Tag: CAN2023

CAN 2023: the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire are the New Champions

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment
The Elephants are winners of the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 (Source: CAFonline.com)

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations or Coupe d’Afrique des Nations CAN2023 has ended with a new champion: the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire, the host country, which took home the trophy for the third time in its history, defeating the Super Eagles of Nigeria 2-1. The Elephants have really given us a thrill from being redeemed in the knockout stage with 2 defeats (among which a 4-0 loss against Equatorial Guinea) that left them open to elimination, and a redemption that came from being one of the four best 3rd-placed team, a coach sacking, and a coach change. The change in coach, and the redemption really made the Elephants more serious. The Ivorians add to their previous Nations Cup wins in 1992 and 2015 (Côte d’Ivoire wins the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations) and become the first tournament hosts to triumph since Egypt lifted the trophy in 2006. The Elephants pick up $7m (£5.54m) in prize money, while the Super Eagles get $4m by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).  The Bafana Bafana of South Africa took home the third place after defeating the Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Akwaba, the elephant welcomes you to Cote d’Ivoire (Source: COCAN2023.ci)

This year’s mascot, the elephant, named “Akwaba“, which means “Welcome” in Baoulé language, has been a testimony to the welcome and legendary Ivorian hospitality felt by teams and visitors throughout the tournament. There were quite a few upsets in the competition’s group stage, Algeria, Tunisia, and Ghana were the big ones, getting knocked out in the first round. The cup also allowed us to see or reveal some strong teams like Cape Verde, Mali, Angola, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea, and Democratic Republic of Congo. It was a tournament that uncovered some great teams and plays.

Elephants celebrating their win (Source: Eurosport.com)

Ivory Coast’s unlikely progression through the knockout stage as it overcame setback after setback convinced many devout Ivorians that God was on the team’s side. As the naming goes, the team inherited the nickname “Zombies” as they really came from behind to win, never giving up, to triumph as the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. Interim coach Emerse Faé, who took the head of the team after the French coach was sacked due to the very poor results in the group stage knockout, rightfully said, “It was an extraordinary tournament.” Indeed, it was an extraordinary tournament, and we salute all the teams that made us vibrate for the whole month, and ultimately congratulate the Elephants on their win.

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is Here!

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AFCON 2023 – CAN 2023 (Source: CAF online)

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) or Coupe d’Afrique des Nations (CAN) is upon us! For one month the best football teams of the African continent will face each other in Côte d’Ivoire. This is the second time in the country’s history to host the tournament. Abidjan est doux deh! (Abidjan is sweet!). The cup will start tomorrow, Saturday January 13, 2024 at the new Alassane Ouattara stadium of Abidjan, one of the six arenas for this year’s African Cup of Nations. The Africa Cup of Nations will kick off with a game between the host nation Côte d’Ivoire and Guinee Bissau.

This year promises to be hot! Will Senegal, the last CAN winners, renew the feat, thus winning back-to back cups? Will Morocco, the first African team to ever get to the semi-final of the World Cup, win this year’s CAN? Will the country with the most cups, seven-time champions Egypt, take this one home? Will the usual heavy contenders like Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, or Ghana take it home? Or will a newcomer upset the balance? It will be hot. A record 7 million dollars will go to the winners of this year’s cup; it is a 40% increase from the last tournament won by Senegal in 2022. The runners-up will pocket 4 million dollars.

Final Draw of CAN 2023 (Source: CAF online)

The 24 teams have been split into six groups of four teams, with the hosts in Group A alongside three-time champions Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The teams will face each other in 5 cities: Abidjan, Yamoussoukro, San Pedro, Bouake, and Korhogo. The tournament was scheduled to be held in June-July 2023, but it has been moved (back to the original timeframe) to avoid a clash with the West African rainy season – it used to always take place during even-numbered years from January-February, until the European clubs asked for it to be moved to June-July to favor their off-season given that a lot of African players play in European leagues, but that time frame has always been detrimental to most countries in Africa, as it is either the rainy season or winter; our elders were wise enough to place the tournament at a time that suited most African nations! I prefer to call it CAN 2024 or AFCON2024; it makes more sense, and it is taking place in 2024!

Akwaba, the elephant welcomes you to Cote d’Ivoire (Source: COCAN2023.ci)

Already, several teams have arrived in Côte d’Ivoire opening up with players displaying an assembly of colors and traditions, proudly showcasing their nations’ cultural diversity. We cannot wait to see their football prowess on the field. As expected, this year’s mascot is an elephant which is Cote d’Ivoire’s animal symbol named “Akwaba“, which means “Welcome” in Baoulé language. So everyone is Akwaba in Côte d’Ivoire and may the best team win! Who do you think will win?