The AFCON 2025 tournament hosted in Morocco has come and has concluded. However, despite the much work that was put into ensuring that it worked out, there are several lessons that could be learned. These lessons would serve as a point of correction for the African continent going forward.
In this post, you’ll be reading 4 things that we learned from the AFCON 2025 tournament. These lessons would serve as a point of correction when the next AFCON 2027 comes up.
4 Things We Learned From AFCON 2025 Tournament
These are 4 things we learned from AFCON 2025 tournament:
1. Referee Officiating Should Be Improved
There is no doubt that one of the controversial moments at the AFCON 2025 was the refereeing that was done. One of the biggest examples of this was showcased at the AFCON 2025 final between Senegal and Morocco.
The match included several questionable decisions which included a controversial penalty decision that led Senegal’s coach to briefly walk his team off the pitch in protest of the decision.
To add detail to how the situation went down, the chaos happened during the dying period of the final. It started when Senegal scored what should have been the winner only for it to be ruled out after a lengthy review involving Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Later, a soft foul on Morocco’s Brahim Díaz resulted in a penalty in favor of Morocco which prompted Senegal players to walk off the pitch. You’ll agree that the Senegalese coach Pape Thiaw’s decision to send his team off shows that the referees in African football need to understand what it means to officiate a top competition to the highest standard especially when it is globally viewed by spectators around the world like the AFCON tournament.
Yes, more emphasis should be laid on training and incorporating technology education to the referees. This is because poor officiating when it is consistently done can really undermine people’s confidence in African football.
2. Home Advantage Doesn’t Mean Violence
The Moroccans showcased in full force what it means to be the 12th man on the football pitch. In every match that they featured in, they came out in their masses to support their national team with their voices. However, what was becoming a good thing soon resulted in violent action.
In the matches against Nigeria and against Senegal, some of the Moroccan supporters took things too far.
According to reports, they instructed the ball boys to steal the towels of the goalkeepers. Several times during both games, they dragged the towels away from the goal keepers which almost resulted in violence between the goalkeepers and the players.
On another occasion, the Senegalese national team also voiced their dissatisfaction towards the way that they were treated by the Moroccans. They mentioned that they experienced inadequate security on arrival in Rabat and restricted ticket allocation for Senegalese supporters in a stadium of nearly 70,000.
All of these incidents make something clear and that is that the host nation’s advantage should not be an opportunity for intimidation. This means that proper crowd management and fair ticketing policies to the visiting teams are vital to ensure fair play towards the opposing teams.
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3. Funding Mismanagement Should Be Improved
Another issue that was raised was the funding mismanagement by certain teams during the AFCON. One of the notable incidents was the situation with the Nigerian national teams. Several reports from the camp of the Super Eagles claimed that the Nigerian national team demanded for their bonus before they could prepare for the Algerian match.
This incident showcased the fact that the mismanagement issues is still one of the persistent issues in African issues that should be dealt with as soon as possible.
This is because of the fact that this act is shameful and cannot be condoned at the global stage. Several reports have labelled AFCON style of paying the players as old-fashioned. Instead, they have suggested that AFCON develop a structure that allows the players to get paid and confirm payment before any issues come up.
So, moving forward a lesson has been learnt and that is AFCON should be a catalyst for deeper reform in how football funds are managed especially by smaller federations in Africa. No doubt, when there is a deep focus on transparency, there will be more mechanisms that will strengthen trust among players and federation.
4. Senegal Is the Best Team on the Continent
Well, the greatest lesson learnt during the AFCON 2025 is that the Senegal national team are undoubtedly the best team on the African continent. Yes, Senegal won the trophy with a goal from Pape Gueye against hosts Morocco in Rabat.
This win by Senegal was commented on by several commentators who commended the players for their efforts. In all of the actions, Sadio Mané was especially praised for his ability of anchoring his team mates back onto the pitch despite the fact that they were disappointed.
As expected, Senegal’s achievements did not go unnoticed by their country men. Yes, the country’s president awarded players cash bonuses and land plots in recognition of their success.
The lesson learnt is that despite the serious controversies, Senegal came out on top. This shows the kind of resilience that they had as a team to beat the host nation. They were able to combine their technical ability even under pressure. No doubt, the AFCON trophy won by Senegal shows the immense growth and work that is being done in Senegal football and the impact.
Conclusion
The AFCON tournament had its ups and downs. However, regardless of the situations that happened, there is less than should be learnt despite all of this. In this article, we’ve seen the AFCON tournament lessons and what should be improved on.