Wednesday, some of the passengers started to feel drowsy. From his seat, Tom Saintfiet thought it was unusual when a few minutes later, the aircraft, which was flying to Abidjan, fell quiet. He looked around and many of the travellers — including members of the Gambian national football team, bound for the Africa Cup of Nations — were already sleeping. …”
The Athletic

AFCON players on being pressured to miss tournament: ‘It shows disrespect for Africa’

“Sebastien Haller was furious. In December 2021, the forward — who was playing for Ajax at the time — was asked if he planned on playing at the Africa Cup of Nations the following month. … Ismaila Sarr was caught in the middle of a row between Watford and Senegal regarding his participation at the same tournament. Watford insisted Sarr was not fit enough to play due to a knee injury, but Senegal’s medical team wanted to make their assessment. …”
The Athletic

AFCON is a playlist

“Music and African football have always been inextricably linked. Think of some of Africa’s most iconic moments in football: Roger Milla and his dance at the corner flag, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Bafana Bafana on the half-turn in synchronized rhythm, and Robert Kidiaba bum-bouncing after a goal. It’s not just the players that punctuate the rhythm of play with dance, at times the terraces at Cup of Nations tournaments can turn into impromptu flash mobs. With just a few days to go before we kick off the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, we’ve put together our official Africa Is A Country playlist, exploring some of the most iconic songs in African football and explaining why they mean so much to so many on the continent. …”
Africa Is A Country (Video)

Ivorian football heritage

“As a footballing country, Cote d’Ivoire only started having real success at the club and international level in the 1990s. The first African Cup of Nations title that the national team obtained was in 1992 in Senegal. That very same year, Africa Sports reached the summit of continental club competitions by winning the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1992 and then again in 1999. Its biggest rival, ASEC Mimosas won the Champions League in 1998. These glorious years, however, were dashed by political chaos and instability, which began at the start of the millennium. …”
Africa Is a Country

AFCON opening night: Colour, chaos and the mood is really cooking

“I mean, where do you start? Sometimes it is impossible to express the things you have witnessed and do it justice. You see travel shows, taking you to parts of the world you would never go to and they make you think you have felt the place. Yet no amount of film, no number of photographs and maybe no number of words can recreate energy, certainly not the energy on the road from Abidjan to Ebimpe, where informal settlements crash and blur and it is a challenge to know where you really are. …”
The Athletic

Ivory Coast, China and the murky truth behind AFCON’s most high-tech stadium

“Four men in uniform are studying the Stade Alassane Ouattara Ebimpe with their arms folded. They are locals and their uniform is a combination of floral-patterned shirt, jeans and flip-flops. Such is their fixation, it seems as though they are waiting for what has been called the most advanced football arena in Africa to express itself, maybe even take off and fly away. The stadium certainly looks like a spaceship, one that was landed incongruously on the red earth of semi-rural Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s de-facto capital. It is not a machine-beast, lumpen or identikit, but an architectural wonder with subtleties, such as a roof that curves and swoops around its giant bowl like an ocean wave or a skateboard rink. Below, enormous coliseum-style pillars support a fascia that includes latticing reflective of the Ivory Coast’s tricolour flag. …”
The Athletic

The Radar – The Athletic’s scouting guide to the Africa Cup of Nations

“Welcome to The Radar — Africa Cup of Nations edition. What you are about to read is the result of a lot of hard work from our team of writers, data analysts and designers, who have combined to bring you a guide to the 24 players we think you should pay particularly close attention to at the 2023 (yes, it’s being held in 2024) Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, starting on January 13 and finishing on February 11. Below, you will find some of the tournament’s best and most exciting players split into three categories. There are eight superstars — globally renowned players from some of the biggest African footballing nations, all of whom have the ability and experience to dominate the upcoming tournament. …”
The Athletic

Will an African nation win the World Cup in the next decade?
“With Morocco’s performance at the last World Cup, do you see an African nation winning the tournament in the next decade? Honestly, no. The World Cup is a slightly odd tournament in that it’s pretty much never had a shock winner – maybe West Germany in 1954, but their subsequent performances have diminished what a surprise that felt at the time. Perhaps all that means is that we’re due a shock but there seems to be something about the magnitude of the occasion in the latter stages of the competition that ultimately benefits the elite. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

