AFCON: Iheanacho Urge African Players To Show The World Africa Deserves Respect

Super Eagles striker, Kelechi Iheanacho has called on participating nations and players heading to the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon to prove to the world that the tournament is underrated.

Iheanacho, who was reacting to the refusal of several clubs across Europe to release players for the tournament, noted that the competition deserved more and urged the players to seize the opportunity to exhibit greatness.

“We need to keep doing what we’re doing and do our best and keep showing the world that Africa deserves more and there are more opportunities for good footballers over there,” Iheanacho said as quoted by talkSPORT.

“Our competition needs to be looked at as well but I think we need to prove with our play that our competition is underrated by doing extraordinary things on the pitch, by scoring goals, by performing really well so when we do that it will speak for itself.”

Iheanacho’s comments come just a day after former Arsenal striker Ian Wright castigated those disrespecting Afcon.

“Is there ever a tournament more disrespected than the Africa Cup of Nations? There is no great honour, none other than representing your country. The coverage is completely tinged with racism,” the Arsenal legend posed a question on his Tiktok page.

“We played our Euros [Euro 2020] across ten countries in the middle of a pandemic and there’s no issue at all. But Cameroon, a single country hosting a tournament, is a problem.

“There are players getting asked if they will be honouring the call-ups to their national teams. Imagine if that was an England player representing the Three Lions. Can you imagine the furore?”

The 58-year-old Wright, who played for the Gunners in the Premier League and managed to score 128 goals from 221 appearances, further reminded clubs in Europe that some of the best players in their leagues are Africans.

“Some of the best players in Europe right now are Africans. If we love them at our clubs, why not love them at their national teams across the globe,” Wright continued.

Hosts Cameroon will get the tournament underway with a Group A fixture against Burkina Faso at Stade Omnisport Paul Biya, Olembe on January 9 before Ethiopia take on Cape Verde in the second fixture.

Meanwhile, Nigeria, who are drawn in Group D alongside Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, and Sudan, will open their campaign with a game against the Pharaohs on January 11 at Roumde Adjia Stadium.