We Need To Talk About The Africa Cup of Nations

The Africa Cup of Nations, or AFCON, is the pinnacle of African, pinning the continent's 24 finest teams against one another in a month-long festival of football, full of colour, vibrance, and the most remarkable underdog stories.

And yet, it is routinely portrayed as either an inconvenient mid-season distraction to the likes of the Premier League and the Bundesliga in the West, or even as a farce, blighted by corruption, scandals, and amateurism.

In this video, HITC Sevens takes a look at where those stereotypes come from, why they are so persistent, and how they're causing football fans to miss out on some of the greatest entertainment and storylines that the sport has to offer.

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[dangibson]

Absolutely love AFCON, been watching it since 2004.

There was a real golden age from 2006-2015 when West Africa especially was just churning out world class stars, and it's been interesting to see North African sides come to the fore in more recent years.

Particularly love how the biggest sides change with every passing generation. The idea that Morocco and Senegal would be the two biggest teams on the continent would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

[BrianStorm]

Great video, Alfie! I love AFCON as a Dutchie, even more so since I've visited some African countries. Small correction, though: 'Lesotho' is actually pronounced 'Le-zoo-too'. I learned that the hard way lol.

[randominterests]

I am proud to be Zambian and thank you for the Facts in this, Africa needs to be seen... the vast talents and skills we possess.... it is the only Tournament where the favourites only has a 12% Chance of winning the whole thing.... Massive competition 💪🏾💪🏾

[JuliusOmorogbe-dz]

I felt so much joy watching this as an African. Thanks Alfie

[DrtyALGreen]

No Ghana in the list at 2:45? They are definitely one of Africa's best teams in WC history and always punch above their weight. They do the light=mental dark=physical in every sport here in America. It's not as prevalent but definitely still happens.

[FKrazy]

24:54 Just to reinforce your point here: from the 2019 edition onwards, CAF actually did try to move AFCON from January to June/July, specifically - at least in part - to avoid clashing with the European season. For both the 2021 and 2023 editions, however, they had to reschedule it back to January for exactly the reason you describe: it would have been way too hot in June to actually host them then.

[robertjonsson]

I watched a few of the games in this Afcon already and have done so before and i agree its a competition worth noting and looking at for sure. Well done to point out the qualities of the tournament and its glory as it should be considered.

[idkjustchangingmyname]

As a clueless American this is my favorite Alfie video yet

[CookieGal-]

11 minutes in couldn't have made me happier. I said out loud, "that's the same as women's football", and was then immediately met with you saying the same. Great video as always Alfie

[dcapitan]

This is another excellent video! AFCON is usually a good tournament. It's unpredictable, so much so that the best way to enjoy it is just to watch it. The supposed "minnows" that qualify for AFCON tends to be better than people believe. This leads to some massive upsets. To me, it's the third most interesting confederation tournament after the Euros and Copa.

[Outpost--Hockey]

I work at sea and I'm bummed I'm missing this edition. I've always enjoyed the AFCON, the atmosphere that surrounds it and always hated the discourse surrounding it in European media.

[yazdejesus]

Thank you Alfie, for the introductory monologue. And for the video in general.

[arsenalboi]

"NoOOooOoOoooOOOOo womens football is mocked and afcon is mocked! When a prem keeper makes the same mistake, he is mocked not the whole league!!" No sh*t sherlock, thats because the mistakes, particularly in womens football, are more prevelant, more major and there are more of them

[sympasmisanthropic]

Thanks for coming here to spit facts and your mind every video man.

[drunkenhobo]

I'm 12 minutes in and he's said the same thing over and over again. This is an extremely boring video.

[tilewajohnson]

This journalism here deserves my sub. Great work

[mrfoofoo]

And it's already dropped a whole host of surprises and upsets on the first weekend! It's going to be a great tournament - let's hope south Africa can win a game ❤

[tomlennox]

Bono: "Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you."

The lyrics of that song perfectly exemplify the West's perception of African life.

[BALHAM]

#thepeopleschannel a video on the Bangladesh premier league and the rise of Bashundhara kings would be good
A team who went into the top flight after promotion and won the last four league titles now!
Are they the next Newcastle? Are they a team to keep a eye on next few years? Thanks Alfie 😊

[jamesrowland]

that stat about terms used to describe light and dark players is insane, its literally a key and peel skit