AFCON Archives: The legacy of AFCON 2023
There are two kinds of people in this world: the honest, and those who say they could have predicted what would unfurl in the 29 days after Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau kicked off the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on January 13.
Having flirted with elimination in the group stages, Ivory Coast became the first host nation to win the men’s title since 2006 by defeating Nigeria 2-1 in the final. To add to the romance, it was Sébastien Haller – a man who fought-off testicular cancer barely a year ago – who netted the 81st minute winner.
This was a fairy-tale final befitting a tournament that left us astounded, amazed, and thoroughly entertained at every twist and turn. This is that unforgettable story told by the journalists who covered it.
Meet the journalists
As we seek to capture the legacy of AFCON 2023, it is only right to turn to those who have already been telling its story. The Sports Gazette spoke to three journalists who have been doing just that.
Alasdair Howorth is a freelance African football journalist and the host of the On The Whistle podcast.
Yara El-Shaboury is a sub-editor and journalist who covered AFCON for The Guardian.
Ayo Adams is a CAF accredited Nigerian journalist who produced the video series #MyAFCONExperiencewithAyoAdams throughout the tournament.
This is how they will remember a most memorable AFCON.
What was the best storyline?
Unsurprisingly, the consensus here is that Ivory Coast’s redemption was the story of the tournament.
Alasdair: “The best storyline of the tournament, without a doubt, is Cote d’Ivoire winning the tournament despite everything. The first team in world history to win a major knockout tournament despite losing two matches.
“The most humiliating loss in their country’s history against Equatorial Guinea, sacking their coach, and then beating the best team in Africa and the reigning champions – Senegal – on penalties. Coming back in the last minute and winning in the last minute against Mali. Going on to beat DR Congo and Nigeria. That’s probably the greatest storyline AFCON has ever had, one of the greatest storylines sport has ever had.”
Yara: “Ivory Coast. Everything about them. Horrendous opening matches. Sacking their coach midway through and asking the France FA if they can borrow Hervé Renard. Emerse Faé’s redemption from 2006. Haller’s comeback.”
Ayo: “The Ivorians winning the tournament from being almost knocked out is the best storyline for me. Their remarkable second half performance against Senegal. The miraculous comeback and triumph against Mali and crowning it by defeating another fairly-taled opponent in Nigeria, all whilst led by an interim coach who’s now become a national hero.”
The champions of AFCON 2023 rightfully get the headlines, but this was a great tournament for the underdogs too.
Ayo: “On the flip side of the coin, the underdog moments in this AFCON built up a multitude of excitement and stories for ages to come. DR Congo making it far and Mauritania breaking records, heavy weights being shown an exit door in shocking fashion.”
Alasdair: “There were plenty of other brilliant storylines. Both Mauritania and Namibia getting their first ever wins at the AFCON and going through to the knockouts for the first time.
“Mauritania were ranked 204th in the world twelve years ago, with only four teams ranked below them, so that’s an incredible story. Equatorial Guinea and Cape Verde also had brilliant tournaments.”
Mauritania and Namibia claimed their first ever AFCON wins
Most memorable game?
Alasdair: “There were so many incredible games! Egypt vs Ghana, the 2-2 where Ghana took the lead twice. Even in the last game of that group, Ghana were 2-0 up going into the 90th minute and Mozambique came back and drew 2-2.
“But the most memorable game has to be the Cote d’Ivoire vs Mali (2-1) game. Two neighbours playing each other, two rivals playing each other. The home side going down to 10-men, playing with 10-men for 60+ minutes having already saved a penalty. Scoring in the 90th minute to equalise and then scoring in the 123rd minute to win. So for me that has to be the most memorable game.”
Oumar Diakité was the hero against Mali
Ayo: “My memorable game has to be Cape Verde vs Egypt (2-2) in the final round of the group stages. With nothing to lose having secured qualification in to the round-of-16, the Blue Sharks stood up against the Pharaohs and held their own in a game packed with goals, a game which had us on the edge of our seats and also partly influenced the exit of Ghana’s Black Stars.”
