"It's art and culture"- Togo legend Adebayor on why AFCON is unique

African football legend, Emmanuel Adebayor, believes the continent's flagship tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations is beyond just football. 

The biennial competition, which will be moved to a four-year interval from 2029, is currently ongoing is Morocco with 16 teams remaining after a blistering first round.

Adebayor played at AFCON during the late 2000's for the Togo national team, but admits the competition has grown from just on-field action to off-field spectacle, which adds variety to the tournament.

“It’s very different now, in the sense that many things have changed,” Adebayor told CAF Online. “When we went to AFCON, we wore tracksuits—sometimes a suit, only once if I remember correctly.

“Now it’s beautiful. It’s art. It’s our culture,” he added.

Before the start of the competition, the qualified teams arrived in stunning fashion, with champions Ivory Coast stealing the show with colourful attire. Rivaling them were runners-up Nigeria in their all-green traditionally-woven dress.

“It was just beautiful to watch. Magnificent,” Adebayor continued.

“We play different, we dress different, we talk different,” he reflects, a phrase that captures the essence of AFCON. “At the end of the day, we must remember that we are Africans. We have our values. We have our cultures.”

The knockout stage begins on Saturday with Senegal engaging Sudan while Tunisia faces Mali.

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