The 34th edition of the tournament attracted record TV viewership.
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00:00 Ivory Coast are Africa's latest champions after a dramatic final against Nigeria.
00:06 But it wasn't plain sailing for the elephants.
00:08 So let's take a look at how the revamped AFCON 2023 shaped up.
00:13 Hello and welcome to Football Now from Doha.
00:21 The African Cup of Nations has come to an end and once again it has not disappointed.
00:26 The 34th edition of the tournament attracted record television viewers
00:30 and there was plenty of highlights along the way.
00:33 Let's remind ourselves of how it all played out.
00:35 Despite winning the opening match of the tournament against Guinea-Bissau,
00:39 Ivory Coast lost their following group stage games and took dramatic action,
00:43 sacking their manager Jean-Louis Gasset midway through the tournament,
00:47 sparking a marvellous recovery, but more on that later.
00:51 Elsewhere in the groups, holders Senegal got off to a flying start,
00:54 taking the maximum nine points from the group games,
00:57 while Mauritania made it out of the group stage for the first time in their history.
01:01 Into the knockout stages and Morocco, fresh from their World Cup semi-final appearance in 2022,
01:07 suffered a shock exit at the hands of South Africa.
01:10 The journey continued for Bafana Bafana right until the semi-finals,
01:14 where they went out at the hands of Nigeria on penalties.
01:18 From a South African point of view, it's been a long time since I've seen people
01:22 really get behind the national team in this way.
01:25 They've dusted themselves off after years of hardship.
01:27 They've gone out there, they've done their business,
01:29 and they were led well by Ronan Williams, the captain and the goalkeeper of the tournament,
01:33 and Hugo Bruce, who's, despite the challenges, has soldiered on.
01:36 You know, it was a magical story, and there was hope we'd get to the final,
01:40 but it wasn't to be, unfortunately.
01:42 The Ivory Coast saw off the Democratic Republic of Congo in the other semi-final,
01:46 teeing up a dramatic final in Abidjan.
01:49 The host came from behind and won the trophy thanks to a late Sebastian Hela goal.
01:53 Just two years after his career was in doubt due to a testicular cancer diagnosis,
01:58 he delivered the ultimate prize for his country.
02:01 Sebastian Hela is a player who has had a lot of ups and downs.
02:05 You know, a lot of people throw in the towel.
02:07 You start thinking about life after football, you start thinking about your family,
02:11 you start thinking, "Well, if I'm going to go through this,
02:13 do I still want to continue to play this beautiful game?"
02:15 And he said, "Look, I'm going to fight through, I'm going to fight through,
02:17 I'm going to come out on the other side," and I tell you, he has come out fighting.
02:20 I think we can only take our hats off to him,
02:22 and for him to essentially score in the final as well,
02:25 I mean, it doesn't get a lot better than that.
02:27 What a beautiful story. Football is filled with these two movies,
02:30 but it doesn't mean that it diminishes the sort of impact that it has
02:33 on us as everyday people and on everyone.
02:35 You know, we love the game of football.
02:37 Yes, it was a miraculous story for the Ivory Coast who won the tournament
02:41 despite deciding to sack manager Jean-Louis Gasset midway through the competition.
02:46 The bold move proved to be a stroke of genius though,
02:49 as their interim coach, Amers Faye, inspired the Elephants to a historic third title.
02:55 It's more than a fairy tale, honestly.
02:57 I still can't believe we did it.
03:01 It's extraordinary. It's a huge chance.
03:04 We were miraculous. We went after the cup because we didn't give up,
03:11 because we fought until the end,
03:13 and we showed that we were men and that we knew how to bounce back despite the hard shots.
03:18 When it went into Faye's hands, everyone was pretty much unsure.
03:21 He never had previously managed a senior side.
03:23 He was not the man many people thought could turn the situation around.
03:27 He's had an incredible journey himself.
03:29 He played for Ivory Coast, he played in the Premier League, he played for Reading,
03:32 and he spoke about this coming of winning at home,
03:36 feeling like revenge because he had to stop playing at a very young age himself.
03:40 So he knew from when he retired, he wanted to win trophies as a manager.
03:43 He just didn't know that this incredible story would have to display.
03:46 Everyone completely took the host out of the running after their poor start
03:50 and thought, "Wow, this guy is just not going to take us forward."
03:52 So I think it's another story of investing in home-grown talent as well.
03:56 And he's shown it's possible,
03:58 and it's just a wonderful story to watch as the mother Atakan as well.
04:01 After being runners-up in 2022,
04:04 Egypt had hoped to go one step further this time around,
04:07 but disaster struck in the group stages when their star player Mo Salah
04:11 picked up a hamstring injury.
04:13 They went on to lose to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties,
04:17 only further highlighting Salah's importance to the Pharaoh's chances of success.
04:22 I think for Egypt he plays a slightly different role.
04:25 Rabeliti is much more heavily relied upon in comparison to Liverpool.
04:29 So I feel in context it's a much bigger blow to Egypt when he's at.
04:32 It didn't really work out this tournament for him.
04:34 He was a lot more defensive going forward.
04:37 You can't win an AFCON by yourself.
04:39 But in terms of this particular tournament,
04:42 the minute Salah was injured, it just looked very bleak.
04:45 It didn't look like there was many ways for us to make it to the final,
04:49 and that's when we were kicked out.
04:51 Well, according to CAF president Patrice Msepe,
04:54 nearly two billion people tuned in to watch AFCON over the course of the campaign,
04:59 making it the most-watched edition of the tournament in history.
05:03 With more eyes on the continent than ever before,
05:06 and the new African Super League having been launched in October,
05:09 is the profile of African football currently at an all-time high?
05:13 I'm a veteran of nine AFCONs, and this is undoubtedly the biggest ever.
05:20 In terms of the revenue, in terms of the eyeballs, in terms of the viewership,
05:24 in terms of interest in the African game, this is undoubtedly the biggest and the best.
05:29 The best organised as well, in terms of how they go, the entire continent,
05:34 keeping an eye on African football for the very first time.
05:37 I think undoubtedly the biggest, the best ever AFCON that I have witnessed,
05:41 and the records and the stats are there for all to see.
05:44 It was just out of this world, in my opinion.
05:47 Yes, it was another thrilling tournament in Africa,
05:50 and congratulations to the Ivory Coast on their third AFCON title.
05:54 Do let us know what you thought of the tournament using the hashtag #FootballNowAFCON,
05:59 and we'll see you next time. Bye for now.
06:01 [Music]
06:05 (keyboard clacking)