AFCON: Your guide to the games, the stars and the storylines
“The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations starts on Saturday, with hosts Ivory Coast taking on Guinea-Bissau. The biennial competition, which first took place in 1957, sees 24 teams battle it out to be crowned Africa’s champions. At the last AFCON, Senegal beat Egypt on penalties to win the tournament for the first time. …”
The Athletic

The footballers who escaped one of the most dangerous countries on Earth
“David is an Eritrean footballer, a refugee who thinks government agents are still watching him even though he fled the country a long time ago and is now thousands of miles away. Though he has claimed asylum abroad, his fears mean that he often sleeps with a chair pressed against the door of his bedroom. Sometimes he will have nightmares about a group of men armed with weapons bursting in and taking him away. …”
The Athletic

Morocco are favourites to win Afcon – can they repeat World Cup heroics?

Morocco’s Abdelhamid Sabiri celebrates scoring their second goal with Yahya Attiat-Allah in their friendly victory over Brazil, a rare success in their post-World Cup matches.
“Morocco are heading to the Africa Cup of Nations with unprecedented expectation resting on their shoulders. The tournament, initially due to take place last summer but postponed by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) because of the rainy season in the host country, Ivory Coast, will be marked by the Atlas Lions trying to follow up a historic World Cup and add to a legacy that has eclipsed any other African nation. …”
Guardian

Matchday 1: Kenneth Kaunda – Maher Mezahi

“In the final episode of ‘Matchday 1’ of the African Five-a-side podcast, we profile Zambia’s first president, Kenneth Kaunda. Kaunda so loved football and supported the national team that they were nicknamed the “KK11” in honor of him. We also explore how Kaunda got parastatal conglomerates in Zambia’s Copperbelt to sponsor domestic clubs and spur local football development. Special thanks to the research of Dr. Hikabwa Chipande and his extensive research on this subject which served as the basis for this episode.. …”
Africa Is a Country (Video)
Africa Is a Country Maher Mezahi is a football journalist based in Algiers who studies the cross-section between history, politics and football on the African continent.

The politics of hosting AFCON

“A decade later, in January 2024, Ivorians will finally welcome the continent and the world to the next AFCON. Economic and sporting realities are making it harder for sporting tournaments to find hosts. In the past, hosting gigs were keenly sought after and contested by different countries. The appeal of welcoming thousands of visitors and positively impacting economic and tourist activities was usually viewed positively while winning bids was always a good tonic for political leaders. Yet, expansion means growing tournament costs and the need to maximize economic output, while mitigating CAF’s financial difficulties is making it harder to find hosts. This trend might impact AFCON, the continent’s premier football competition. …”
Africa Is a Country
Africa Is a Country: Who are you rooting for – Laurent Dubois

Senegal win penalty shootout against Algeria to become CHAN champions

“Algeria’s hopes of winning the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) on home soil were crushed in heartbreaking fashion as they lost 5-4 on penalties to Senegal in the final on Saturday. The Local Teranga Lions edged hosts in a very tense final at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers in front of 39,120 spectators on a cold winter night. …”
CAF
YouTube: Algeria 🆚 Senegal All Penalties – TotalEnergies CHAN2022 – Final

Football row brings bitter Algeria-Morocco rivalry to forefront

“The beautiful game is often able to unite the world, but when it comes to Algeria and Morocco, even football is failing to bridge the decades-long rivalry between the North African neighbours. The latest controversy occurred this month when Morocco withdrew from the African Nations Championship, held in Algeria. The Moroccans announced hours before the tournament began on January 13 that they would not be going because they had not been given permission to fly directly from Rabat to the Algerian city of Constantine and they refused to travel by an indirect route. …”
Aljazeera (Video)
Aljazeera: Morocco condemns ‘provocative’ acts at Algeria football cup (Video)

A to Z of TotalEnergies CHAN 2022 in Algeria

“This year’s Total Energies African Nations Championship (CHAN) is the seventh edition of the unique competition meant exclusively for home-based players. The three-week long event is scheduled to commence on 13 January in four Algerian cities including the capital Algiers, Annaba, Constantine and Oran. The Desert Foxes are among the 18 countries playing in the tournament that will end on 4 February at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers. Here is everything you need to know about this year’s tournament, arranged alphabetically. …”
CAF
BBC – African Nations Championship: Political rows and talent spotting – CHAN preview
CAF: Why the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algeria?

