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Mohammed Kudus, Majeed Ashimeru, and Salis Abdul Samed of Ghana celebrate during the AFCON 2023 match between Egypt and Ghana at on January 18, 2024 in Abidjan, Cote d Ivoire.
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.](https://www.gzeromedia.com/media-library/argentina-s-roberto-ayala-and-ivory-coast-s-didier-drogba-during-the-world-cup-in-hamburg-germany-on-june-10-2006.jpg?id=51189579&width=980)
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](https://www.gzeromedia.com/media-library/security-forces-officers-stand-guard-in-front-of-the-alassane-ouattara-olympic-stadium-of-ebimpe-in-abidjan-ivory-coast-on-jul.jpg?id=51189599&width=980)
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.](https://www.gzeromedia.com/media-library/senegal-s-national-team-celebrates-after-winning-afcon-in-feb-2022.jpg?id=51189615&width=980)
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.](https://www.gzeromedia.com/media-library/cameroon-during-the-totalenergies-caf-africa-cup-of-nations-afcon-2023-match-between-gambia-and-cameroon-at-stade-de-la-paix-on.jpg?id=51189645&width=980)
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
![\u200bAlgeria 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.](https://www.gzeromedia.com/media-library/u200balgeria-during-the-africa-cup-of-nations-match-between-mauritania-and-algeria-at-stade-de-la-paix-on-january-23-2024-in-b.jpg?id=51189735&width=980)
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](https://www.gzeromedia.com/media-library/january-13-2024-afcon-2023-ibrahim-sangare-ivory-coast-vs-guinea-bissau-at-the-stade-olympique-alhassane-ouattara-abidjan.jpg?id=51189746&width=980)
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.](https://www.gzeromedia.com/media-library/january-22-2024-afcon-2023-pablo-ganet-celebrates-his-goal-in-the-final-round-of-group-stage-match-between-equatorial-guinea.jpg?id=51189747&width=980)
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.](https://www.gzeromedia.com/media-library/ivory-coast-president-alassane-ouattara-during-the-afcon-opening-ceremony.jpg?id=51189759&width=980)
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.](https://www.gzeromedia.com/media-library/the-africa-cup-of-nations-match-between-cape-verde-and-egypt-at-stade-felix-houphouet-boigny-on-january-22-2024-in-abidjan-cot.jpg?id=51189790&width=980)
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.
What We're Watching: Modest hopes for Venezuelan talks, Israel-Poland diplomatic spat deepens, Ebola in the Ivory Coast
Will fresh talks help Venezuela? For just the fourth time in half a decade, the Maduro regime and opposition forces have met for fresh talks to try to chart a path forward for crisis-ridden Venezuela. The negotiations, held last week in Mexico City, were attended by both President Nicolás Maduro as well as opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who in 2019 declared himself interim president after an election widely viewed as rigged was met by mass protests. What's the aim of these talks? Well, depends who you ask. For Guaido's camp, the focus is on free and fair elections, the release of political prisoners, and human rights. (Maduro has shown some goodwill in recent days by agreeing to release opposition politician Freddy Guevara.) Maduro, on the other hand, is desperate to have crippling US sanctions lifted so Caracas doesn't have to rely as heavily on China, Russia and Iran. But because Maduro has refused to give up power, analysts say, the opposition's immediate goal now is to pave the way for local and regional elections in November, as well as to boost the COVID vaccine rollout. The next round of negotiations has been set for next month.
Israel and Poland at loggerheads again: Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has recalled Poland's ambassador over a newly-passed Polish law that restricts the rights of Holocaust survivors to reclaim property stolen during World War II, and later seized by Poland's Communist regime. Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says the law aims to stave off grifters who abuse the system to claim property that doesn't belong to them. But Lapid, backed by the United States, hit back saying that it is "an immoral, anti-Semitic law" that prevents any recourse for aging Holocaust survivors, and said Israel may downgrade ties with Poland. This development is just the latest installment in an ongoing diplomatic spat between Israel and Poland. In 2018, Warsaw proposed a law criminalizing claims that Poland, which was home to the world's largest Jewish community before World War II, collaborated with Nazi Germany. Israel criticized the law, which was eventually watered-down, saying it whitewashed Polish complicity in the Nazi genocide (about 90 percent of Poland's pre-war Jewish community was killed in the Holocaust). Unlike Germany, Poland has never passed sweeping legislation providing reparations to Holocaust survivors and their families.
