We Need To Talk About The Africa Cup of Nations 

Right there with you

Latin American here and all federations are corrupt, but what is annoying is double standards. Everytime we keep learning more about past World Cups and is all corrupt, even if your team wins still is not just down to football like they want to sell.

Obviously. Because it's all a lie

​@@darkjudge8786 elaborate

Great suggestion!

Since you’re referring to Nordsjælland, I would like to throw in FC Midtjylland from Denmark as well - who too have done much for young African players and communities around them. But a great idea!

Want to see the same with UK football honestly. It would be interesting enough.

@@shawklan27 true, my club were just forced to start an academy to comply with Premier League rules, Brentford, and many of our u18s, which is our only academy team in fairness, were signed from independent academies.

@@RotteNygard they are more open to scouting from everywhere, their owner until two months ago owned Brentford who I support as well, and took the same data driven strategy, but was even more successful there, in terms of ‘obscure’ scouting. The young African footballers are the best example, as many won’t have even represented their youth teams .

It's unpredictable because Africa still has lot of untapped football market. Any African country spawn wonderkids unexpectedly which leads to unpredictability in tournament. Asia still has long way to go to develop football atmosphere where there are countries like India which has population of 1.42 billion which is more than full continent of Africa which has 1.2 billion lol, if India, China and rest of South, South-East and Central Asia develop their footballing culture, then we would have real world Cup on our hands because right now, it's just Europe vs South America in World Cup.

@@edenhazard2751 There are thousand of incredible young African kids who are seen as emerging superstars. Sadly, as I stated, bad management often leads to eventual ruins. Africa’s inability to fulfil despite enormous resources it have shows how hard to achieve.

It sucks to watch has a Nigerian really

I feel like there's world class players in most of the teams, but no team has world class players in every position. Maybe that's part of the spectacle. Wasn't there a final where it went to penalties and the goalkeepers had to take pens?

I think the well-documented African corruption is what contributed to the stereotype of African corruption

a gamblers goldmine ;)

Namibia beat Tunisia. Wild

So in short, AFCON is like every other competition in that respect, and contains all the excitement, crazy storylines, and drama that the World Cup, Euro Cup, and Copa America all contain! :) In short, if you love the World Cup, Euros, and Copa America, you will love AFCON! :) :) I completely agree!

​@@JP-oe4ryrather, a goldmine for a true lover of competitive football.

Bs it is not even close. The Euro group stages are a warm up tournament. The world cup is slighty better but it too with the extension is fairly dully. Nothing compares to Afcon or you one of those who think Africa can't undo others. The knockout stages of this year are all different from the last tournament. I will wait foe your stereotypical pallarell example​@@mazdakmina9493

I was in Tunisia in 2004....what a big party it was!

Yeah true. I predict those two teams to be in the final this year. Two fantastic sides with very good players

Morocco is a traditional power of Africa, and Senegal is a long time second tier power, neither of those are “unthinkable” in the long run but you are absolutely correct in the ebb and flow nature of African football

⁠​⁠@@hitthurdeauxMorocco is a powerhouse? They’ve only got one afcon mate. Egypt has the most with Cameroon having the second most so yes it’s unthinkable

My first afcon was 04 Tunisia as well. Then watched Egypt 3peat the competition but couldn’t qualify for World Cup. 2004-early 2010s golden afcon period my favourite was 2008 Ghana 🇬🇭

Im portuguese, and i started watching the afcon during the last one, it was become probably become along with the asian cup, my favourite continental tournament. It is incredibly fun, and im always supporting the portuguese speaking countries, and having immense fun watching it. During the euros, im mostly a nervous wreck over portugal's chances of winning, cant really relax😅

⁠@@VenomTNTI’m Brazilian but I happened to be living in Portugal around the Euro 2004. I cheered so hard for Portugal that tournament, that final was one of the hardest things to watch. 2016 was somehow worst because it went to extra time…but with a happier end.

Where???

Well, I'm watching the one happening right now in Ivory Coast, and DAMN, I've been missing out! So many memorable moments already!

I'd argue it's second behind Copa America honestly. Fewer teams compete in CA and while the overall level of talent may be better (obviously, with powerhouses such as Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay among others) the competition is stronger in Africa because the qualification is tougher and more stringent, and also the differences between the best and the worst teams are quite large, so there's always more potential for Cinderella stories and crazy upsets. I just feel like it's a more exciting tournament overall.

@@nellyb743 you mean second behind the Euros, right?

Asian Cup should be ahead of Africa Cup because its more popular

Strangely enough proportionally Concacaf does better at the world stage than Africa or Asia.

@@JRB11528doesn’t mean anything. We’re talking about the tournaments themselves and AFCON and AFC simply have more pedigree and higher profile players than CONCACAF, especially when you exclude Mexico and the US

Also the fact that for the subsequent 2013 FIFA Confederetions Cup, there was a playoff between the last two CONCACAF Gold Cup champions, USA and Mexico for qualification but there was no playoff between the 2012 AFCON champions, Zambia and the 2013 AFCON champions, Nigeria and Zambia didn't even get a chance to contest for a tournament that was cancelled after 2017 and AFCON went from even years to odd years.