Africa Super League: Can new competition improve club game on continent?

“Morocco may well have broken barriers for African football with the country’s historic run to the World Cup semi-finals, but the club game on the continent is still lagging well behind the standards in Europe. As such, Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Patrice Motsepe is hoping the launch of the Africa Super League next year will change that. The South African described the new competition as “one of the most exciting developments in the history of African football” when he unveiled the latest plans in Tanzania in August. …”
BBC

More than a national pastime

“Recent contests over the presidency of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) have been keenly contested, with good reason. Nigeria’s size and football pedigree (the Nigerian men’s national team has qualified for the World Cup six times and won the African Cup of Nations three times) mean occupants of the NFF presidency have frequently used this position as a launch pad for more senior positions in both the continental (CAF) and global (FIFA) football governing bodies. Amaju Pinnick, the current president, is no exception. …”
Africa Is a Country

Hunger stalks Cameroonians as food prices spike

“Now that the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) party is over and the continent’s spotlight is no longer on Cameroon, many realities of its citizens’ daily lives are hitting them hard, including escalating food prices. President Paul Biya’s government might have spent billions in a blatant attempt to appease a frustrated youth and improve his dwindling support, but the Afcon failed as a public relations exercise.
The Olembé Stadium stampede that claimed the lives of eight people on 24 January had already put a damper on the festivities of the tournament. And the Indomitable Lions’ failure to win the Afcon, instead settling for bronze, didn’t help the situation. …”
New Frame

‘We are Ghana and we have what it takes to win’

Feb 2000: A Ghana fan during the African Nations Cup in Nigeria.
“The build-up to the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers between Ghana and Nigeria, on 25 and 29 March respectively, has been typical of clashes between the two teams: lots of banter and assertions of superiority by everyone. The African continent can lay claim to some of the most colourful football rivalries, but few match the history and intensity of Ghana versus Nigeria, at least at international level. So after the fixture, when one of them will be celebrating their place in Qatar, the other will be cowering under the weight of trolls in a West African derby given a significant new dimension by social media. …”
New Frame

There’s a metaphor in there somewhere

“There is a metaphor somewhere in Senegal’s first African Cup of Nations (Afcon) championship in its history. The 2021 Afcon, played last month and this week because of a postponement from last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ended Sunday with Sadio Mane, the Liverpool star, scoring the decisive penalty in the final. With that, a one-month-long festival of football by Africa’s men’s national teams and everything else that surrounded it came to an end. Most of the players now return to their clubs, where some of them are stars, mostly in Europe. There’s a metaphor in that too. …”
Africa Is a Country

Why Algeria imploded at the Afcon

20 January 2022: A dejected Youcef Belaïli of Algeria during the Africa Cup of Nations match against Ivory Coast at Japoma Stadium in Douala, Cameroon.
“If anyone ever doubted the power of a football match result, just show them Algeria’s 270 minutes in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) that led to people completely second-guessing the success of The Fennecs. Prior to the tournament, Algeria had a 35-match unbeaten run, easily disposing of Ghana in a pre-tournament friendly. They were justifiably dubbed favourites alongside hosts Cameroon as well as Morocco and Senegal, yet they were sent packing after just three group-stage matches. It is a serious blow considering that, in the new 24-team Afcon format, four of the best third-placed teams also qualify for the knockout stage. …”
New Frame

