In brief
In a recent interview, Nigeria's Alex Iwobi, who plays for Fulham, highlighted the unique atmosphere of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), emphasizing its role in celebrating African culture through football. As Nigeria prepares for the tournament, which kicks off in Morocco, Iwobi reflects on past disappointments and hopes to lead his team to victory, in a quest to redeem themselves following a heart-wrenching loss in the previous final against Ivory Coast.
He's played on some of the biggest stages in the world, but Alex Iwobi believes the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is a special experience.
The tournament will see 24 teams battling for the continental crown across the next couple of weeks. Fulham midfielder Iwobi will represent his home country of Nigeria in the competition, where they will be hoping to clinch the title after missing out in a 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast in 2023's final.
With Afcon, you get to celebrate Africa through football, he tells BBC Newsbeat. You get to see different cultures, you get to see how different people dress, how people from Nigeria, the way we walk into the changing rooms.
When some of the other countries walk into the changing rooms, we play music, so we're celebrating our music through that as well.
Nigeria will be hoping to redeem themselves after failing to qualify for a second successive World Cup. Iwobi says it was a big disappointment, but the team will be using it to fuel them in the Afcon tournament.
We owe it to ourselves to make it right, and there's no better way from the last Afcon to improve (than) just to win this one, the 29-year-old says.
Afcon is typically held every two years and this time Morocco is hosting. Nigeria have won the competition three times over the years, the last being back in 2013. Their most recent loss to Ivory Coast still lingers in Iwobi's mind as he says it shattered their dreams.
However, he feels the moment was written for striker Sébastien Haller, who scored the winning goal after overcoming testicular cancer. It was a tough loss, but you give credit when credit is due, they deserved it, Iwobi says.
Despite past disappointments, Iwobi is focused on what lies ahead: But it's also fuelled us and we've been working hard to get into the Afcon again and, hopefully, this is our story. He emphasized that the Afcon should receive more recognition, as it showcases incredible talent and represents a significant part of African culture.
It's obviously getting recognised a lot more, he says. In the Premier League there's a lot of players in each team that are going to be represented so the awareness is growing, but it definitely deserves a lot more respect, in my opinion. If he wins the tournament, he is eager to share the moment with his family, envisioning a scene of celebration and happiness.
