Will this be ‘the best Africa Cup of Nations ever’?
The 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast has set a high bar, but the 35th edition of the continental football tournament (December 21 to January 18) is set to surpass even that, according to organizers in Morocco.
For the first time in the history of the competition, each team will have its own headquarters and team hotel, as seen at the World Cup and European Championships. Four stadiums were newly built for the tournament, while the remaining five, all relatively new, have recently been renovated.
Anticipation is high: Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) president Fouzi Leqza announced in November that more than 800,000 tickets had already been sold – a record for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Fans can also look forward to excellent infrastructure in Morocco. A high-speed rail line – the only one on the continent – links the three AFCON host cities Tangier, Rabat and Casablanca, which are home to six tournament stadiums.
Even at the height of the global Generation Z protests this autumn, which also extended to Morocco, the country remained “Plan A, Plan B and Plan C” for the Africa Cup of Nations, with Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe promising “the best Africa Cup of Nations ever”.
Is Morocco the overwhelming favourite?
For several years, Moroccan football has been implementing a series of reforms whose results are now beginning to show. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the national team became the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, ultimately finishing fourth.
After this Morocco continued its success. In 2024, the national team won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris. In 2023, the country won the Africa Cup of Nations for the under-23s and in 2025, they won the same competition for the under-17s. In the same year, the Under-20s also won the World Cup for their age group.
The Morocco women’s national team also performed well and finished second at the Africa Cup of Nations two consecutive times (2022 and 2025), both times on home soil.
A win for the “Atlas Lions” in their domestic tournament would be icing on the cake, but the competition is fierce. Germany’s rival Ivory Coast is aiming to defend its title in the 2026 World Cup group stage. Senegal, a football superpower in Africa, also has high ambitions. The same is true for Morocco’s neighbor and longtime rival Algeria.
Tunisia, Nigeria (runner-up at AFCON 2024), South Africa (third place at 2024), and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which can still qualify for the 2026 World Cup through a playoff next spring, are all considered favorites for the title. Egypt, who consider Mo Salah to be Africa’s best footballer, should not be forgotten.
Who are the biggest stars of the tournament?
The Africa Cup of Nations brings together the best players from the continent. Among the stars of this year’s tournament are:
- Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)
- Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, who once played for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga
- Brian Mbeumo of Cameroon and Manchester United
- Burkina Faso’s Edmond Tapsoba, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen
- Senegal and Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye
- Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who played for Borussia Dortmund for five years and is now under contract with Marseille.
However, all eyes will be on Salah. The 33-year-old Liverpool forward is his club’s all-time Premier League scorer with 190 goals, but has fallen out with his manager Arne Slott. There is speculation that he could leave Liverpool as early as this winter. However, for African football fans, a different question takes center stage: will Salah succeed in leading record holders Egypt to an eighth AFCON title?
Which AFCON players will we see at the World Cup?
At least seven teams participating in AFCON in Morocco will also play at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. DR Congo could be added as an eighth team. The Africa Cup of Nations is a good opportunity for the talents of these countries to showcase their skills.
The same applies to 19-year-old Ivorian Yann Diomande, who has recently impressed at Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, and his compatriot 19-year-old Bazoumana Toure, who is making a name for himself at Hoffenheim.
17-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye aims to make his mark in the Senegal team, where he is getting more playing time at PSG despite his young age.
20-year-old Chemsdine Talbi, who plays regularly for newly promoted Premier League side Sunderland, hopes to earn a place in host nation Morocco’s World Cup squad. The same is true for 20-year-old South African Tylon Smith, who currently plays for English Championship team Queens Park Rangers’ U21 team – but he has higher ambitions.
Who will write the most memorable story of the tournament?
One of the attractions of the Africa Cup of Nations lies in the fact that the tournament almost always features underdogs who experience their own football story. Will the Comoros Islands manage to reach the round-16 again at the AFCON in Morocco, as they did during their previous appearance in 2021?
Can Benin, who missed World Cup qualification by a narrow margin, advance to the quarter-finals as they did in 2019? Or will the Sudanese team manage to create a sensation and bring a little happiness to a country ravaged by civil war for years? National coach James Kwesi Appiah promised: “We are here to win – not just participate.”
This article was originally published in German.