Silencing the past of Egyptian football

Egyptian fans celebrates in a street in Cairo after Egypt beat Cameroon in their African Cup of Nations quarter-final football match in Angola on January 25, 2010.
“Nearly every day when I arrive for work at the New Cairo campus of the American University in Cairo, I walk through the Omar Mohsen Gate. This pedestrian security gate was named after an undergraduate economics major who died violently at a 2012 soccer match in Port Said between Egyptian Premier League teams Al Ahly and Al Masry. The tenth anniversary of that match passed earlier this month on February 1st. Egyptians appeared to have hardly noted it. If they did, they did not say or write much about it, and with good reason: four days later, their Pharaohs of Egypt would play against the Téranga Lions of Senegal in the marquee final match of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. The tension and drama of the final did not disappoint, though the outcome left many Egyptians disappointed as much as it left many Senegalese—whose team had never won the AFCON title—elated. …”
Africa Is a Country
W – Port Said Stadium riot

Africa Cup of Nations review: sorrow, anger and Mané’s redemption

“Our writers relive their highs and lows of a tournament completely overshadowed by the Olembe Stadium tragedy. … This Cup of Nations was played under a shadow from the moment eight supporters died outside Olembe Stadium a fortnight ago. There is no excusing what happened at a venue surrounded by vast spaces and the depressing sense remains that its causes will be swept under the carpet. After driving back to Yaoundé the following day and speaking with Romaric, who had been in the ground and encountered people who had been caught up in the crush as he left, the horror of what had occurred started to become clear. A subsequent visit to the emergency hospital brought some harrowing testimonies; these are, sadly, the words and images that linger. …”
Guardian
The Athletic – Cox: Italy-esque Senegal shackled Egypt with five men – they were deserved winners (Audio)
****An African Cup of Nations Primer
NY Times – Africa Cup of Nations: Soccer Tournament Offers Joy Amid Coups and Covid
AFCON 2021: The Review
W – 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
YouTube: Senegal vs Egypt | AFCON 2021 FINAL HIGHLIGHTS | 02/06/2022, Cameroon vs Egypt – CAF African Cup of Nations 2022 2:10:39

Fans from Burkina Faso, which recently underwent a coup, rehearsed their dances and drumming before Wednesday’s semifinal.

Querulous Queiroz and his histrionic Egypt have the smarts to outwit Senegal

“Mohamed Salah against Sadio Mané, two great Liverpool forwards going head-to-head in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nationsfinal. It’s the headline clash of Egypt against Senegal, the meeting of the most successful side in African history and a team that has never lifted the trophy. But to focus on them would be misleading: although both have had an influence late in games, neither Senegal nor Egypt could be said to be teams based around their attacking talent. There is an unavoidable sense that even to focus on the football is itself uncomfortable, given the tragic events of a fortnight ago when eight fans were trampled to death outside Stade Olembé, where the final will be staged. The quarter-final at the venue was moved, but after a review it was decided Thursday’s semi-final should be played there. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
Guardian – Lions, Panthers and Pharaohs: the best photos from the Africa Cup of Nations
BBC – Senegal 0 Egypt 0, Senegal win 4-2 on penalties
The Athletic – Vote Salah: Why does Liverpool’s superstar struggle for global acclaim?

The Cameroonians who don’t enjoy football

24 January 2022: Football fans watch the round-of-16 match between Cameroon and Comoros on television in Douala, Cameroon.
“The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) buzz that has gripped Cameroon, which not even a stampede and eight people dying could damper, has yet to reach some parts of the country even as the tournament reaches its crescendo. In certain areas of the central African nation, watching football is a luxury. While most of Cameroon and the rest of the continent have been enjoying the football fiesta, fear and militarisation have gripped the English-speaking parts of the country. …”
New Frame

