Pan-African Watch On Afcon 2025-26 Edition

When African Cup Of Nations (AFCON) Tournament 2025-2026 edition games ended in Rabat (Morocco) the tournament left behind telling statistical data. Data which underlined the tournament's growing global influence, the commercial success, the unparalleled passion of African football fans and above all reliance on diaspora players (which may mask Africa's soccer underdevelopment).Data which indeed was and is instrumental in highlighting and analysing key issues on African soccer or football.

Statistical Data Tells A Clearer Picture*

Off- field
Entertainment Value
In terms of entertainment, drama associated with soccer tournaments, this just ended continental soccer showpiece ranks the highest. CAF confirmed that the Morrocan edition was the highest- scoring AFCON edition on record. A total of 120 goals were scored before the final, then add the Senegalase extra time in the final meaning a total of record 121 goals were scored at this AFCON edition. According to football analysts and commentators, this tournament high scoring indicates of a continent playing with greater courage, higher technical confidence and better preparation.

Fan Passion
Fan colourful support and football passion was in no short supply. Then the mesmerizing support by the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC fan Michel Kuka Mboladinga famously known as "Lumumba Vea'" who stood expressionless and motionless for a staggering four hundred and thirty minutes (438 minutes) in remembrance of Patrice Emery Lumumba, DRC's independence hero and first Prime Minister of that nation in 1960. To put it in context , the DRC football fan stood 7 hours 18 minutes across DRC's four matches at the tournament. Definitely a world record, a feat deserving of making it in the Guinness World Book of records.

Record Attendance
Data is clear that fan engagement with this continental showpiece went up. By quarter final stage, the soccer showpiece had recorded a cumulative attendance surpassing 1,1 million spectactors attending the matches across host venues. Indeed, according to CAF, record numbers, even well before the tournament had not reached its climax. And at the end, record 1,25 million attendance was recorded across the combined nine stadiums. Reflective of growth, trust, entertainment. The final featuring the host Morrocco and Senegal attracted 1,7 million views in the United Kingdom (UK) alone.

Staggering Six Billion Digital Viewership

Viewership statistical data for the AFCON 2025_2026 was something else, unprecedented in the history of AFCON tournament. The CAF website, 2025 TotalEnergies, AFCON Morrocco was the most viewed football continental competition generating an extraordinary 5,2 billion video views. Highlighting tournament's growing global punch and influence and the unmatched passion of African football fans.According to CAF and TotalEnergies CAF, one of the most significant growing area has been the diaspora community. From the diasporan community, "millions of new audiences and users" watched the 2025_2026 edition of AFCON... which in as itself was,

"a milestone,positioning Africa's flagship football event at the very top of global digital engagement, surpassing every comparable continental tournament in history"

The tournament was fan driven, with a total of 285 million engagements recorded.Under the hashtag #TotalEnergiesAFCON2015, Tik Tok recorded a total of one million fans (1 million) generated videos. Thus, in a way, TikTok emerged as the heartbeat of the tournament's digital ecosystem.

Commercial Success Story
The tournament was an unprecedented commercial success hailed by CAF. Indeed, the most commercially successful in the tournament's history. The tournament revenue increased by over 90% compared to the Ivory Coast edition of 2023, reaching over US$190 million, with a net profit projected roughly around US $113,8 million. The 2025-2026 edition had 23 commercial partners , an increase from 17 commercial partners in Ivory Coast 2023 edition and from 9 commercial partners in 2021 edition. Broadcast rights were 111 compared to 67 in 2023 edition. New viewership markets were made including in China, Japan and United States of America (US) were recorded. The Morroccon edition generated over 1,5 billion pounds in direct revenues for Morrocco. This was indeed, a financial success story.

On- field
Local Coaches; The Way To Go For Africa National Teams

Out of the 24 nations which participated at the Morroccan edition of the AFCON 2025-2026 edition, eleven (11) were local based coaches.(this is inclusive of South African coach hired by Botswana, Ghanaian coach hired by Sudan) and thirteen (13) were hired foreign coaches. This means that 54% of coaches , the majority were foreign coaches and the, 46%, the minority were local coaches. But in the Semi-final stage, three (3) coaches who made it were local coaches from Senegal, Nigerià and Egypt. And at the end, it was won by a local coach.The message is clear, its high time African puts more trust and investment in its own local football coaches.The merits are plenty. Local coaches tend to comprehend African football better than hired foreign coaches.

