TotalEnergies AFCON Ivory Coast 2023: "A celebration of African for a month" (Didier Drogba, CIV)

"It is the most beautiful competition for all Africans. I was inspired by Roger Milla, Gadji Celi, Youssouf Fofana and many others. Our legends were revealed in this tournament. Laurent Pokou (CIV) for example and others. For us it's the celebration of African football. It's Africa's party for a month," said former Ivorian international Didier Drogba on the CAF website about the TotalEnergies AFCON 2023 in the Ivory Coast from 13/01 to 11/02/2024.

The tournament was initially scheduled to run from 23/06 to 23/07/2023, but was moved back seven months to 03/07/2022 in order to avoid the rainy season in West Africa. "We don’t want to run the risk of having a competition that’s going to be washed out," explained Patrice Motsepe (RSA), president of CAF, at the time.

"We have a very beautiful country. A hospitable nation and we know that the competition will go well. We are ready to welcome the world. It's a privilege to receive so many guests in Cote d'Ivoire," said Didier Drogba, the former striker who played for EA Guingamp, Olympique de Marseille and Chelsea FC, and who played - and…