We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
9 fun facts about the Africa Cup of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations is underway in Ivory Coast, with the gut-churning knockout stage set to begin on Saturday. The month-long continental soccer tournament happens every two years and recently expanded to accommodate 24 national teams – all of which began the competition hoping to prove they’re the best squad on a continent of 1.4 billion people. We have compiled a list of what you should know about this tournament, including the political backdrop of the event.
1. From the pitch to peace
Argentina's Roberto Ayala and Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba during the World Cup in Hamburg, Germany, on June 10, 2006.
Christian Liewig/Reuters
Soccer has played an important role in Ivory Coast’s recent history. In 2005, the country’s national team – particularly international superstar Didier Drogba – helped stop a bloody civil war that began in the West African country three years earlier. Right after Les Éléphants defeated Sudan and qualified for the World Cup for the first time, Drogba issued an emotional call for the warring parties to lay down their weapons for the sake of the country. Drogba’s speech was blasted across the airwaves and ultimately helped lead to a cease-fire.
2. China’s stadium diplomacy
Security forces officers stand guard in front of the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on July 11, 2023
REUTERS/Luc Gnago
Three out of six stadiums used for the tournament across Ivory Coast were either built or designed by China, highlighting Beijing’s efforts to expand its influence in Africa through infrastructure projects tied to its Belt and Road Initiative. The Stade Alassane Ouattara Ebimpe, where the final of the tournament will be played on Feb. 11, was built by the Chinese state-owned Beijing Construction Engineering Group.
3. Eyes on the prize money
Senegal's national team celebrates after winning AFCON in Feb. 2022.
REUTERS
The winners of AFCON will receive a $7 million prize, which is a 40% increase from what Senegal received when it won the cup two years ago. But it’s still far below what was raked in by the victors of other recent major tournaments. Argentina, for example, received a $42 million prize for winning the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. And all of the teams playing in this year’s UEFA European Championship get over $9 million each – just for taking part.
4. Near-empty stadiums, full-on scandal
Cameroon during the TotalEnergies Caf Africa Cup of Nations Afcon 2023 match between Gambia and Cameroon at Stade De La Paix on January 23, 2024 in Bouake, Cote d Ivoire.
Didier Lefa/REUTERS
Before the tournament, the African soccer governing body CAF announced staggering numbers of ticket sales to whet the appetites of fans and to show sponsors how viable their flagship product was. But when the tournament kicked off and games were played in almost empty stadiums, people started questioning those numbers. Fans found tickets hard to purchase, and allegations of black market activities swirled across social media — a claim the scandal-plagued CAF has since denied. It attributed the setback to a “printing issue” due to a spike in orders at the last minute.
5. Broadcast battle
Algeria during the Africa Cup of Nations match between Mauritania and Algeria at Stade De La Paix on January 23, 2024 in Bouake, Cote d Ivoire.
Didier Lefa/Reuters
Just before the tournament began, fans faced the possibility they might miss the highly anticipated event altogether. Africa's largest pay-TV company, MultiChoice, withdrew from an agreement to broadcast the competition to over 20 million subscribers. New World TV, a relatively unknown broadcaster headquartered in Togo, initially outbid the South African company for the rights. They subsequently managed licensing for other broadcasters but couldn’t reach a deal with their South African counterpart. Ultimately, all parties involved hurried to secure a MultiChoice deal just three days before the opening game.
6. Give or take a year
January 13, 2024. AFCON 2023, Ibrahim Sangare, Ivory Coast vs Guinea Bissau, at the Stade Olympique Alhassane Ouattara, Abidjan, Cote D Ivoire
Ebenezer Amoakoh/Reuters
Why is it called AFCON 2023 when it’s 2024? Since 2019, the competition has been planned for the summer to ease scheduling conflicts with the European soccer calendar, where Africa’s biggest stars ply their trades. Planned for the 2023 summer, the competition was postponed in July 2022 due to concerns about weather in Ivory Coast, which promised a torrent of downpours during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer — which even the newly designed Chinese stadiums couldn’t handle. Rather than change its name to AFCON 2024, the initial iteration was maintained for sponsorship purposes. This was also the case with the previous edition, AFCON 2021, which was held in 2022 in Cameroon.
7. Chaos undoes predictions
January 22, 2024. AFCON 2023, Pablo Ganet celebrates his goal in the final round of group stage match between Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast, Stade Olympique Alhassane Ouattara, Abidjan, Cote D Ivoire.
