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The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will be remembered for how it ended long ago.

At the conclusion of regulation time in the final, there were chaotic scenes as Senegal’s penalty was awarded, which caused a delay of over 16 minutes before Brahim Diaz’s Panenka attempt was saved.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has yet to release the sanctions, despite the fact that Atlas Lions manager Walid Regragui referred to the incident as “shameful.”

The tournament, however, had more going on.

What should not be detract from Senegal’s eventual victory in Rabat, which was largely well-organized and resulted in a record 121 goals scored.

Without a doubt, Morocco has built outstanding infrastructure, facilities, and stadiums, including the capital’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

The tournament’s staging was in part to get ready for Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

King Mohammed VI, who praised the country’s infrastructure as evidence of “resilience and a world-class level of readiness,” has benefited from significant investment over the past few years.

Even in the persistent rain, which has always been a challenge for Afcon hosts, the pitches held strong.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation’s Omar Khyari told BBC Sport Africa, “We are incredibly happy with our technology.”

“We’re very happy because it shows the world that Africa sometimes does it better than other nations,” the group said. Perhaps more importantly, Moroccan companies are the owners of all of this technology.

Although East African media representatives were appreciative of what they saw, it is unlikely that future co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda will be able to produce anything of the same caliber.

Hussein Mohammed, president of the Kenyan football federation, acknowledged Morocco’s “new standard” for hosting but that “key steps” are being taken to enhance existing infrastructure in advance of 2027.

Caf reports that Afcon’s revenue has increased by 90%, with ticket sales rising significantly from $11 million to $55 million at the Moroccoian edition in 2023.

Additionally, it has raised the number of major sponsors from 23 to 23, and improved social media coverage has raised the profile of the finals.

Caf anticipated a net profit of more than $114 million from the finals in comparison to a loss of $ 75 million in the previous year.

People will wonder why Caf decided to switch to quadrennial hosting from 2028 instead of having a biennial one because it is going to host its third Women’s Nations Cup in a row despite these figures and an increased profile.

One of the women’s team stars of Nigeria, Asisat Oshoala, recently criticized Morocco as the “new headquarters” of African football, calling it “getting boring” to travel there so frequently.

On the flip side, officiating standards were frequently raised in doubt.

Before the semi-final against Nigeria, Morocco manager Regragui went as far as to criticize conspiracy theorists who claimed referees had been favoring the hosts.

He claimed that, “I watch a lot of matches, and the debates are the same everywhere, whether in Africa or Europe.”

A significant example of this is the final, which Jean-Jacques Ndala successfully won up until the final whistle and when everything just fell apart.

Senegal’s second of what was scheduled to be eight more minutes, which was followed by the Congolese’s decision to throw the ball into the Morocco net six minutes later, contributed to a sense of injustice.

Following a nearly faultless application at the 2023 edition, the use of video assistant referee reviews has definitely taken a backseat.

After Morocco’s contentious penalty award, Teranga Lions fans clashed with security inside the stadium, which caused unpleasant scenes inside.

Other instances of fans squatting in crushes or penned into tight spaces were reported to BBC Sport Africa.

As evidenced by incidents at the Euro 2020 and 2022 Uefa Champions League finals, crowd control is a serious issue in African football as well.

The FSF also complained about the lack of 4, 000 tickets for the final, which took place in a 69, 500-capacity stadium before the game.

It will also be interesting to see if Caf exhibits any of the gamesmanship displayed on Sunday, when Moroccan ballboys attempted to remove the towel from one of Senegal’s goalkeepers behind the goal.

After eliminating all yellow cards after the group stage, Caf must undoubtedly consider changing its rules for bookings in knockout games.

In the semi-finals, 20 players were aware that a second caution after three matches would send them out of the final.

If their sides had advanced, Hossam Abdelmaguid and fellow Senegalese captain Kalidou Koulibaly and midfielder Habib Diarra would have suffered the same fate as they would have experienced with Calvin Bassey and Hossam Abdelmaguid, respectively.

While discipline is crucial, the best XIs can be seen playing in the biggest games, according to coaches, players, supporters, and the media.

In addition, three times in a row were required to draw lots to separate sides with identical records in the group stage.

Guinea and Mali were the only other countries to finish in third place at an Afcon in 2015, when they advanced ahead of them. At some point, it would have been necessary to decide which team would finish as the final of four third-place finishers.

