2022 was a significant year for African football. It was a benchmark for women’s football and a year that may mark the first real step towards African football as a business rather than football as development. It ended with some exciting matches at the men’s World Cup in Qatar, demonstrating the real progress being made by teams from African countries.
The first full year of a return to the sport after the COVID pandemic, 2022 has shown that the African game can grow and claim its own space in world football beyond the headlines generated by star African players like Mo Salah and Sadio Mané. playing for high profile European clubs.
Each of the six key events I’ve outlined here featured a defining moment. We may not all agree on the order, but we can be sure they will be talked about for years to come.
Afcon gains new respect
Many of the best African footballers play for clubs in Europe. In late 2021, the European Club Association threatened to bar key players from representing their countries in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament. They cited COVID-19 issues and conflicts with the league’s scheduling. football in Europe. The Conversation Africa projected that the English Premier League alone could lose up to 37 players to Afcon.
But the African countries stood their ground and insisted on the release of the players. Importantly, several key football figures, including European clubs manager Patrick Vieira, demanded that Afcon be respected. In the end, the European clubs bowed down and released their players to participate in the most glamorous soccer tournament in Africa.
Afcon achieved record numbers in fan engagement, with more than 1 billion video views worldwide and unprecedented attention on social media.
Read more: Afcon demands global respect and opens a new chapter for African football
Women’s football scores big goals
The club tournament, the African Women’s Champions League, is just two years old and no prize money was offered in 2021. But, in a surprising announcement, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) offered a prize pool for 2022. The winners they now receive US$400,000 and the runner-up and third-place teams US$250,000 and US$200,000. These are remarkable figures, even when compared to the prize money for a club that wins the Women’s Champions League in Europe. There, the published prize for 2022 was US$230,000 or £200,000. ASFAR from Morocco triumphed over Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa.
The prize money demonstrates a genuine movement by Caf to improve women’s football on the continent and is sure to spark greater participation of women in the sport in several African countries. With such interest, the media will continue to further raise the profile of the game.
Africa makes its mark at the World Cup
Prior to the 2022 men’s soccer World Cup, Africa had previously fielded three teams at the quarterfinal stage: in 1990 (Cameroon), 2002 (Senegal) and 2010 (Ghana). Morocco joined that list in 2022 and then went one step further, making history by becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final. However, Morocco reaching this zenith was not the only story for Africa at the 2022 World Cup.
This World Cup marked the only finals in which Africa had won eight games in regulation time. The previous highest total was four, in 2002 and 2010. This clearly marks significant progress, more than 75% profit increase.
Presentation of video assistant referees
Although video assistant referees are now a common part of world football, referees watching the game on video screens were new to Afcon in 2022. The system was first used in the final stage and proved crucial in helping the referees to make decisions.
Several games were decided by video analysis after video replays. He was instrumental in deciding a round of 16 match between Nigeria and Tunisia, for example. A video replay led to the disqualification of a Nigerian player as his team was chasing the equalizing goal. Although the system has been challenged at other tournaments, it was considered a success at Afcon.
Read more: Morocco vs South Africa: women’s football enters a new era
New powers in women’s football
Nigeria had dominated African women’s football for so long that there was no competition at the continental championship level for years. However, the hard work of countries like Morocco, South Africa and the Ivory Coast has started to pay off.
At this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), Côte d’Ivoire failed to qualify, beaten by Nigeria despite their credible performance at the 2019 Women’s World Cup. However, Nigeria found that their Wafcon dominance had come to its end. Nigeria was knocked out by host Morocco in the semi-final stage and then beaten by Zambia in a tough match for third place. Morocco, playing flashy football throughout the tournament, lost to South Africa in the final. South Africa had previously dealt a blow to Nigeria in the group stage.
These performances and results demonstrate the spread of top-level talent and teams across the continent.
a new league
The biggest breakthrough of the year, however, has to be Caf’s announcement of a new league for top African clubs, starting in 2023. The lucrative new African Super League involves the continent’s top clubs, with some countries providing up to three equipment and others none. .
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This competition is made for television, designed to generate income from wealthy sponsors through broadcast rights. The tournament will replace the African Champions League as the main club competition on the continent and will be dominated by the big North African clubs of Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. With the best West African players migrating to Europe and Asia in recent years, the North Africans have dominated.
In the long term, this should help develop stronger and better-funded African clubs, better able to keep some of the best talent at home. If Caf can achieve this, it will be an important milestone in African football.
Read more: A lucrative new African soccer league is coming: the pros and cons
Caf’s new leadership, elected in 2021, came with an ambitious ten-point plan to revitalize African football. It hasn’t been easy, given the state of his finances, including the loss of a major sponsorship. However, its activities in 2022 have shown the potential to dramatically open up new perspectives.
Chuka Onwumechili, Professor of Communications, Howard University
