Name: African Cup of Nations deserves same respect as any other tournament
Uploaded: 2025-11-30T17:12:03.241Z
Duration: 2 min 1 s
Description: AFCON is due to get underway in Morocco on 21 December.

AFCON is due to get underway in Morocco on 21 December.

Nigerian-born British former footballer Enyola Aluko has stated that the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) should be respected on par with other continental tournaments. Responding to criticism from European commentators, Aluko emphasized that African football is growing rapidly and features some of the world's top players, particularly in the Premier League.

Aluko also highlighted the importance of internal respect within Africa and its diaspora, noting the tournament's large international audience. She assured that despite scheduling overlaps with the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League, AFCON will feature top African stars and is supported by strong collaboration among football leadership. The comments were made during the London leg of a diaspora tour promoting the tournament, which will begin in Morocco on December 21.

African Cup of Nations deserves same respect as any other tournament

The Africa Cup of Nations deserves the same respect as any other continental tournament. That's according to Nigerian-born British former international footballer Enyola Oluko, responding to criticism of the competition from pundits in Europe. I think we have to live in a world where we don't really wait for validation from those people. I think sometimes people just choose to not respect what African football is about and you leave them in their ignorance to do that. African football is happening whether you like it or not. I think what I've loved is that it's growing and it's rapidly growing and some of the biggest players are the biggest players in the Premier League and around the world. If you don't want to watch it, that's up to you, but you're missing out. I think we need to stop trying to get respect outside of the continent because I think the continent's got everything it needs. The diaspora is a huge audience. We're here in London today, there's so many people from different African nations. I think that's enough. This year's AFCON clashes with a busy period in the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, whose teams include many top African players. Without a doubt we'd have the African stars there. There is always very good collaboration. Our president is very well aware of these issues and our president, as you know, is someone that engages in an inclusive discussion always with all of the different stakeholders. So it's assured that it's going to be the best AFCON and we have the best African stars over there and there's good discussion, good collaboration in there, so there's absolutely nothing to worry about. Alouko and Ademu were speaking at the end of the London leg of a diaspora tour, promoting AFCON, which gets underway in Morocco on the 21st of December.

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