Diaspora Story
For the 2025- 2026 Africa Cup of Nations edition, out of a total of six hundred and fifty eight (658 players) registered to play, approximately 186 to 191 players (nearly 30% of total soccer players) or more than a quarter of all players in the 2025- 2026 AFCON edition were born in the diaspora mostly Europe.Those born and bred in France where (107), in Spain (25), in England (15), in Portugal (12), and in Germany (8). It is crystal clear from the data that France is the leading birthplace outside Africa where a lot of African soccer players are being born and raised, for at the just ended 2025_2026 AFCON tournament over 100 African players were born and raised in France.

Reliance Or Over-Reliance On Diaspora Players

Almost 30% of players who participated at the just ended Morrocco 2025-2026 edition of AFCON were born outside the continent of Africa and play or have their careers outside Africa. This reflects the growing reliance many African countries have on players from the diaspora especially in Europe. This may be indicative of the fact that Africa is not doing enough to produce its own homegrown talent. For example, Comoros, had only one player (1) born in Comoros, while other twenty- five (25) were born outside of Africa. Equatorial Guinea’s 28-man squad, for example, had nineteen (19) players all born in the former Equatorial Guinea colonial power, Spain. Whilst countries like Algeria and Senegal also had high numbers of players born outside Africa. At this edition of AFCON, only Botswana, Egypt and South Africa had teams consisted of all home-grown and bred players.

What Is The Message?
Data from the recent African continental showpiece showed that nearly 30% of AFCON players who participated in the continental showpiece were not born or bred in Africa. What is the message behind that? Foreign-born players are not the problem, it is symptomatic of the failure of African football to develop its own talent. African teams at AFCON had to rely on players born abroad because they have better training, better systems and better coaching than what can be found on the ground in mother Africa.This "soccer underdevelopment" where African soccer is suffering from absent infrastructure like mere world class stadiums, lack of robust youth policies, lack of systems, lack of funding, talent drain, neglect and Football Associations out of their depth among many other contributing factors.

Ever Widening Soccer Gap; The African "Soccer/Football Underdevelopment"

Soccer or football underdevelopment, a sitiuation where African football or soccer remains less developed in systems, funding, infrastructure and exposure. That is, African soccer remains stagnant at best or declining at worst. This is a sad reality in most African nations. Even when a nation performs remarkably well at continental tournaments that is, no guarantee for improving soccer domestically in the nation concerned. Why? because, brilliance at continental show piece may be because of reliance or over- reliance on diasporan players, which in itself is not wrong but can deprive local players from benefing from better soccer systems, better training and playing facilities even better management or coaching as compared to their counterparts in the diaspora. So better performance at continental showpiece may not neccessarily mean development of local soccer especially when a team is relying on diaspora players for the large chunk of it's team. So this "diaspora factor" can hide or mask Africa's soccer underdevelopment, whereby, due to a number of factors and neglect of the football industry in Africa, football players in local African leagues can hardly compete with their European-based counterparts in international competitions. That is hiding or masking "football or soccer underdevelopment" in Africa.This is because most African Football Associations' s strategy has been shifting from developing domestic talent to recruiting it from abroad, diasporan soccer players.This is no sustainable solution, Africa should develop its soccer infrastructure, system, structures etc.

Confederation Of African Football Associations (CAF) Response Strategy

As for CAF, having realized the ever widening soccer gap stifling local players to compete with foreign based or soccer diasporans. A sitiuation where African soccer instead of growing is stagnant at best and at worst going down, a sitiuation which may be described as "soccer underdevelopment" CAF then launched the African Nations Championship (CHAN) tournament in 2009. The tournament is reserved for local players who are active in their own domestic leagues. However, though commendable an initiative, the initiative does not address the structural and policy rot in many African Football Associations which is responsible for "soccer underdevelopment" on the continent. For the initiative does little to confront the legal, logistical, political and economic structures that fuel the disparity and "soccer underdevelopment"

Urgent Need For Soccer Infrastructure
In Morrocco, AFCON tournament was held in world class stadiums.The Adrar, Mohammed V , Fez , Marrakesh , Prince Moulay Abdellah and Moulay Hassan Stadiums. However, this privilege of world class stadiums is not for all African countries. Some African countries in this day and age have no world class stadiums. Their national teams are "homeless" having to fulfill their home fixtures somewhere else". Is that not a shame? A dent on African development? Why should a country fail to have one or two world class, FIFA or CAF approved stadiums? instead, relying on colonial built, now dilapidating stadias. Soccer is more than just a sport. Soccer is business, soccer is money. Soccer is development . And Africa should and ought to treat soccer as a national development project. Morrocco is estimated to have gained 1,5 billion pounds in direct revenues because of hosting this soccer showpiece.