Andy Farrell has named his 37-man Six Nations squad, and it has sparked a lot of discussion.

Ireland’s squad has a fresh perspective, from the front row to the first call-ups for Edwin Edogbo and Nathan Doak.

Ireland will be putting pressure on favorites France and England after winning the Triple Crown last year but falling short in their bid for three consecutive titles.

Only three players were chosen for the 2025 Six Nations squad, which showed that Ulster’s form had deteriorated this year.

However, Richie Murphy’s young squad, who are currently third in the United Rugby Championship after topping their Challenge Cup pool, has had a revitalizing season.

In keeping with this, Farrell has chosen seven players to play for the upcoming Six Nations.

Stuart McCloskey, Robert Baloucoune, and Jacob Stockdale are just three of the squad’s uncapped players, with Doak one of them.

Tom Stewart, Tom O’Toole, and Nick Timoney have been given a reward for their performance in the forward pack.

However, Bryn Ward will join the squad in Portugal before the tournament in order to replace in-form wing Zac Ward, Cormac Izuchukwu, or stalwart Iain Henderson.

Former Ireland flanker Ferris remarked, “Over the past couple of seasons, Ulster players have had a pretty barren spell.”

“But Richie Murphy has gotten a lot out of his players, and their performance has been incredible over the past three or four months, and they have been back on top.”

The 25-year-old will likely play second-choice scrum-half behind Jamison Gibson-Park and Craig Casey, but he will have a chance to do well in the senior Ireland set-up.

Doak, who has 1, 840m of kick meters in the United Rugby Championship this year, and who has the third-highest URC points scorer, has a “huge opportunity,” according to Ferris, who believes it will be great.

Doak selected Leinster’s Luke McGrath and Connacht duo Caolin Blade and Ben Murphy.

He’s been fantastic this season, I believe. He had his critics last season, and last year, he almost became a villain for the fans because of how much John Cooney [who has since moved to Brive in France] enjoyed success, Fraters claimed.

“Neighboring Nathan Doak has shown a lot of people wrong, hasn’t he?”

Due to injury, Farrell will miss the likes of Andrew Porter, Mack Hansen, Ryan Baird, Robbie Henshaw, and Paddy McCarthy.

Hugo Keenan, Ciaran Frawley, Jamie Osborne, Tadhg Furlong, and Finlay Bealham are just a few players who have been injured and will not be playing in the match.

As Ireland’s strength and depth are put to the test, Michael Milne, Jack Boyle, and Jeremy Loughman have all had opportunities, particularly at prop.

“We’ll soon find out over the next few weeks whether these guys are up for the challenge.” According to Ferris, I believe Andy Farrell wants to learn more about that.

He is aware that he can rely on the well-known faces who have helped Irish rugby reach a certain point, but 33 good players are required to win the Rugby World Cup.

Henderson is a notable omission, but the Six Nations squad last year’s other notable names were missing.

Important players like Porter, Henshaw, and Baird have been injured, and Conor Murray, Cian Healy, and Cian Healy all have retired.

Under interim head coach Simon Easterby, the last year’s squad had 44.1 caps on average.

With Farrell returning from his time with the British and Irish Lions, that figure has dropped to 28.4 this year.

Ferris added that Henderson could have a place in the wider squad if he had the experience to play in the group that was “young blood snapping at the heels” of the Ulster second row.

Edogbo from Munster will give the forward pack an exciting presence, and Cian Prendergast and Tom Ahern are other intriguing options.

Is this the guard changing, or something else? Does Andy Farrell want to recruit some of the more recent men? “Ferris said,”

They might be some of the World Cup’s players he wants to call upon.

Farrell claimed that Ireland is aware of their “ready-to-hit-the-ground” on February 5 in Paris.

In 2025, Ireland clinched the Triple Crown, falling behind compatriots France and England in third place.

Farrell’s men face Italy and travel to England before staging their title defense in Paris on February 5.

They wrap up their campaign in Scotland and Wales.

Ferris doesn’t think the current Ireland squad will win the title because so many well-known faces have already been ruled out, but he hopes it will help the squad stay there in the future.

You almost need your entire deck to choose from if you travel to France and England, he said.

We’ll wait and see if they cause an upset, whether it’s in the first game or the one against England.