Ebenezer Amoakoh
The AFCON defies logic. It is pure chaos. Once the competition commences, most pre-tournament punditry/projections become irrelevant. Ivory Coast, an African football heavyweight and the tournament host, faced the prospect of an early exit after being humiliated by Equatorial Guinea, a country led by a 34-year-old who plays in Spain’s lower league. Ghana is out. Tournament record winner Egypt pulled out all the stops to progress to the knockout stage. 2019 champs Algeria finished bottom of its group after a string of embarrassing results, compounded by a loss to Mauritania — which had never won a game at the competition and is ranked 105th best soccer team in the world. True to tradition, the tournament continues to humble giants.
8. White Elephant project?
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara during the AFCON opening ceremony.
REUTERS/Stringer
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara seems to have borrowed from the African dictator's playbook: hosting a big, popular sporting event to try to launder his undemocratic image. Ouattara, who is winding down a controversial third-term presidency, knows a thing or two about being autocratic, though it is unclear whether the 82-year-old will try to tighten his grip on power in 2025. But at least through CAF, he’s given Ivorians palpable joy and pride in exchange for popularity. He even grabbed Washington’s attention: Sec. of State Antony Blinken attended one of the games this week as America’s top diplomat was touring the region to hawk America’s soft power.
9. Questionably ‘energizing’ soccer
The Africa Cup of Nations match between Cape Verde and Egypt at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny on January 22, 2024 in Abidjan, Cote d Ivore.
Didier Lefa/Reuters
Global brands are also notorious for using huge sporting events to whitewash their images, and the AFCON is no different. French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies, controversial for its dealing on the continent, has been the title sponsor of CAF’s flagship competition (and its other tournaments) since 2016.
Interestingly, it still retains this position even as African leaders are increasingly taking a prominent role in the global climate conversation, an issue with severe implications for the continent's 1.4 billion people. What a time to have a global oil giant dominate pitch-side advertising boards and maintain a ubiquitous presence across its endless social media posts to millions of fans.
Hard Numbers: Soccer legend retires, First Nations vote, Trains chug toward zero, Brazil beckons
48,112: Canadian women’s soccer legend Christine Sinclair closed out her career in style this week, leading the national team to victory over Australia before 48,112 adoring fans in Vancouver. Sinclair’s 190 goals scored in international matches are the highest total notched by any woman or man who has ever played the game.
6: It took six rounds of voting, but the Assembly of First Nations has selected a new chief, putting Cindy Woodhouse, the Assembly’s regional director in Manitoba, in charge of the nationwide advocacy group. She takes over after a period of turmoil at the top — the last elected head was ousted in June over allegations that she harassed employees. Key issues for the Assembly include the housing crisis, drinking water access, and a controversial bill that would grant local governance rights to Métis — a distinct community of Canadians of mixed indigenous and European heritage. Many First Nations say the bill would enable Métis to encroach on First Nations’ rights and lands.
0: All aboard! This train is going to zero. The US and Canada have pledged to work together to develop zero-emissions locomotives as part of a broader plan to make the US-Canada rail sector net-zero (i.e., it will reduce at least as much carbon as it produces) by 2050. The focus will be on hydrogen-powered and battery-powered motors.
80.90: With winter blowing in, what better time to consider a sunny getaway to Brazil. Not only is it about to be summertime there now, but the Brazilian government has just launched a new e-Visa program for US and Canadian citizens. It costs $80.90, and the entire application and approval process is handled online. Boa viagem!
Will a kiss kick off Spain’s #MeToo?
FIFA has benched Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales for 90 days pending a disciplinary committee investigation of his conduct following Spain’s World Cup victory over England. Rubiales was suspended after he kissed star forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the presentation ceremony, provoking a storm of reaction from Hermoso, her team, the sporting world, and politicians.
While Rubiales initially claimed the kiss was consensual, “spontaneous” and “without any intention of bad faith,” last Monday he called it “a mistake.” That didn’t satisfy Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who said the apology for an “unacceptable gesture” was “not enough.” Yolanda Díaz, acting second deputy prime minister, called for Rubiales to resign. Spanish men’s international striker Borja Iglesias said he will not play for the national team “until things change,” and Hermoso’s teammates vowed not to play any more games as long as Rubiales remains as president.
But Rubiales then changed his tune. On Friday, he defended himself before an Extraordinary General Assembly of FIFA and refused to quit. The next day, Spain’s football federation accused Hermoso of lying and backed up Rubiales’ version of events, threatening to sue the star forward if she did not play.
In response, Hermoso issued a lengthy post to X, formerly known as Twitter, writing that “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out-of-place act without any consent on my part,” and that she had been pressured to issue a statement “to justify Mr. Rubiales’ actions.” In solidarity, 11 coaches and technical staff resigned and released a joint statement condemning Rubiales’ conduct. FIFA has ordered both Rubiales and the Spanish football federation to refrain from contacting Hermoso and those close to her.