Group B action also gets a shoutout from Yara, but her most memorable game features the host nation.
Yara: “Senegal vs Ivory Coast, which The Elephants won 5-4 on penalties, but Ghana vs Cape Verde (1-2) was a close second.”
Garry Rodrigues’ late winner decided Ghana and Cape Verde’s opening game in Group B
Which fans made their mark?
Celebrating a third AFCON title, and doing so on home soil, it is hardly surprising that the Ivorian fans stood out.
Ayo: “The host nation fans are the most remarkable for me, exemplifying their unwavering support and relentless belief in their team and consistently cheering them on till the last whistle was blown.”
‘Merci Maroc’ – The Ivorian fans thank Morocco, whose win over Zambia saved them from elimination
The plethora of rivalries between fans are also part of what makes AFCON so special.
Yara: “The home fans, of course, but I loved watching Nigeria’s fans too. Ghana and Nigeria’s rivalry is always hilarious and it was great fun at the tournament. The rivalry between North African fans was also pretty funny given that they all crashed out early on.”
The sizeable migrant communities in the Ivory Coast, mostly originating from surrounding nations in West Africa, added further spice to the stands.
Alasdair: “Guinean fans stood out for me. They were probably one of the few that weren’t organised, as most African federations pay for groups of fans to go. Guinea has been going through absolute turmoil the last couple years [under a military junta imposed in 2021] and there’s been a lot of hardship in the country.
“But they also have a very large Guinean community in Cote d’Ivoire. They were so visceral in the way they responded to the matches, because for them it’s so rare to watch their team play well. Guinea has been a serially underperforming side at AFCON, whereas this tournament they got their first ever win in the knockouts.”
The future of AFCON
Across its sixty-seven year history, the AFCON has provided some truly remarkable stories – tales that we have chronicled across AFCON Archives. Even so, this AFCON may well be the greatest ever. What, then, did AFCON 2023 tell us about the future of the competition?
Ayo: “Never talk down on the AFCON. It stands at a par with all the major tournaments. Moving forward, the output of this championship will reshape the structure of a lot of teams. In terms of beliefs and practices, under-rate any team at your expense – there are no more small teams. To win, it must be earned on the pitch.”
Mauritania’s first AFCON win came against no less than 2019 AFCON winners Algeria
Yara: “First that football is unpredictable, and tournament football specifically cannot be accurately called. Second, that entertaining football can be played in sub-saharan Africa – a myth that has constantly been touted due to claims about the weather.
“Third is that we may see more FA’s take swift action, like Ivory Coast did [by firing Jean-Louis Gasset], in the future, whether that leads to good results like the hosts, I am not sure. Sounds tired and unoriginal but I think this really was just a case of destiny.”
Even Elephants fans struggled to see a way back from Ivory Coast’s group stage calamity
The rise of the African coach is another story of this AFCON. Whereas 75 percent of head coaches hailed from outside Africa at the 2017 tournament, that figure was reduced to 33.3 percent, or one-third, in this edition.
Alasdair: “Lower-level teams have had to settle for second-class European coaches in the past couple decades. The top African sides could always hire very good European coaches or, with their own history and their own development, produce very good coaches.
“But what we’ve seen over the past five years, and at this tournament in particular, is the middle-class or lower-class level of African teams thriving with their own coaches, who have either been trained in Europe or gotten their own CAF badges after CAF started their own coaching licensing scheme in 2019.
Cape Verde throw Bubista up in celebration
“You think of Collin Benjamin, the Namibia manager; Amir Abdou, a Comorian who took Comoros from absolutely nothing to an AFCON, and then to the round-of-16 in 2022, now doing the exact same thing with Mauritania. Juan Micha at Equatorial Guinea; Bubista at Cape Verdé; Emerse Faé with Côte d’Ivoire of course.”
This was the final edition of AFCON Archives. You can read the full collection here.