Ivory Coast begins vaccinations for… Ebola: The West African country of Ivory Coast has recorded a new case of Ebola for the first time since 1994. This comes just months after the World Health Organization declared the end of an Ebola outbreak in neighboring Guinea that killed a dozen people, sending shockwaves through the region as it grapples with a dearth of COVID vaccines. Meanwhile, the WHO said it is conducting genetic sequencing tests to determine whether the virus is linked to recent cases in Guinea. Guinea, for its part, sent 5,000 Ebola vaccine doses that Ivorian authorities said are already being used on a "targeted group." The WHO and African Union are monitoring the situation closely given that an Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018-2020, the country's tenth outbreak, resulted in over 2,200 deaths.What We're Watching: Putin's Belarus play, Ivory Coast election ruling, historic Asian recession
Putin's strings attached: As protesters continued to throng the streets of Minsk, Belarus' strongman Alexander Lukashenko traveled to Moscow earlier this week to seek support from longtime frenemy Vladimir Putin. During a meeting in which body language told much of the story — the burly Lukashenko uncomfortably beseeching Putin who sat stone-faced in a dread manspread — the Russian President said he'd throw his Belarusian counterpart a $1.5 billion emergency loan. But he also pressured Lukashenko to open the way to fresh elections. That's something that the Belarusian president has resisted so far — after all, the current unrest came in response to his rigging of the August election, and it's hardly clear that he would win a redo. That may be precisely the point, from Putin's perspective. He has disliked Lukashenko for years, but the last thing he wants is for street protesters to depose him, which might give Russians some crazy ideas of their own. But a reasonably fair vote might be just the way to get rid of Lukashenko. What's more, the Belarusian opposition has been careful not to alienate Russia, meaning a change of power wouldn't necessarily hurt the Kremlin's interests. What will Lukashenko do? $1.5 billion can buy a lot of vodka and saunas.
Final verdict on Ivorian election: Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara can run for a third term despite a constitutional two-term limit, the country's top court has decided. The ruling also banned former President Laurent Gbagbo from seeking the presidency in next month's election, and cleared the way for Henri Konan Bedie — another former president and coup leader — to be the main opposition candidate against Outtara. Nearly 80 people have died in violent street protests in the Ivory Coast since Ouattara announced he would run again after his handpicked successor, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, suddenly died in July while serving as prime minister. Outtara has been in office since 2011, when he took power following a brief yet bloody civil war that erupted after his predecessor Gbagbo refused to accept an election result. Whoever wins, expect more political instability in Francophone West Africa's largest economy.
Asian recession for 2020: Developing economies in Asia and the Pacific (basically all except Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea) will, as a group, experience a recession this year for the first time since the early 1960s, according to the latest update from the Asian Development Bank. ADB projects that the regional economy will contract 0.7 percent in 2020 and grow again 6.8 percent next year, confirming that the region's economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will be more gradual (in the form of an L or swoosh) rather than what wonks refer to as the more optimistic "V-shaped recovery." Some economies will perform better than others though: China's is expected to grow by 1.8 percent in 2020, while India's will decline by 9 percent, and most Asian economies that are highly reliant on tourism revenues — such as the Philippines and Thailand — will suffer double-digit declines. Right now, ADB views a prolonged pandemic as the biggest risk for developing Asia's economic recovery from COVID-19, although the bank also says to watch the economic fallout of the US-China rivalry over technology and trade.What We're Watching: Uproar in the Ivory Coast, AMLO's brother in hot water, Pompeo's roadtrip
Ivory Coast president sparks uproar: Violence has broken out across major cities in the Ivory Coast in recent days after President Alassane Ouattara announced that he would seek a third presidential term, a move that would involve challenging the constitution, which does not allow for three consecutive terms. (Ouattara's ruling RHDP party says that this rule doesn't apply because of a technicality dating back to 2016.) Ouattara's bid to stay on comes after Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly — whom Ouattara tapped earlier this year to succeed him — died of heart failure last month. Protesters say that Ouattara's move is unconstitutional and that he should step aside after two terms in the job marked by ongoing ethnic violence amid a decade-long civil war that has killed some 3,000 people. Further exacerbating tensions, the country's former president Laurent Gbagbo and former rebel leader Guillaume Soro have been barred from running this October.