Salah’s Egypt to face Mané’s Senegal in final after shootout win over Cameroon

“Africa’s two best players will square off in Sunday’s final but, before this tournament’s marketing team gets too excited about a clash between Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, it would be best to expect a slow burner. Egypt revel in those, and showed it again here. They survived a series of first-half scares against Cameroon, who were enthusiastic but blunt, and then stretched proceedings to their elastic limit. Once penalties loomed there was a sense everyone bar the noisy 900 fans who had flown from Cairo might as well head home: Egypt simply do not lose them and, for the sixth shootout running, showed cool heads while others wilted. …”
Guardian
BBC: Cameroon 0 Egypt 0
The Athletic: Liverpool’s Salah and Mane to meet in AFCON final as Egypt beat hosts Cameroon on penalties
Guardian: Sadio Mané seals Senegal’s passage to Afcon final as Burkina Faso blown away – Jonathan Wilson

Mohamed Salah makes the difference in Egypt’s fightback victory over Morocco

“A solid defence plus Mohamed Salah equals progress. It might not be particularly edifying or good to watch but it does seem to work. This was a dismal game, two hours of spoiling with a dusting of football but, in the football that was played, Salah was decisive. He scored the equaliser and set up the winner, so Egypt will meet Cameroon in Thursday’s semi-final, a meeting of the two most successful sides in Cup of Nation’s history. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Predicting the AFCON 2021 Quarter-finals

“Senegal and Cameroon – they’ve each got about a 75% chance of reaching the AFCON 2021 semi-finals with dream quarter-final draws, but that’s about where the similarities end. We’ll start this off with one of those teams and end with the other while weaving through the remaining six sides with key numbers for each. A disclaimer before reading on: Teams playing attacking football (looking at you, Morocco) will be handsomely rewarded with more words. …”
The Analyst

Is that a “juju” man on Malawi’s bench?

“In Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa and much of southern Africa, the rains which start falling in November, the onset of summer, are a welcome respite after the preceding dry, winter months. However welcome the rains are, the relief is sometimes tinged with a measure of trepidation – especially among some rural communities. After all, rains come with lightning and thunder. It so happens that our region receives a disproportionate amount of lightning compared to the rest of the world. One reason for the phenomenon is the minerals extant in the rocks beneath us that draw the electricity from the sky. Nonsense, some will say – the real reason is African metaphysics. …”
New Frame

Africa Cup of Nations: A football celebration overshadowed by tragedy Published

Abandoned shoes were the only evidence that there had been a problem before the match.
“In our series of letters from African writers, Algerian-Canadian football journalist Maher Mezahi, who is in Cameroon to cover the Africa Cup of Nations, reflects on how the recent deaths of fans at a stadium has left him with mixed feelings about the tournament. …”
BBC (Video)

Mohamed Salah’s nerveless shootout penalty takes Egypt past Ivory Coast

“It ended, as it had for a long time seemed that it would, with penalties. And as has happened twice before at the Africa Cup of Nations in the past 24 years, Egypt beat Ivory Coast on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Eric Bailly, who had had an excellent game, saw his dinked effort pushed against the crossbar by Egypt’s substitute keeper Mohamed Abou Gabal. Combined with Mohamed Salah’s decisive spot-kick, it was enough for Carlos Queiroz’s Egypt to progress. …”
Guardian: Jonathan Wilson
BBC: Ivory Coast 0 – 0 Egypt

Comoros, Cameroon and the curious tale of no goalkeepers

Injured goalkeeper Salim Ben Boina sums up the mood in the Comoros camp.
“While the fairytale story of Comoros’s journey to the knockout stages of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations will some day make an inspirational feel-good movie, one suspects Disney’s scriptwriters will have to leave out some of the finer details on the grounds that audiences may find them just a little bit too far-fetched. Hailing from a financially impoverished archipelago with a population of less than one million people located off the east coast of the continent, Les Coelacantes pulled off something of a miracle in merely qualifying for Afcon but certainly weren’t expected to make it this far. …”
Guardian

A trip to Dubai, ‘Yellow days’ or time off: What will your club’s players be doing during the Premier League break?