​@@sagbon98woah that's just sad! And the fact no one talks about it, is actually worse! I didn't even know about it, till you mentioned it! So in that case, thanks for the information. The Zambian national team should have been given the opportunity to play against Nigeria, for a chance to compete at the 2013 conferations cup!

@@KestonChola exactly! I was surprised when it was announced that the 2013 AFCON Champion would qualify directly. I even did research and the only articles about this state that their coach at the time, Herve Renard (who later coached Saudi Arabia to beat Argentina) slammed CAF for not allowing them to take part.

Lul I’m too tired of the take of ”waaah waaaah international break bad waaah” I swear it’s only English fans who complain about it because their NT always gets placed with fucking San Marino and Gibraltar and shit and win every game 6-0. Suffering from success. To me those are like the highlights of the football season

My thoughts too.....😂😂

@@clwireg It's not only English fans. It's a modern worldwide phenomenon, I guess.

@@clwireg International breaks are usually disliked in other countries too. So many National Teams are now qualified for the final stage of the competitions that the qualifying rounds have become boring and redundant.

@@fairphoneuser9009mostly is English fans though, with a touch of Italians, French and Spanish as well. Only because most of their best players are all African and they lose them to the AFCON so they’re salty about it

Watching on tv I’ve always thought the atmosphere in African matches looks the best

Imo the Euros are more entertaining then AFCON due to the amount of good teams paired with good atmosphere but that's preference I guess. AFCON is great though, maybe not on the same level football wise but nothing to sneeze at. And you're absolutely right, it is a great vibe, the fans in Africa are something else. It would be so great, if European leagues took a break, so more people would tune in and not only see it as a disturbance "stealing away" players of their favorite club.

​@@reinrassigerStuhlno one thinks thats other then the one with colonial mind like you. The Euro is dull bro not even close to Concaf or Afcon. Nobody cares that Liverpool lost salah we watch PL but we are not ignorant like you. We also watch our league and other leagues. We don't see PL as important as you think we do. Afcon is better whether you like it or not. A better spectacles an actual festival of football unlike the last Euro were England coasted through. Start watching without the stereotypical blinkers but I doubt it.

They could easily just move one of the international windows from the end of the year to the start of the next year during afcon

I think because there are 4-5 competitions for top teams in the league, these should be stripped back to 3/4 and premier league teams should enter nationwide tournaments first, in order to reduce the pool of top talent quickly, this would mean the best teams would thin out and give lower league teams a better chance of glory.

part of the problem is it's every 2 years compared to every 4

@@M1gginswith the amount of talent in Africa now, it should be every 4. Gives teams better time to prepare for each one, making for a better quality game. And it’ll boost the prestige of the tournament.

Have thought this for a while - have an international break in January and one in the summer. Arguably benefits International managers who get to work with their teams a month at a time 2 times a year rather than just a week here or there. Would also lead to fewer complaints from club fans about international breaks every few weeks. Whilst footballers are unlikely to be in economy class seats on planes - less travel overall should help physically. Might even raise the status of the FA Cup 3rd round in England if that was the final game for top divisions before international break.

Actually “Le-soo-too” as in Ronaldo “Suiii”

@@KIDGUCCI707 yeah, I can see that. The guy who told me had a very z-heavy accent lol

No that not how you do it .. Lee sour tour is closer to it. Then zoo 😂

Sure. But HITC Sevens went out of their way with real-life examples illustrating why the derision AFCON gets is different.

I mean I get what you're saying but from my experienece british and real madrid fans are the only ones being this ignorant, regarding other european leauges at least 😂

Ive never seen anyone refer to the Bundesliga or Serie A as 'farmers league'. Like, maybe the Dutch or Portuguese, but not the German or Italian leagues

No one bashes Bundesliga or Serie A. Even those leagues made jokes about as farmers league are because of their uncompetitive nature. AFCON is very competitive. The derision of AFCON is just lazy, unfounded stereotyping or in some cases straight up racism. You are trivialising a serious issue this video essay is covering

really baffling for a player to despise a call up to represent their country.... i just dont understand it at all....

Well, in basketball for example the top players from the National Basketball Assiciation view with disdain FIBA international tournaments with the exception of the Olympic tournament. Which I see it as disrespectful from players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant or even Nikola Jokic who would love represent their country only once every 4 years when the Olympic Games occur. Ice Hockey is a bit different since the IIHF Championships are right when the Stanley Cup playoffs in the National Hockey League are happening and the last 2 Olympic tournaments featured 0 NHL players. But then again the NHL paused the regular season in order for the players to join their Olympic teams when NHL players were allowed (in fact the Olympic Ice Hockey tournament is the closest thing to the situation with AFCON and the AFC Nations Cup).

