AFCON is the biggest football tournament in Africa; it’s like their Euros or the Copa America, but it’s unlike any of those tournaments.
It’s quite orthodox on paper, just like any other competition, but crazy things happen here, for example, Patson Daka injured his neck while celebrating his goal, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Before the tournament even began, the chaos had already started as Cameroon announced 2 squads for the tournament, one was announced by Samuel Eto, the president of the association, who, by the way, sacked their manager, but the manager refused to leave and announced a squad of his own.
So that’s a taste of what AFCON is all about, and here I have compiled a few of the funniest AFCON moments, from support staff crashing into injured players to a referee blowing the full-time whistle way before full-time.
Let’s dive straight into it.
Funniest AFCON Moments that won’t happen anywhere else
The stadium DJ does not know the national anthem of Mauritania
Mauritania had the wrong anthem being played, in the end they didn’t even get to sing their own anthem pic.twitter.com/TWcyTBFgmL
— 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 🇫🇷🏴🇧🇮🇷🇼 (@SRFC_Infinity35) February 6, 2022
There was a major blunder at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) when the wrong national anthem was played three times for them before Mauritania’s match against Gambia, and at the end, they didn’t even play their correct national anthem.
Euthopia announced their way too early
Usually, teams announce their lineup an hour before kickoff, or in some cases, like Ancelotti’s Real Madrid, use to announce the lineup 2-3 hours before kickoff, but Euthopia took it to another level by announcing the lineup 7 hours before the kickoff.
Man of the Match before kickoff?
The Man of the Match award is given to the best-performing player of the match and is determined after the match, but at AFCON, some visionaries crown the man of the match 20 minutes before the match even kicks off.
I’m not as much of a visionary, but I can tell you Lamine Yamal will be the MVP of the match in Barcelona’s next LALIGA game, even if he’s not in the 11.
Referee thinks it’s a Sprint Race
No caption needed 😭 pic.twitter.com/PvPEAvst2Y
— 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 🇫🇷🏴🇧🇮🇷🇼 (@SRFC_Infinity35) February 6, 2022
Referring in any sport is a thankless job, and in football, it’s tiring as well because you have to be literally on your toes all the time, but this referee seems to be having fun while doing his job. He looks like he is imitating Antonio Rudiger tracking back.
Goalkeeper glitches
He took Fifa 22 goalkeeper movement to a whole new level 💀 pic.twitter.com/W5bNwj2qXV
— 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 🇫🇷🏴🇧🇮🇷🇼 (@SRFC_Infinity35) February 6, 2022
A goalkeeper’s job is to save the ball, but this Goalkeeper seems to have glitches as he is literally moving away from the ball, letting the oppositionscore in an empty net.
Medical Car injuring player instead of saving him
As if he wasn’t injured enough pic.twitter.com/0HlscopApP
— 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 🇫🇷🏴🇧🇮🇷🇼 (@SRFC_Infinity35) February 6, 2022
In the quarter final between DR Congo and Peterborough, DR Congo’s Gabriel Zakuani got injured and needed medical assistance. So the medics rushed onto the pitch, but they forgot to apply breaks on time and bumped straight into Zakuani on the stretcher, and his reaction said it all.
Press conference cancelled due to unpaid rents
Ahead of the Burkina Faso vs. Tunisia match during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, an unusual scene unfolded: someone had unplugged all the microphones and other equipment before the press conference started.
It was later revealed that the individual was a local supplier who had rented the audio equipment to the organising committee, and he had not been paid.
Mo Salah as referee?
In the 2022 AFCON Final, Mo Salah had a quiet game, and he eventually ended up on the losing side at the end of the night, but during the match, Salah didn’t agree with some of the decisions the referee made, and when he confronted him, the referee sarcastically offered his whistle and card to Salah, asking him to switch places.
Referee blows for full-time twice before 90 minutes
This is probably the most notable moment of the last edition of AFCON and understandably so.
This happened in a match between Mali vs. Tunisia, when Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe blew the final whistle twice prematurely, first in the 85th minute and then again at 89:47, claiming heatstroke led to severe disorientation.
The Tunisia team refused to enter the pitch after the second whistle.
Mali headcoach gets an unexpected shower
One Of The Funniest Moments From the Last african Cup of Nations ! 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/VQfGH71pDI
— Mr. Nigerian Football (@AJSilverCFC) December 21, 2025
Mali were knocked out of the tournament in the quarter-finals by the Ivory Coast, and it was a tough defeat to take. Mali’s national football team coach, Éric Sékou Chelle, was overwhelmed with emotions, and he broke down on the sideline.
This moment was supposed to be heartbreaking, but that’s when the assistant coach of Mali decided that the best way to console his superior was to pour water on his head while he was in tears, and this moment became one of the funniest things I have seen in football.
Well, if these moments don’t convince you to at least keep an eye on what’s happening at the AFCON, then I don’t know what will, because this tournament is a gold mine of football memes and I’m pretty will have more bizarre moments by the time this tournament ends in January.
