The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021, has set new records on CAF digital and social media pages, including its partner platform, TikTok, placing the tournament amongst the leading content on social media globally.

With one billion views on TikTok, 900 million impressions across all channels and 2.8 million hours of watch time on YouTube channels on the day of the final, the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon has become one of the best performing products globally.

CAF General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba, expressed joy at the media engagement in the just-ended tournament which he attributed to a number of CAF partnerships to drive its fan engagement.

“These are amazing numbers, simply reaffirming our belief that the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations is a powerful tool and a platform that has been under leveraged in the past. We are creating a product that will be amongst the best globally and this is not just talk now – but the results are there for everyone to see.

“We have leveraged a number of partnerships, including our new sponsors TikTok, to grow and drive our fan engagement. We would like to thank the fans and supporters of African football without whom this story is not possible. The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations is the best platform in Africa to communicate to the fans. We are a strong commercial vehicle and a leading content generator in our continent.”
Veron Mosengo-Omba

Social media statistics

A breakdown of the performance of CAF’s media platforms showed that there are currently over 16 million followers on AFCON social media channels. According to CAF, #AFCON2021 on TikTok curated more than 1 billion video views from user-generated content beside those created by the football governing body itself.

With 900 million impressions across all channels, the recent social media analyses after the Africa Cup Nations indicated that there were more than 22 million profile visits on Twitter only.

The YouTube channel also hit the 1 million subscriber milestone, adding more than 350,000 new subscribers and 2.8 million hours of watch time before the tournament’s grand finale.

Millions interacted with AFCON social media channels from different regions across the world; more than 28 million interactions happened on different types of content, CAF disclosed.

CAF highlighted that it reached more than 50 million fans on Facebook in 35 days but Facebook only had more than 400,000 comments before the final match of the tournament.

“The numbers above are a clearly indicative that fans loved the video content we produced and have watched our videos more than 300 million times, with TikTok at first place with more than 179 million vide views”.
CAF

Winners received heroic welcome

The massive engagement on CAF’s social media platforms was a demonstration of how trilling the 33^rd edition of the Africa Cup Nations was in Cameroon. After a month of sensational display of football in Cameroon, Senegal beat Egypt 4- 2 on penalties to become Africa’s football champions for the first time.

The Senegal team received a heroic welcome whilst the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, awarded cash prizes and plots of land to members of the national team.

Speaking at a ceremony in Dakar on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, President Macky Sall reaffirmed the pride the team has brought to the country.

“We dreamed of the cup, you built this dream and you made it come true. Finally, the Africa Cup of Nations is here with us. You have made us proud by making the name of Senegal resound all around the world. You have honored the nation, and in return, the nation you are so proud of owes you honors”.
President Macky Sall

During the ceremony, the Senegalese president appointed team members to the country’s prestigious Order of the Lion. It is worth noting that Senegal has narrowly lost twice in the AFCON final, in 2019 and 2002.