The Africa Cup of Nations 2023 has come to an end and many have described it as the biggest AFCON tournament of all time.

For eventual champions Ivory Coast, the tournament was a rollercoaster. They lost two group matches and barely qualified for the knockout stages. The shaky start led to the sacking of coach Jean-Louis Gasset and his replacement with Emerse Fae, who guided the host nation to AFCON glory.

Interim manager Emerse Fae told the waiting media that winning felt like a fairy tale.

“Honestly, I still can’t believe we achieved this. We are miraculous. We went and won the cup because we did not give up. We know how to recover despite difficult times.” Fae shouted.

Morocco were favorites to win the AFCON after finishing 4th at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but South Africa caused a shock by beating Atlas Lions in the Round of 16. Bafana Bafana finished the tournament in third place by beating DR. Congo clinched the bronze medal in penalties.

According to CAF President Patrice Motsepe, 2 billion people watched worldwide, making this the most watched AFCON tournament in its history.

With exciting games and shock exits, AFCON 2023 will go down in history as football fans around the world eagerly await the 2025 tournament in Morocco.