On 13 January 2024, Magic System, Yemi Alade and Mohamed Ramadan sang “Akwaba” at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Abidjan. Côte d'Ivoire then kicked off against Guinea-Bissau. For Alade it was a long-held wish. For the tournament, it was one more entry in a musical tradition that is surprisingly poorly recorded, even though Nigerian voices keep turning up in it.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Latest AFCON official song | “Africallez”, Morocco 2025 |
| Performed by | Angélique Kidjo, Jaylann and L'Artiste |
| Previous official song | “Akwaba”, Côte d'Ivoire 2023 |
| Nigerians on official songs | J. Martins (2017), Femi Kuti (2019), Yemi Alade (2023) |
| Next tournament | Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, 19 June to 17 July 2027 |
| 2027 song | Not announced as of 12 October 2026 |
| Where to listen | CAF's official YouTube channel and licensed streaming services |
The official songs, edition by edition
We checked every row below against contemporary reports or CAF's own announcements. Angola 2010, the 2012 edition shared by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon 2021 are missing on purpose.
| Edition | Host | Song | Artists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | South Africa | “Sela Sela” | Wes Madiko, Zahra Universe |
| 2015 | Equatorial Guinea | “Hola Hola” | Written by Toofan; sung by Fally Ipupa, Eddy Kenzo, Mani Bella, Molare and others |
| 2017 | Gabon | “L'Afrique au Gabon” | Patience Dabany, Serge Beynaud, J. Martins, Shan'l, NG Bling, Prince Kiala |
| 2019 | Egypt | “Metgamaeen” (We Are Together) | Hakim, Femi Kuti, Dobet Gnahoré |
| 2023 | Côte d'Ivoire | “Akwaba” | Magic System, Yemi Alade, Mohamed Ramadan |
| 2025 | Morocco | “Africallez” | Angélique Kidjo, Jaylann, L'Artiste |
Why the gaps? For 2010 and 2012 we could not find a CAF announcement or a reliable report from the time naming a single official track. Cameroon 2021 is messier: the state daily Cameroon Tribune reported that an anthem called “AfricaSmile” was presented in Yaoundé in May 2021 after a national artistic contest, while other online lists credit a different title, and we could not settle which one CAF treated as its official song.
Formats shift too. The 2015 song was written by the Togolese group Toofan, whose country had not even qualified, and Burkinabè outlet Burkina24 listed a Nigerian singer, Wizboy, among the performers.
Where Nigeria comes in
The first clear Nigerian credit in this period belongs to J. Martins. Moroccan magazine TelQuel reported that “L'Afrique au Gabon” was unveiled on 8 January 2017. He shared it with Gabonese veteran Patience Dabany, Ivorian star Serge Beynaud and others.
Two years later the choice was heavier. Much heavier. Egypt built “Metgamaeen” around three languages, with Hakim singing in Arabic, Dobet Gnahoré in French and Femi Kuti carrying the English part, and all three were billed for the opening ceremony in Cairo in June 2019, a booking that put Afrobeat on the biggest stage African football has.
Then came Yemi Alade.
She was the only Nigerian on “Akwaba”, produced by Dany Synthé and released through Universal Music Africa in October 2023, and she did not hide what it meant. “It's a dream come true for me to have created the official anthem for AFCON alongside other notable African artistes,” she told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that December. She had already had her moment on opening night, and our report on the stars who performed at the AFCON 2023 opening ceremony has the full line-up. For the song itself, our AFCON 2024 official theme song page covers its release.
Official song, sponsor track or fan anthem?
Morocco 2025 shows how quickly the labels blur. In mid December 2025, Mohamed Ramadan told Egypt's Noujoum FM that he would be in Marrakech “to film the official song for the AFCON”. Producer RedOne, meanwhile, promoted “AWAM”, a 12-track project that Moroccan outlet MWN Lifestyle called the tournament's official album, featuring names such as Akon, French Montana and Yemi Alade. CAF's opening ceremony at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on 21 December was headlined by French Montana, Davido and RedOne.
None of that was the official song.
CAF unveiled it the same day: “Africallez”, by Beninese icon Angélique Kidjo with Moroccan singers Jaylann and L'Artiste.
So Davido topped the bill in Rabat without being on the official anthem. Yemi Alade appeared on a tournament album without singing the CAF track. Fans searching for an AFCON official song online meet this confusion constantly, along with fan chants and sponsor jingles that get relabelled as anthems once they go viral.
Where to listen, and what comes next
CAF said of “Akwaba” that “It is available on all streaming platforms”. For videos, look for CAF's official YouTube channel or the artists' verified pages rather than reuploads. That is the legal route. It pays the musicians.
For 2027 there is nothing to report yet.
CAF has confirmed that the KE-TZ-UG 27 tournament runs from 19 June to 17 July 2027 under the Swahili theme “Pamoja”, meaning together. No official song had been announced by 12 October 2026.
Our view: if CAF wants these songs to last the way some World Cup anthems have, it needs to name them early, credit every artist clearly and keep one official record, and a Nigerian voice on the 2027 track would hardly be a surprise. Our guide to every World Cup official song shows how FIFA has done it.
This article was most recently revised and updated 18 seconds ago
