AFCON - The Mirror of the Black African Experience

Pape Gueye CAF Online / Agence France-Presse (AFP)

To many, AFCON is a football tournament where different African countries come together to compete for the trophy. But in reality, this year especially,  it has set the stage for the visible bias and corruption endured by African countries at the hands of other African countries. 

So what actually happened?

AFCON takes place from December to January every year. African players from around the world are to return to their home country teams, to play in the AFCON competition. Because December - January is mid season for premier league clubs, AFCON has received backlash from premier league officials who want to see the competition disbanded so that African players don’t miss premier league matches. A rhetoric often spouted about by people like Jamie Carrogher who famously questioned the timing and necessity of the tournament, suggesting it "disrupts" the real business of European football. Yet American and Asian league players, who leave premier league matches to play for their home teams, receive little to no backlash at all. Whether this is because they are perceived as less significant to the game's outcome than African players are, or a clear bias toward Africans playing for their home countries, the resistance is concerning. One would think that if these clubs are so desperate to keep African players, they would honor their value by eliminating racial discrimination and paying them as generously as their European counterparts, but that's a discussion for another time.

Let’s get back to the Africa Cup of Nations. In the most recent competition, Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 after a 122-minute game riddled with systemic biases against Senegal that were so horrendously obvious that the players walked off the pitch. Only Liverpool legend Sadio Mané stayed, beckoning his team back to continue in spite of the gross misconduct unfolding around them.

Senegalese players faced poor behaviour from Moroccan players, who took it upon themselves to repeatedly remove the Senegalese goal keepers towel from him, during the rainy match, with referees  turning a blind eye and not reprimanding this behaviour. Adding insult to injury,  CAF (the FIFA agency responsible for organsing AFCON)  systemically doubled down on the assault by awarding Morocco a Fair Play award on the same day as the match (18th January 2026). This award was given despite clear violations of the criteria regarding respect for opponents and general conduct.

In spite of this not being the only game during this 2025–26 AFCON where referee bias was evident, Moroccan players and staff were taking towels from goalkeepers not just in the Senegalese game, but in the Nigerian match as well. Not to mention fans throwing a banana at the Nigerian coach, a racial slur he met with brutal retaliation by eating it. This is a stark reminder of the systemic reward for the inequality inflicted on Black African teams; a mirror of the rewards given to perpetrators of hate crimes toward Black African peoples across the globe.

Yet still, ‘I Rise’ in the words of Maya Angelou, and boy did Senegal RISE. In spite of the strategic obstacles put in place and a systemically rigged game, Senegal scored in the 94th minute and are the champions of AFCON 2025. This essay examines AFCON as the mirror of the Black African experience, encouraging humanity to continue to RISE in the face of adversity and strive for an equitable future where we are all playing on a level playing field.

Morocco Geographically: The Erasure of the Indigenous

To examine this mirror, we must first look at the geographical and identity-based tensions within the continent. The participation of North African nations like Morocco often highlights a fractured continental identity. While geographically part of Africa, there exists a pervasive "Middle Eastern" alignment that often seeks to distance itself from the "Sub-Saharan" or Black African identity. This is not merely a matter of preference but a systemic tool of erasure.

The "Philosophy of Superiority" that Bob Marley sang about in his song 'War' manifests here through the marginalization of indigenous Black populations within North Africa. Historically, the trans-Saharan slave trade preceded the Atlantic trade, creating deep-seated hierarchies where Blackness was equated with servitude. Today, this manifests in the treatment of Black migrants and indigenous Black Moroccans, who often face systemic exclusion. When this dynamic is brought onto the football pitch, it isn't just a game; it is a reenactment of a hierarchy where the "Arabized" North is positioned, and often positions itself, as culturally or organizationally superior to the Black South. This "imposter" syndrome within the continent creates a house divided, where the "rights" of one group are prioritized by governing bodies like CAF over the dignity of the other.

The Mirror of Lived Experiences: Rising Above the Rigged System

The AFCON 2025 final is a microcosm of the Black experience globally: working twice as hard to get half as far, only to have your efforts undermined by the very "referees" meant to ensure fairness. We see this in the corporate world, where Black professionals are held to impossible standards while their peers are awarded for "Fair Play" despite mediocre or toxic behavior. We see it in the "Data Divide," where African innovation is harvested by the Global North, yet African nations are denied the "right" to their own technological sovereignty.

A glaring example of this was the media coverage surrounding the tournament. While Senegalese players were being physically and psychologically harassed on the pitch, outlets like the BBC often focused on the "tactical prowess" of the Moroccan side and sympathized with their eventual loss, largely ignoring the documented biases and the racialized provocations from the stands and coining the walkout of Senegalese players as them being 'dramatic'. I wonder if this would have been the same response had Morocco played England and the English players and goal keeper been treated like the Senegalese were? This lack of empathy for Black Africans and the refusal to reprimand those who benefit from systemic inequality is the "second-class citizen" reality Marley warned us about.

Yet, like Senegal in the 94th minute, the diaspora continues to rise. Whether it is the resilience shown by the global protests following the murder of George Floyd, or educators reclaiming their curriculum through Diverse Educational Services, or the community leaders who refuse to let systemic "banana-throwing" break their spirit, the Black experience is defined by achieving victory in a rigged game. Senegal’s win wasn't just a sports victory; it was a refusal to accept a pre-written script of failure.

Recreating Balance in an Unbalanced World

In a situation where systemic strategic abuse is awarded over playing fairly, we as humanity must recreate balance and reset our understanding of what is right and what is wrong. The AFCON2025 final last night, was a painful mirror to watch, exposing the raw nerves of continental and global inequality. However, let this be an encouragement for Africans and those on the right side of humanity.

Demonstrating resilience even when the entire system wants us to fail is our greatest superpower. At Diverse Educational Services, we believe that the "Steps to Success" begin with acknowledging these biases and actively dismantling them through education and institutional equity. We must stop rewarding the perpetrators of inequality with "Fair Play" trophies and start guaranteeing the level playing field that is every human being's birthright. As we move forward, let the resilience of Senegal be our blueprint. No matter how many towels are stolen, no matter how many biases are ignored by the officials of the world, let our mantra remain: "Still I Rise."

Works Cited

• Angelou, M. (1978). And Still I Rise. Random House. (Source for the thematic framework of resilience).

• CAF (Confederation of African Football). (2026, January 18). Official Disciplinary and Fair Play Report: AFCON 2025-26 Final Phase.

• IMAGE: CAF Online / Agence France-Presse (AFP)

• Marley, B., & The Wailers. (1976). War. On Rastaman Vibration [Album]. Island Records.

• Ndiaye, S. (2026). The Politics of the Pitch: Racism and Governance in Modern AFCON. African Sports Policy Review.

• Stewart, F. (2008). Horizontal Inequalities and Conflict: Understanding Group Violence in Multiethnic Societies. Palgrave Macmillan. (Source for the analysis of group-based systemic bias).

• Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. The social psychology of intergroup relations. (Source for the psychological analysis of in-group/out-group dynamics).

• World Health Organization/UNDP. (2025). Report on Global Racial Disparity in Professional Compensation and Mobility.