“It has snuck up on us in a whirl of postponed fixtures, the FA Cup’s third round and the Carabao Cup semi-finals but this weekend is the last push before the Premier League takes a two-week break. Don’t worry, there’s going to be plenty of football to keep us going in the meantime — with the EFL continuing, the Africa Cup of Nations’ knockout phase, World Cup qualifiers and the FA Cup fourth round to keep us entertained — but it’s an opportunity for many Premier League squads to get some time on the training pitch or simply take a well-deserved rest. Ralf Rangnick has opted to give his Manchester United players six days off, and the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea will also have extended breaks. But Newcastle United (Saudi Arabia) and Arsenal (Dubai) are off to warmer climes. Here, The Athletic’s club writers give you the rundown of what your lads are going to be up to over the next couple of weeks…”
The Athletic
W – 2022 EFL Cup Final

The Most Exciting Sporting Event in the World Is Happening Right Now

“In March 1957, Ghana cast off British colonialism and became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve political self-rule. At its independence celebrations, the new prime minister, Kwame Nkrumah, offered a hopeful message: ‘We are going to create our own African personality and identity. It is the only way we can show the world that we are ready for our own battles.’ I was remembering that line last week as I watched the early matches of the Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament of soccer teams representing 24 countries from across the continent. This year’s competition is being hosted by Cameroon; it began on Jan. 9 and runs until Feb. 6. …”
NY Times

Africa Cup of Nations: Pépé caps Ivory Coast win to send dismal Algeria home

“Ivory Coast thumped Algeria 3-1 to send the defending champions crashing out of the Africa Cup of Nations finals following a disastrous Group E campaign. Nicolas Pépé’s fine solo goal early in the second half put the game out of sight, the Arsenal winger advancing into the penalty area and curling the ball into the far corner with his left foot. The Elephants led 2-0 at half-time thanks to Franck Kessié’s opener and an Ibrahim Sangaré header from Serge Aurier’s free-kick. …”
Guardian
Guardian: Africa Cup of Nations Group A,B,C,D,E,F

Case Study: Carlos Queiroz’s Egypt

“Egypt is one of the most successful teams in Africa, a country known for its attacking-first style of football (especially under Hassan Shehata’s leadership) and that has won the Africa Cup of Nations a record seven times. … Taking over from former manager Hossam El Badry, whose period witnessed a great fluctuation in performance, this heightened pressure on Queiroz has proven to be successful. The technical staff includes Diyaa El Sayed, Mohamed Shawky, Essam El-Hadry, and Wael Gomaa, as well as performance analyst Mahmoud Seleem. This piece will look to investigate all aspects of Egypt’s play, including how players fit the game model and training sessions used in the process. …”
Breaking the Lines
W – Carlos Queiroz

What the Afcon means for Ethiopia

“Ethiopia might have had a miserable showing in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), but nevertheless their playing in the continental showpiece is a massive win for the country. The Walia Ibex, as the men’s national team is known, returned to the Afcon after a nine-year absence. The team’s participation comes at a crucial time as the country seems to be moving towards peace from a conflict that has dragged on for more than a year. … Since November 2020, the Ethiopian National Defence Force has been battling with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which the government has classified as a terrorist group. The conflict has had a devastating impact. …”
New Frame
New Frame: Is Ethiopia moving towards peace?

AFCON 2021: The Stats So Far No.2

“Each team have played two games at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations – some have already qualified for the last 16, some have very little hope of going any further. What have we learnt from the opening two matchdays so far? …”
The Analyst

When Two Champions Leagues Titles in Eight Months Don’t Count

“Pitso Mosimane has done enough winning in the last year, plus change, to talk about nothing else. In November 2020, only three months after he was appointed manager of the Egyptian club Al Ahly, he won the African Champions League title. He did so by beating Zamalek, Al Ahly’s fiercest rival. The final was cast as the derby of the century. Nobody in Egypt thought it was an exaggeration. Eight months later, he repeated the trick. The calendar contracted and concentrated by the pandemic, Al Ahly returned to the Champions League final in July to face Kaizer Chiefs, the team Mosimane had supported as a child in South Africa. He won again. He was showered with golden ticker tape on the field, then presented with bouquets of roses by government grandees when he returned to Cairo. …”
NY Times