This leaves everyone wondering, will this be Spain’s “Me Too” moment? So far, the score appears to be Hermoso 1, Rubiales 0.
Hard Numbers: Deadly shelling, drug kingpin's jail security, Lai sighting, Sweden soccer semi, twin takeover
7: Shelling in the southern Ukrainian province of Kherson Ukraine on Sunday killed seven people, including a 23-day-old baby girl. The attack followed denials by Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar that Ukrainian forces had engaged in Russian-occupied territory in the region.
4,000: The Ecuadorian government dispatched 4,000 military and police personnel to the Zonal 8 Detention Center in Guayas province, to “establish control over weapons, ammunition and explosives within the prison.” The jail is home to José Adolfo Macías Villamar, the drug trafficker who murdered presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio claimed had threatened him prior to his assassination. President Guillermo Lasso this weekend said Macías was relocated to La Roca maximum security prison in the same penitentiary complex.
23: Photos have surfaced of former Hong Kong newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai, the first taken since 2021. They show Lai accompanied by two guards at the maximum security Stanley Prison in Hong Kong, where the pro-democracy activist is kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours each day. Lai was sentenced to more than five years in prison for fraud in 2022, but he is awaiting trial on charges of endangering national security, which could lead to a life sentence.
4: Sweden’s women’s soccer team has advanced to the World Cup semi-final — its fourth big semi in four years. They reached the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, the 2020 Olympics, and Euro 2022, but they have yet to take home the crown. To make it to the finals this time, Sweden's women must beat Spain on Tuesday.
17: Must be something in the water. Primary schools in the Scottish town of Inverclyde, population 76,700, are preparing to welcome 17 sets of twins this fall. “Twinverclyde,” as the town has become known, has welcomed 147 sets of twins to its primary schools since 2013, an average of 13 sets a year.
Hard Numbers: Train derailment, bombing anniversary, Barbie's billion, winter heat, stunning soccer saves
30: At least 30 people were killed and another 90 injured after a train derailed in Pakistan’s Sindh province on Sunday. The country’s railway system has a notoriously dubious safety record, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
25: It has been 25 years since al-Qaida terrorists bombed the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people and injuring thousands. The attacks took place eight years after US troops landed in Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
1 billion: "Barbie" finished its third weekend in cinemas with more than $1 billion in global ticket sales, making Greta Gerwig the first solo female director to hit that mark. Warner Bros. says none of its movies have ever sold so many tickets so fast.
100: Despite it being winter in the southern hemisphere, South Americans are sweltering amid a record heatwave, with temperatures as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This is another grim reminder of the fast-emerging reality that political leaders must think urgently about how to invest in new technology and infrastructure to help people adapt to a hotter planet.
11: Swedish goaltender Zecira Musovic was the star of the show in a tough World Cup match between Sweden and the United States, scoring 11 saves against 22 attempts on goal before the shootout that eliminated the US from contention. Sweden now advances to the quarterfinals against Japan.The king is dead. Long live the beautiful game
Twenty-one years of professional soccer, three World Cup wins, and more than 1,200 goals, including 77 for his country, Brazil. Edson Arantes do Nascimento – better known as Pelé, possibly the greatest athlete to have ever played the world’s most popular game – has died at age 82 in Sao Paulo. He was suffering from advanced colon cancer.
Pelé scored his first club goal in his first club match as a substitute at age 16. By 17, he was scoring on the international stage and lifting his first World Cup for Brazil, having scored two goals in the final in a historic 5-2 win over Sweden. That was in 1958. He would repeat the feat and bring home the World Cup again in 1962 and 1970, a record that remains unbroken today.
An international ambassador for his country and the sport, Pelé helped popularize the game in the US with a stint at the New York Cosmos in 1975. But as his golden era overlapped with a brutal military dictatorship back home, the attacking soccer star chose not to speak out against dictator Emilio Garrastazu Médici, who had seized power in 1969, suspending freedoms and conducting torture of political opponents. Médici needed a cultural icon – a face to attach to his nationalist propaganda, and Pelé provided it. In 1970, he didn’t just deliver the World Cup in Mexico, but he also turned up in Brasilia and posed next to the dictator with it, making the notoriously anti-democratic comment: "Brazilians don't know how to vote." He also never uttered a word about the thousands of political prisoners of the regime.
