The modern passion for football is pushing boundaries that are making tournaments like the African Cup Nations become more popular each time. Global repercussions felt during the last continental tournament in Cameroon have put African football in the spotlight for January and the first weekend of February, when Senegal was crowned champions for the first time in their history.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s put a highlight on some of the main stories of the tournament.<\/p>\n
Regions like the United Kingdom experienced much fanfare not only because of the immigrational ties with Africa but also because the best players in the English Premier League now play for African nations. The likes of Sadio Man\u00e9, Mohammed Salah, and \u00c9douard Mendy are among the best players in the world.<\/p>\n
The huge popularity of AFCON was also witnessed in platforms in the UK like SBO.net<\/a> which offers the best betting sites where bettors can not only find the best promotions and welcome bonuses for football betting but also betting markets for virtually every sport. A continental tournament always draws the attention of fans towards betting platforms to enhance their footballing experience and this was deeply felt during AFCON 2021.<\/p>\n AFCON 2021 was dubbed as the tournament of the underdogs. Even if in the end, two powerhouses and favorites like Senegal and Egypt reached the final, the tournament was full of surprises.<\/p>\n The defending champions, Algeria, were eliminated in the group stage. They were the bookmakers\u2019 favorite to retain the title and only managed to score one goal. In a tournament where even four third-placed teams out of six groups made it into the knockout stage, the failure of Algeria left fans appalled.<\/p>\n Equatorial Guinea recorded one of the best underdogs stories in AFCON as they beat Algeria in the group stage and then went on to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in their history, only to be proudly eliminated by Senegal.<\/p>\n Other favorites like Ghana and Nigeria were also eliminated in the early stages. Ghana was left behind in the group stage, in a group that comprised a debutant like Comoros, who ended up playing the knockout stage against the host, Cameroon, with a defender as their goalkeeper due to injuries and COVID and \u201conly\u201d lost 2-1. Nigeria was eliminated by Tunisia in the first round of the knockout stage and they were considered a favorite by football analytics website theanalyst.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The development of African football is seen on the pitch and outside of it.<\/p>\n AFCON has a long history of European coaches on the sidelines commanding African nations and winning tournaments through knowledge imported from foreign regions. But there has been a turnaround of events witnessed in Cameroon this year.<\/p>\nSurprises and shocking early exits<\/h3>\n
African coaching is on the rise<\/h3>\n