10 things we learnt from record-breaking AFCON

This year’s AFCON has been a huge success, according to… well, everyone.

Even the Daily Mail referred to it as ‘the best tournament in the world.’

Let’s dive into the data to understand what made this AFCON such a success…

1. Foreign interest was far more than ever before…

It was particularly noticeable how much more attention this year’s AFCON earned beyond Africa.

📈 According to Google Trends, the United Kingdom and the United States drove more search traffic than any other countries outside of South Africa and Nigeria (more on them later).

🇬🇧 Although all geographies have seen a steady increase in search volumes, the UK’s has been particularly large – an almost tenfold increase compared to the 2019 edition (though, notably, the big jump occurred in 2021):

The large (and growing) Nigerian diaspora in the UK likely contributed to this, but they weren’t the only factor – social media and free-to-air broadcast also played a big part.

2. Large countries doing well was great for the tournament

We already saw that 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 🇿🇦 South Africa were two of the top 3 markets for global search volumes.

The fact that the two largest economies (and the two most lucrative TV broadcast markets) in Sub-Saharan Africa both reached at least the semi-finals no doubt contributed to the tournament’s overall popularity and visibility.

🇨🇮 Hosts Côte d’Ivoire reaching (and winning!) the final was also a boon, as it led to strong attendances and a consistently vibrant atmosphere.

3. Much of this growth was driven by social media (TikTok, in particular)

Social media played a huge part in driving interest in AFCON, and in particular short-form videos.

The follower growth of the official CAF channels demonstrates this:

• TikTok: 5.2 million followers pre-tournament → 8.5 million followers post-tournament

• Instagram: 3.6 million → 4.9 million

• X: 2.7 million → 2.8 million

👏🏾 Let’s just take a moment to appreciate whoever is handling CAF’s TikTok page.

Their TikTok game is 👌🏽.

4. The best content went beyond the pitch

Where CAF’s channel excelled was in off-pitch storytelling.

Their best-performing content, like the video below, wove in stories about individuals and nations – music, dance, and national pride were recurring themes.

🎤 One of the most abiding memories of the tournament will likely be the ‘Amapiano derby’ - days after South African singer Tyla won the Best African Music Performance Grammy, Nigerians were using her most famous song to mock their continental rivals after their semi-final victory.

5. Content creators are upping their game

There was a noticeable increase in the number and quality of independently created social media content.

My personal favourites included Alex Iwobi rating Nigeria kits from the past…

brfootball

View more on Instagram

…and Tosin and Tunde’s always entertaining, often misguided, predictions on Crossfire…

pulsesportsnigeria

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That said, there is still huge room for more and better-produced content around African sports, and this is an area I expect to see improve massively in the years to come.

6. Crossover opportunities remain untapped

The potential for more convergence between sport and lifestyle was somewhat untapped in this tournament.

Whilst last night’s SuperBowl featured celebrity girlfriend Taylor Swift and a half-time show from Usher, AFCON’s closing ceremony featured veteran Ivorian singer Alpha Blondy.

🎤 This is no slight on the excellent reggae musician, but given the abundance of riches Africa and its diaspora have in terms of musicians and actors, surely there’s surely an opportunity for a bit more stardust next time around?

👕 Another area I’d love to see more of is kit collabs – with the popularity of African fashion designs, the paucity of special edition kits from major manufacturers was somewhat disappointing.

This is another untapped opportunity – expect teams and brands to be much more proactive here in 2025.

7. Don’t underestimate free-to-air

This year’s AFCON was broadcast across 180 countries (up from 157 in 2022), as well as via CAF’s YouTube page.

Whilst much of the discussion around media rights centres around PayTV players such as Canal+ and Multichoice, the oft-ignored free-to-air channels offer a far greater reach and accessibility, and help tournaments like AFCON reach viewers they might otherwise have not.

Amongst all the progress in the tournament, some issues remain (though these are largely beyond the control of the organisers)…

7. Air travel prices remain an impediment

Unlike Europe, with its fast and cheap international travel, Africa is a huge continent where flight connections can be infrequent, indirect, and expensive flight connections.

During the tournament, flights from nearby countries such as Nigeria were selling for $800 and above (several months’ salary for most Nigerians), whilst connections from London to Abidjan cost over £1,000 and could take more than a day.

8. As great as the stadiums were, they may become white elephants

Whilst the newly-built and renovated stadiums looked amazing, they came at a cost.

Côte d'Ivoire invested over $1.5 billion in infrastructure – in particular stadiums – for the tournament.

But even in the biggest games, seats were conspicuously empty.

The Ivorian Football Federation hopes the country can become the “the hub of West Africa in terms of football and sports competitions,” but if they can’t fill stadiums for the continental showpiece, when will they?

9. AFCON is a global, digital-first, tournament

Whilst economic and logistical issues may hamper AFCON’s ability to generate huge crowds, the tournament generated huge global traction in spite of these challenges…

AFCON combined a wide availability of matches, short-form social media videos, and cultural storytelling to create a global phenomenon.

10. AFCON 2025 will be even bigger…

There is a feeling this is a platform on which the African sports industry can built.

This edition demonstrated the tournament’s international appeal, and with issues such as air travel being far less acute for Morocco 2025, I expect that many brands that sat this year out may be more proactive in striking deals next time around.

Bring it on!

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