Ivorian Football: Les Éléphants and Hosting and Winning the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations

In Côte d'Ivoire (in West Africa, French-speaking, the world's largest cocoa producer), football is the topic that best brings together people of every age, region and background. The national team is known as "the Elephants" (Les Éléphants), and on match days the rhythm of entire cities changes. Knowing the big football stories of recent years is one of the most natural ways to break the ice with local colleagues and clients.

Why the "2023" tournament took place in 2024

Côte d'Ivoire won the right to host the 34th Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2023), originally scheduled for June to July 2023. That period, however, falls in the local rainy season, so in July 2022 the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced a postponement to 13 January–11 February 2024 to avoid the rains.

Six stadiums in five cities were used for the tournament:

From the brink of elimination to the title

The hosts' run was highly dramatic. In the group stage they first lost 0–1 to Nigeria, then were thrashed 0–4 by Equatorial Guinea in their final match. Head coach Jean-Louis Gasset was promptly dismissed, and his assistant, former international Emerse Faé, took charge on his 40th birthday. The team scraped into the knockout rounds and went on to win tie after tie, beating DR Congo 1–0 in the semi-final thanks to a goal from Sébastien Haller.

The final, on 11 February 2024 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpé, Abidjan, was once again against Nigeria. Nigeria took the lead in the 38th minute, Franck Kessié headed the equaliser in the 62nd, and Haller scored the winner in the 81st. Haller had finished cancer treatment little more than a year earlier and was returning from an ankle injury, and his story gave the title an extra layer of meaning.

This was Côte d'Ivoire's third Africa Cup of Nations, after 1992 and 2015, both of which were decided by penalty shoot-outs. Thirty-six-year-old veteran Max Gradel was one of the few players who had also been part of the 2015 triumph.

The city on match day

On the day of the final, traffic was jammed around the stadium well before kick-off; some fans simply got out of their cars and walked in, while vendors along the way sold water, flags and shirts. In the stands, home supporters wore the national team's orange, and Kessié made a point of saluting them after his goal. Outside, streets in areas such as Adjamé filled with tables, chairs and televisions, turning into open-air viewing zones, while fan zones across the city broadcast the match live, and the celebrations went on late into the night. For many Ivorians, this was not just a trophy but a shared memory of hosting the tournament at home and winning it at home.

The 2026 World Cup: another record

After their African title, the Elephants under Faé qualified for the 2026 World Cup, the fourth time the team has reached the finals. On their three previous appearances, in 2006, 2010 and 2014, they never made it out of the group stage. On 25 June 2026, Côte d'Ivoire beat Curaçao 2–0 in Philadelphia, USA, and finished second in their group to reach the World Cup knockout stage for the first time.

One line for Asian readers

When chatting with Ivorian friends, asking "Do you remember where you watched the 2024 final?" often builds rapport faster than any business topic; and before scheduling a meeting on the day of a big match, check the fixture list first.

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References: Olympics.com – AFCON 2023 Final (2024); Africanews – Ivory Coast rallies to beat Nigeria (2024); TelQuel – CAN 2023 : les raisons d'un report (2022); Burkina24 – La CAN 2023 se tiendra du 13 janvier au 11 février 2024; Afrik-Foot – Les 6 stades de la CAN 2023; Soccerway – La Côte d'Ivoire qualifiée pour le Mondial (2025); AllAfrica – Mondial 2026 : qualification historique (2026)