The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 achieved unprecedented digital engagement, generating over 6 billion views across its social media platforms, including 5.2 billion video views, making it the most viewed continental football tournament in history.
In a statement released on Wednesday, CAF said the figures highlight the growing global influence of African football and the expanding reach of the AFCON brand beyond the continent. By comparison, the 2023 edition recorded around 2.1 billion digital views, meaning the Morocco 2025 tournament nearly tripled that figure.
“One of the most notable areas of growth came from the African diaspora, with millions of new users engaging with AFCON 2025 content,” CAF noted, emphasizing that highlights ranging from spectacular goals to behind-the-scenes content traveled quickly across borders, languages, and cultures.
The tournament also recorded 285 million fan engagements, reflecting what CAF described as an unprecedented level of interaction and emotional investment from supporters. TikTok emerged as a central driver of this engagement, with over one million fan-generated videos created under the hashtag #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025, turning the competition into a cultural movement beyond football.
CAF highlighted that content spanned goal celebrations, tactical analyses, music, fashion, and humour, helping to introduce AFCON to younger audiences worldwide and enabling direct interaction between players, teams, and fans.
AFCON Morocco 2025 was hosted from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, featuring modern stadiums and entertainment alongside football, including performances by leading artists such as Davido. Senegal won the tournament, defeating hosts Morocco 1–0 in the final at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, while Nigeria claimed third place.
The tournament, however, was marred by controversy, including disputed refereeing decisions, reported VAR malfunctions, and several on- and off-pitch altercations. As of Thursday, CAF confirmed sanctions against Algeria, Senegal, Morocco, and several players for various acts of misconduct during the competition.
