The 34^th edition of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations saw Cote d’Ivoire dramatically beat Nigeria with other individuals rewarded for their exploits at the end of the tournament. 

Equatorial Guinea captain, Emilio Nsue scooped the top scorer award at the just-ended TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

READ MORE: AFCON 2023: Equatorial Guinea captain, Emilio Nsue wins PUMA Golden Boot award

He emerged as the victor of the award with five goals from four games in the tournament.
The highlight of this feat was his first and only hat trick against host Cotê d’Ivoire at the Alassane Outtara Sports Stadium in Abidjan.

                             Emilio Nsue with the top goal scorer award

Côte d’Ivoire youngster, Simon Adingra, was also named the Best Young Player of the Tournament at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

READ MORE: Former Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet interested in Black Stars job
The young sensation had his elementary football training with Ghana’s Right to Dreams Academy was a breath of fresh air in the games that he played. His dazzling skillset, and mazy runs, which was a consistent worry for any oppositions like Senegal, Mali, DR Congo, and Nigeria he played against in the tournament.

                                                            Simon Adingra

Emerse Fae picked up the Best Coach of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after historically leading his home nation to an impressive victory on home soil over Nigeria.

READ MORE : AFCON2023: Côte d’Ivoire’s Simon Adingra bags Best Young Player of the Tournament award
The former France youth team coach led his country to victory after former coach, Jean-Louis Gasset was relieved from his duties as the side neared elimination.
Fae managed vital wins against, defending champions, Senegal, Mali, and DR Congo and enthrone it with a dramatic winner over Nigeria in the finals.

                                              Emerson Fae

Nigeria captain, William Troost-Ekong’s mouthwatering exemplary leadership skills went unnoticed as he ended the night acknowledged as the Best Player of the Tournament.
His exceptional leadership skills at the back saw him carry Nigeria through the group stages to the finals scoring three goals in seven games.

                                                         Troost- Ekong

Bafana Bafana shot-stopper, Ronwen Williams’ heroics in the penalty shoot-out against, Equatorial Guinea and DR Congo him eclipse Nigeria’s Stanley Nwabili for the Ecobank Best Goalkeeper of the tournament.

                            Ronwen Williams (South Africa)

Côte d’Ivoire was the biggest winner of the night as they finished off Nigeria in a three-goal thriller to do the host and win after Egypt in 2026. The win sees them sees them win their third trophy of AFCON since, 1992 and 2015.

TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Winners List:

Winner: Cote d’Ivoire
Finalist: Nigeria
Third: South Africa
Fourth: Democratic Republic of Congo
TotalEnergies Best Player: William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria)
Puma Golden Boat: Emilio Nsue Lopez
Best Ecobank Goalkeeper: Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
Fair-Play Air Côte d’Ivoire Team: South Africa

Black Stars technical team dissolved after early AFCON exit



The Executive Council of  the Ghana football Association has disbanded the technical staff of the Black Stars after an awful AFCON 2023 tournament.

Following the disappointing display of the Black Stars at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the Ghana Football Association has taken a definitive step by disbanding the entire technical staff.

READ MORE : Mauritania defeats Algeria to qualifyfor the round of 16 for AFCON 2023

Head coach Chris Hughton, along with assistants George Boateng and Didi Dramani, goalkeeper coach Richard Kingston, and other staff members, will be departing.

The team’s inability to secure a vital victory against Mozambique, leading to a 2-2 draw, ultimately resulted in their elimination from the tournament.

Ghana head coach Chris Hughton has expressed disappointment after recording a defeat in the opening game of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The Black Stars shockingly lost to the Blue Sharks for the first time in a game they were hotly tipped to win.

READ MORE: AFCON 2023: Jordan Ayew blames inexperience BlackStars squad for Cape Verde defeat

Ghana was unfortunate to go behind as early as the 17th minute to a Jamiro Monteiro goal in the first half. 

Alexander Djiku pulled the BlackStars parity after rising highest to head home a Jordan Ayew cross but the Blue Sharks will have the final laugh through, substitute, Gary Rodrigues, who tapped into an empty net following a defensive mixup by the West African base country. 

Speaking at the post-match interview, Hughton was left disappointed by the turn of events in the opening game.

“I think it rocked us the goal that we conceded [that early] but I thought that we got back into the game and at that stage, it looked like we could go on and win it,” Hughton said.

“We are hugely disappointed with the result.”

BlackStars will hope for an improved performance as they take on Egypt on Thursday, January 18 in a game they have to win to keep their AFCON hopes alive. 

READ MORE: AFCON 2023: Ghana falls to Cape Verde in Group B

Cape Verde tops Group B with 3 points, Egypt and Mozambique follow up with a point each with Ghana at the base with no point.

Heart of Lions have appointed experienced figurehead Bashir Hayford as their new coach for the remainder of the season.

Bahir takes over from Fatawu Salifu, who was dismissed as a result of bad results for the Kpando-based club in the ongoing Ghana Premier League 2023/24 season. 

Though Salifu was instrumental in aiding the Lions back into the league after almost a decade of absence, the strong tides of the league were too much for him as he was winless in thirteen games, losing five and drawing the remainder of games. 

🗣 || 𝓐𝓟𝓟𝓞𝓘𝓝𝓣𝓜𝓔𝓝𝓣 𝓞𝓕 𝓝𝓔𝓦 𝓒𝓞𝓐𝓒𝓗

🤝 We are delighted to officially announce the appointment of Bashir Hayford as the Club’s new Head Coach.
He makes a return to the Lions Den.

𝑾𝒐𝒆𝒛𝒐𝒓, 𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒉. #DzieWoaNu #HOLFC🦁🔴🔵 #FrerolRuralBank pic.twitter.com/cLdRmgBYL5

— Kpando Heart Of Lions Fc (@HeartOfLionsFc) December 21, 2023

Hearts of Lions will be taking a huge gamble on Hayford who last handled a Premier League side some sixteen (16) years ago with Kotoko.

The experienced head will have his former side, Legon Cities to contend against in his first game as coach of his new club.