"Morocco earned *€1.5Billion* from hosting AFCON 2025-2026, boosting tourism, creating *100 thousand plus jobs* , and accelerating € *2.3Billion in infrastructure* linked to the 2030 World Cup. Upgrades in stadiums, roads, 5G, and urban services aim for lasting economic growth and global visibility"

Having all African countries having at least a World Class Stadiums ensures them to have an opportunity to host these continental money generating continental football showcases like AFCON. Even consider co- hosting of such tournaments. But the starting point to tap in such financial benefits of hosting such football showcases is having World class stadiums. It is high time African governments seriously priorities infrastructural development linked with development of soccer not only as a sport but as a national development project.

Media Bias & Double Standards
The final game pitying the host Morrocco and eventual winners Senegal had it's fair share of a nasty controversy, Senegal players walking off the ground, prolonged delay and the whole threatened to degenerate into chaos. Fortunately, the game was resumed and the match played into added thirty minutes extra time.It was drama,chaos which certainly should be condemned anywhere.Africa and the world do not need such scenes in this "beautiful game" of football.However, how the nasty controversy was reported by world media, unfortunately in some cases indicated bias, double standards and agenda setting.Certain Western media elements are trying to use the final AFCON game of the 2025-2026 soccer edition as a weapon to stop Morrocco from co-hosting world cup tournament together with Spain.This is not only unfair but it is extremely biased. Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Rafael Louzan has said that Spain should host the 2030 World Cup final and added that the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), staged by their 2030 World Cup co-hosts Morocco;

“damaged world football ”.

Therefore, the tone or implied meaning being set is Spain a European nation should host World Cup Tournament alone and not co- host with Morrocco, an African country, because holding World Cup tournament in Africa will damage "world football ", the same way controversial AFCON final damaged world football.This is wrong.This is outright bias and double standards.

According to British top sports journalist Darren Lewins responding to the final game drama at AFCON. Lewins argues that the incident showed the same problems common in football all over the world but certain western media elements are pushing the lazy narrative that what happened at the AFCON final is somehow a stain on all of African football. Lewins gives examples of England fans vandalising Wembley after Euro 2020. That was not framed as a failure of European football. Example of Calciopoli exposing deep football corruption in Italy and Juventus were relegated. That debacle was never used to discredit European club football as a whole. Even when Steve Bruce led Sheffield United off the pitch during an FA Cup tie against Arsenal at Highbury, no one claimed it or used it to discredit English football.

Yet, such similar incidents at AFCON are weaponised to question the legitimacy, organisation, and credibility of African football as a whole. That is double standard at its level best, dangerous and stereotyping. This the real issue, not the tournament. Lewins highlights that what happened on the final match of AFCON 2025-2026 exemplifies the same game fraught with the same problems. But now its a different judgement because it is Africa. Double standards. Media bias and outright stereotyping.Therefore, as Lewins correctly points out, AFCON is not the problem, the bias is..

Conclusion
The just ended AFCON 2025_2026 edition was not told only in flashpoints or drama, but in data. Data which told the story of African football. Data which showed phenomenal commercial success, record attendance, record viewership, drama, entertainment and offcourse, a fair share of controversy especially in the last game of the tournament. Data showing local coaches are holding their own and Africa should and ought to put more trust in local coaches to coach and guide their national teams to success.The same data pointing to a reliance or over-reliance by most African national teams on diasporan born and bred talent, nearly 30% of them across all 24 teams at the tournament took part in the games. Offcourse, some may see nothing wrong with that but, it can or may mask Africa "soccer or football underdevelopment"...that is, failure to groom homegrown talent due to poor systems, infrastructure and instead rely on "importing" talent from diaspora. AFCON growing global influence and impact must go side by side with growth of African soccer domestically across the continent. Africa needs to up its systems, youth development infrastructure development, invest more in its soccer and start doing what Morrocco did....treat football/soccer as a national development project .

F. Madondo (African Teacher) fortmada123@gmail.com

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