Is AMLO his brother's keeper? Mexico's left-populist president Andres Manual Lopez Obrador (known to many as AMLO) was elected in 2018 in part on his pledges to root out endemic corruption. And in recent weeks, graft investigations have produced bombshell allegations that several former presidents of Mexico took kickbacks in the energy sector. But now the famously ascetic AMLO has a problem in the family: a leaked video from 2015 shows his brother, Pio Lopez Obrador, accepting a bag of cash from David Leon, a prominent member of AMLO's Morena party. President Lopez Obrador has said that the cash was for Morena operating expenses. Leon has recently been tapped to run the Health Ministry but says he won't take office until the issue is settled. AMLO says the tapes should be reviewed by the authorities, and that all involved should testify if asked. He has even volunteered to take the stand himself in what would be a political telenovela (soap opera) for the ages.
Pompeo on the road: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is visiting Israel and the United Arab Emirates this week, in part, to help iron out details of the historic US-brokered normalization of ties between the two countries. But in recent days, the deal has been clouded by revelations that the Trump administration used its bargaining power to negotiate the sale of sophisticated F35 fighter jets to the Emirates. Israel is not happy about the reported side deal, because it would erode the country's "qualitative military edge" in the region. Pompeo will also visit Sudan and Bahrain, two other countries reportedly considering normalizing ties with Israel. Achieving a broader realignment of the Middle East in which key Arab powers close ranks with the Jewish State in order to push back against growing Iranian influence would be a major foreign policy achievement for the Trump administration. Pompeo's trip comes as the US is seeking to "snap back" sanctions against Iran at the UN, and as the president's son in law Jared Kushner prepares to make his own visit to the region later this week.
What We’re Watching: Australia-HK extradition, Ivorian PM dies, WHO reviews itself
Australia ends extradition with Hong Kong: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country would suspend an extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to China's new security law, which severely compromises the city's autonomy. Morrison also said Canberra would give around 10,000 Hong Kong students and visa holders in Australia a path to permanent residency. Australia-China ties have been deteriorating in recent months — in response to Morrison's calls for an investigation into China's handling of the pandemic, Beijing slapped fresh tariffs on Australian goods in May. Australia's latest move follows a similar one by Canada last week, while Britain has also condemned China's draconian security law and said it will offer 3 million Hong Kongers a path to citizenship. We're watching to see whether the international blowback will have any effect on Beijing's policy.
Who will run for Ivorian president after PM's death? The prime minister of the Ivory Coast died suddenly on Wednesday, following his first cabinet meeting since returning from heart surgery in France. The passing of Amadou Gon Coulibaly, 61, upends the race to replace President Alassane Ouattara, who had designated Coulibaly as his successor ahead of an election set to occur in just three months. Outtara has been in office since 2011, when he took power following a brief yet bloody civil war that erupted after his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to leave office even after losing the 2010 election. Now Ouattara will either have to change his mind and run for reelection, or pick another candidate for the ruling party to face Henri Konan Bedie, an aging former military coup leader, as well as Gbagbo. This political uncertainty could have big implications for the future of the Ivory Coast, which in recent years has moved beyond its violent past to become one of Africa's best-governed countries.
"Independent" panel to review WHO on coronavirus: The World Health Organization has appointed a committee to evaluate the global response to the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the WHO's own handling of the pandemic. The move comes at a critical time for the global public health body, which has come under fire from President Trump for being too cozy with China. The WHO denied that the review had anything to do with pressure from the US, which last week announced its withdrawal from the body altogether. The question now is whether a panel appointed by WHO member states will be powerful enough to conduct a credible probe.