The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is facing intense criticism from Nigerian football fans following the release of its official AFCON 2025 Best XI, which controversially excluded Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi.
The selection, unveiled on CAF’s official X (formerly Twitter) account @CAF_Online, was intended to celebrate the tournament’s top performers from the Africa Cup of Nations hosted in Morocco.
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Instead, it ignited a wave of backlash, with many Nigerians questioning the criteria behind the final lineup.
Presented in a polished graphic sponsored by Midea and tagged #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 the Best XI appeared to line up in a flexible 3-4-3 formation featuring players from Senegal, Morocco, and Nigeria: Yassine Bono (Morocco), Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Moussa Niakhaté (Senegal), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco), Idrissa Gueye (Senegal), Ademola Lookman (Nigeria), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco), Pape Gueye (Senegal), Sadio Mané (Senegal), Victor Osimhen (Nigeria), and Brahim Díaz (Morocco)
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CAF described the team as representing “Excellence, position by position,” with Senegal and Morocco each contributing four players, while Nigeria had three inclusions.
Why Alex Iwobi’s Absence Sparked Outrage
Despite Nigeria’s strong presence in the Best XI, fans were quick to point out the glaring omission of Alex Iwobi, who was widely regarded as one of the tournament’s most influential midfielders.
Social Media Reacts
The comments section under CAF’s post quickly turned into a digital protest.
@osazenoo, a Nigerian brand strategist, wrote: “Iwobi was the best midfielder at AFCON.”
@GiiftyOfMadriid, a YouTuber and Real Madrid fan, added: “Iwobi had over 10 pre-assists in this AFCON, he deserves the spot over I. Gueye.”
@Mayor_ofph questioned the logic behind the selection, posting: “How did Iwobi not make the list? He had the most line-breaking passes in the competition,” alongside a graphic highlighting Iwobi’s statistics.
While Iwobi’s omission dominated the conversation, fans also scrutinized other inclusions, particularly Achraf Hakimi.
@Legend_ElBashir sarcastically commented: “Hakimi is here because he stole towels.”