Post-retirement, he stayed involved politically: Pelé’s last political stint as a sports minister in the 1990s ended amid allegations against his company. Business and media savvy to the end, his continuing deals and endorsements afforded him a level of wealth that contrasted with the poverty of his childhood, when he resorted to playing soccer with grapefruits, rather than balls. The “Rei do Futebol” (King of Football), as the locals called him, will be buried in Santos, the coastal city where he played most of his soccer.
Frenemy face-off at the World Cup: Morocco vs. Spain
It's just a soccer game. Or maybe there’s more to it.
On Tuesday, underdog Morocco takes on 2010 champion Spain at the Qatar World Cup in what one might frame as a battle between “neighbors” in Africa and Europe, separated by barely 9 miles of the Mediterranean Sea and with a long-fraught political relationship that’s seen some recent twists and turns.
And there’s a bigger geopolitical story that goes beyond the two kingdoms.
Territorial disputes have always made Morocco-Spain ties, to put it mildly, complicated. Morocco resents Spain for not handing over the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara, which Rabat claims as part of its territory and is rich in fish and minerals.
Morocco also has a beef with Spain over Ceuta and Melilla, two centuries-old Spanish enclaves inside Morocco and the last vestiges of European sovereignty in mainland Africa. (Fun fact: 20 years ago, the two sides almost went to war over a rock in the Strait of Gibraltar inhabited by … goats.)
The bilateral tensions have two major spillover effects with EU-wide implications.
First, Morocco has been accused of weaponizing sub-Saharan African migrants when it tells its border guards to stand by and "let" asylum-seekers try to scale the border fences of Ceuta and Melilla, which is EU sovereign territory. Rabat does this whenever Spain triggers it over Western Sahara: In May 2021, Madrid had to deploy the army to help defend the border from an influx of thousands of migrants after the Spanish government allowed a leader of the Polisario Front — a militant group that seeks independence for Western Sahara — to get medical treatment in Spain.
This is not just a Morocco-Spain problem. Once the asylum-seekers are on EU soil, they are free to travel to other EU countries — potentially unleashing a migration crisis across the entire bloc.
Second, whatever happens between Morocco and Spain is closely watched next door in natural-gas rich Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front and has kept the border with its western neighbor closed since 1994 to protest Morocco’s partial “occupation” of Western Sahara.
In late April, the Algerians first threatened to cut off gas supplies to the Spanish after Madrid announced it would resell some of that gas to Morocco. And when PM Pedro Sánchez went a step further by ending Spain's long-held neutrality on Western Sahara to ward off another migrant crisis, Algeria responded by selling more gas to Italy. Algerian gas deliveries to Spain are now down by half from a year ago and the US has become Madrid’s top seller.
Algeria's strong pushback to Spain's pro-Rabat gestures is a heads-up to the EU: Kicking the Russian gas habit is not risk-free. The more leverage an alternative supplier gets, the more inclined it'll be to turn on a dime and move to kill a contract if political feathers get ruffled.
So, what’s the current state of bilateral ties and what does the future hold? “Spain and Morocco are now on a honeymoon, but this is only a parenthesis before the next crisis, which Morocco will decide when to launch,” says Ignacio Cembrero, a veteran Spanish journalist and expert on Morocco-Spain relations.
The next big development will come, he adds, when the Spanish government follows the US in recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, as the Trump administration did in December 2020 in exchange for Rabat joining the US-brokered Abraham Accords. “That’s what Morocco wants.”
Back to the soccer ... on the pitch, Spain is the favorite.La Roja has a young squad led by FC Barcelona playmaker Pedri that excels at its signature tiki-taka passing game. Still, the Atlas Lions have plenty of talent too and will surely give their northern neighbors a run for their money.
Yet off the field, the stakes are higher for Morocco. If it wins and becomes the first Arab country to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, Moroccans will go crazy at home — and in Spain, where some 800,000 of them live.
Let’s just hope the celebrations don’t turn into the violent riots that erupted across Belgian and Dutch cities when Morroco upset Belgium in the first round.This comes to you from the Signal newsletter team of GZERO Media. Sign up today.
The Graphic Truth: The Mother of All Games 2.0
The US plays, of all countries, Iran (!) at the Qatar men's soccer World Cup on Tuesday in the most politically charged game of the most political edition of the tournament in decades. What’s more, if Team Melli — as Iran's team is popularly known — wins, it’ll advance to the knockout stage for the first time. (Not to mention that Iran won't miss a chance to beat Great Satan at anything.) USMNT, for its part, wants revenge from France '98, when Iran won 2-1 in a major upset that Tehran billed at the time as the "Mother of all Games." We take a look at how the two geopolitical rivals compare on some soccer and non-soccer metrics.