When football’s laws are so inflexible, referees’ gaffes are harder to swallow

Tunisia’s coach Mondher Kebaier remonstrates with the referee Janny Sikazwe at Africa Cup of Nations
“Janny Sikazwe made a mistake and ended up blowing for full time after 85 minutes of Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations meeting between Mali and Tunisia. Forgetting to stop the watch during a water break (if that is what happened) is an understandable error – particularly given he was subsequently taken to hospital suffering from heatstroke – and one that could easily have been rectified. As it was, though, Sikazwe, an experienced referee who took charge of the 2017 Cup of Nations final as well as Belgium v Panama and Japan v Poland at the 2018 World Cup, looked rattled. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
The Athletic: Three final whistles, two penalties, a dubious red card and a potential replay – the AFCON game mired in controversy (Audio)

André Onana Just Wants to Play

“For a goalkeeper of Andre Onana’s experience, the passage of play midway through the first half of Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations opener should have been routine. Instead, it was anything but. Not once but twice, Onana misjudged the flight of the ball as it was crossed from one side of the field to the other. The second flap at thin air allowed Burkina Faso to take the lead, and left Onana with his head in the turf, acutely aware of his role in the chaos. …”
NY Times (Video)
W – André Onana

AFCON is decolonization

“The 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations began today, Sunday, 9 January, in Cameroon. AIAC founder and editor Sean Jacobs joins Will to talk about the history of the tournament, its contemporary politics, and its relationship to the hegemony of European football. The most important question of all, of course, is who will win this year’s showpiece? Listen below for some predictions.”
Africa Is a Country 1:11:15 (Audio)

Roger De Sá is already looking beyond the Afcon

24 September 2013: Orlando Pirates coach Roger De Sá reacts during an MTN 8 semifinal match against Kaizer Chiefs at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
“Roger De Sá is not giving too much thought to the possibility of setting a South African record of sorts at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), which kicked off on 9 January and runs until 6 February. An Afcon winner with Bafana Bafana back in 1996, albeit as an unused substitution, the former goalkeeper could become the first South African to win a second gold in Africa’s premier competition should he help Egypt become champions for an eighth time. De Sá is coach of the Pharaohs. …”
New Frame
W – Roger De Sá

Afcon 2021: Cameroon beat Burkina Faso 2-1 before Cape Verde see off Ethiopia

Vincent Aboubakar is looking to lead Cameroon to a sixth Nations Cup title
“Cameroon came from behind to beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in an incident-packed opener at the Africa Cup of Nations. An acrobatic volley from Gustavo Sangare put the Burkinabe ahead midway through the first half in Yaounde. But two unerring penalties from captain Vincent Aboubakar turned the game around for the hosts before half-time. Indomitable Lions keeper Andre Onana made two crucial second-half saves as Toni Conceicao’s side opened their Group A campaign with victory. …”
BBC>
Guardian: Relief and atmosphere as Cameroon open Africa Cup of Nations in style – Jonathan Wilson

AFCON 2021 guide: The storylines, the underdogs and the games you won’t want to miss

“The latest Africa Cup of Nations is just around the corner. It’s been a long road to get here for a competition that has been moved around the calendar multiple times and, in the style of Euro 2020 last summer has the ‘wrong’ year in its official title, but 24 teams are now finally set to duke it out in Cameroon to become the next champions of Africa, with the tournament getting underway on Sunday, and finishing on Sunday, February 6. Here’s everything you need to know. …”
The Athletic (Audio)
NY Times: The Joy in Embracing the Unknown (Video)
New Frame: Behind concerns over Afcon is a culture of disdain
Predicting the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 Winner
GOAL – Afcon 2021 predictions: The contenders and the pretenders (Video)

Afcon 2021: Everything you need to know about tournament in Cameroon

“First scheduled to start in June 2021 but subsequently brought forward to January last year to avoid Cameroon’s rainy season, the tournament has been delayed to 2022 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has faced criticism over the timing of its continental showpiece, and last month had to address rumours the tournament would be further delayed or moved following the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright said some of the negative media coverage has been ‘disrespectful’ and ‘tinged with racism’. …”
BBC (Video)