​​@@atmeventsandmgtIn some aspects I understand them given how corrupt many FAs in Africa are, and some players may think representing their country is just not worth the hassle. There are so many stories of the more prominent/rich athletes (not just footballers) having to cover the expenses of their teammates because the politicians embezzled the money, or athletes having to crowdfund for accommodation and competition fees (meanwhile the organising committee made up of politicians carry their whole families as "delegates" around the world and stay in 5 star hotels) As a Kenyan I've seen how much our ministry of sports mistreats our athletes so when one of them chooses to represent another country, or just straight up refuses to represent the country I don't even get mad. We used to have one of the best and most exciting 7s Rugby teams in the world a few years back but the ministry of sports kept bungling sponsorships and delayed the payments to players that many just quit and no one wanted to get into rugby anymore

You have to say tho, things have improved. African players are far more likely to represent their countries than 20 years ago, when a player would need to be incredibly string to do so. I remember there were maybe 1 or 2 star names in each squad, that world cup Senegal team really did pave the way for the tourny, and now there are star studded squads!

Preach they'll rather play for the countries that will provide them with the most financial benefits rather than the place they were born. It's so fucking frustrating to watch especially as a Nigerian who's seen so many talented dudes who could've represent the country go and represent some European country or whatever 😒

As an African with an insider insight, how does the continent feel about hosting the tournament every 4 years as opposed to every 2?

​@@hitthurdeauxand why should they host it every 4years? To satisfy the europeans? The Afcon is always a celebration of African football and as Africans, we love to celebrate our football every two years.

​@@hitthurdeauxwe don't care , we like our afcon the way it is , same way you like your euro

Agreed. I have no idea when and why this popular hating on international football came about, but it’s stupid.

​@@hitthurdeauxI think it's because fans act like customers and therefore want the best product. International football is much slower and the teams have less cohesion, so it's seen as worse

It will be nut in the whole continent

kimmich from rb to cdm

@@bomoose that’s a good one tbf

@@bomooselahm from rb to cdm he did it first and did it better

Alana from cm to lb even though he still occasionally plays cm for Austria

Paul Hegarty at Dundee United. Signed as a striker but was moved to centre-back. Went on to captain Dundee United to their first major trophy, first league title and play in a UEFA Cup Final. Got a few Scotland caps too.

Me too. African is the building. shout out Africans

As a tunisian cant wait to face you guys ,i think it will be a great match

@@midassighassen1957 It's going to be a great game indeed

😂😂😂 Tanzania has been knocked out in the group stage

Europeans teams are going to struggle without our players. RESPECT AFCON.

​@@PslDiskiMedia I think Europeans do take African players seriously. I'm a Tottenham fan and hope Sarr and Bissoma do well. It would be better if the Premier league had a winter break so the afcon could go ahead and not miss out on playing for spurs, but Postecogleu the spurs manager said something like "they want to represent their countries and we're proud that they're playing in the tournament and I agree. It's only 4-6 weeks every couple of years and they are important players the rest of the time so good luck to them

Take yourself serious. The fact that you made this comment means that you don’t take yourself serious as an African and only think about how Europeans view you. This is the problem with Africans the fact that you even made this comment a proud person don’t make comments like this

Likely due to the large North African origin diaspora in France, compared to the other big 4 European nations. I think England's black population's roots like more in the Caribbean than Africa, I might be wrong on this.

Not sure if Alfie has been keeping abreast of the situation. Shabba.

at least that's not a racist or sexist stereotype

@@robokugel3383 African nations are not as good at football as European nations. That's not racist - that's 100% factual. Why are you bringing race into it? Women's football isn't as good as mens football. That is not sexist - that's 100% factual. Why are you bringing sexism into it?

i don't know wtf you're talking about man I didn't say nothing about quality of football@@DieterHoffman-t9l

This annoys me so much. It is not even broadcasted where I live, and any news reports on the tournament are usually covered underneath an AFCON headline

likewise

Exactly, and the same goes for Vieira, Mahrez, Pogba, etc. Sure Vieira was praised for his physicality, but was also well regarded by European media for his technical ability as well. This guy occasionally does end up running away with an ill constructed argument

Fully agree but Alphie is obsessed with victimizing Africans and virtue signaling.

alfie quotes a study about stereotypes. about how this is a general problem and yall nitpick and call it virtue signaling. yall are SNOWFLAKES lmao @@DieterHoffman-t9l

best of luck to you ! i'm rocking with my home country, South Africa 😁

I'd say England (for at least one, if not both), and everyone would hate me for it and call me biased - so probably best avoiding haha!

@@HITCSevens Understandable. My initial thoughts were England or Argentina. How about European cup, one of the Hungarian teams maybe?

just 1 win and we will be happy😂

New challenge: Comment your request everyday whilst going to the gym atleast twice a week, we believe in you brother 🤜

Agreed , should be 4 years