They will need to “dig deep.” Can they contend for Six Nations glory? Who cares if they defeat France or England in the Six Nations title this year if you can reach the semi-finals of a rugby world cup?

Andy Farrell has named his 37-man Six Nations squad, and it has sparked a lot of discussion.

Ireland’s squad has a fresh perspective, from the front row to the first call-ups for Edwin Edogbo and Nathan Doak.

Ireland will be putting pressure on favorites France and England after winning the Triple Crown last year but falling short in their bid for three consecutive titles.

Only three players were chosen for the 2025 Six Nations squad, which showed that Ulster’s form had deteriorated this year.

However, Richie Murphy’s young squad, who are currently third in the United Rugby Championship after topping their Challenge Cup pool, has had a revitalizing season.

In keeping with this, Farrell has chosen seven players to play for the upcoming Six Nations.

Stuart McCloskey, Robert Baloucoune, and Jacob Stockdale are just three of the squad’s uncapped players, with Doak one of them.

Tom Stewart, Tom O’Toole, and Nick Timoney have been given a reward for their performance in the forward pack.

However, Bryn Ward will join the squad in Portugal before the tournament in order to replace in-form wing Zac Ward, Cormac Izuchukwu, or stalwart Iain Henderson.

Former Ireland flanker Ferris remarked, “Over the past couple of seasons, Ulster players have had a pretty barren spell.”

“But Richie Murphy has gotten a lot out of his players, and their performance has been incredible over the past three or four months, and they have been back on top.”

The 25-year-old will likely play second-choice scrum-half behind Jamison Gibson-Park and Craig Casey, but he will have a chance to do well in the senior Ireland set-up.

Doak, who has 1, 840m of kick meters in the United Rugby Championship this year, and who has the third-highest URC points scorer, has a “huge opportunity,” according to Ferris, who believes it will be great.

Doak selected Leinster’s Luke McGrath and Connacht duo Caolin Blade and Ben Murphy.

He’s been fantastic this season, I believe. He had his critics last season, and last year, he almost became a villain for the fans because of how much John Cooney [who has since moved to Brive in France] enjoyed success, Fraters claimed.

“Neighboring Nathan Doak has shown a lot of people wrong, hasn’t he?”

Due to injury, Farrell will miss the likes of Andrew Porter, Mack Hansen, Ryan Baird, Robbie Henshaw, and Paddy McCarthy.

Hugo Keenan, Ciaran Frawley, Jamie Osborne, Tadhg Furlong, and Finlay Bealham are just a few players who have been injured and will not be playing in the match.

As Ireland’s strength and depth are put to the test, Michael Milne, Jack Boyle, and Jeremy Loughman have all had opportunities, particularly at prop.

“We’ll soon find out over the next few weeks whether these guys are up for the challenge.” According to Ferris, I believe Andy Farrell wants to learn more about that.

He is aware that he can rely on the well-known faces who have helped Irish rugby reach a certain point, but 33 good players are required to win the Rugby World Cup.

Henderson is a notable omission, but the Six Nations squad last year’s other notable names were missing.

Important players like Porter, Henshaw, and Baird have been injured, and Conor Murray, Cian Healy, and Cian Healy all have retired.

Under interim head coach Simon Easterby, the last year’s squad had 44.1 caps on average.

With Farrell returning from his time with the British and Irish Lions, that figure has dropped to 28.4 this year.

Ferris added that Henderson could have a place in the wider squad if he had the experience to play in the group that was “young blood snapping at the heels” of the Ulster second row.

Edogbo from Munster will give the forward pack an exciting presence, and Cian Prendergast and Tom Ahern are other intriguing options.

Is this the guard changing, or something else? Does Andy Farrell want to recruit some of the more recent men? “Ferris said,”

They might be some of the World Cup’s players he wants to call upon.

Farrell claimed that Ireland is aware of their “ready-to-hit-the-ground” on February 5 in Paris.

In 2025, Ireland clinched the Triple Crown, falling behind compatriots France and England in third place.

Farrell’s men face Italy and travel to England before staging their title defense in Paris on February 5.

They wrap up their campaign in Scotland and Wales.

Ferris doesn’t think the current Ireland squad will win the title because so many well-known faces have already been ruled out, but he hopes it will help the squad stay there in the future.

You almost need your entire deck to choose from if you travel to France and England, he said.

We’ll wait and see if they cause an upset, whether it’s in the first game or the one against England.