At the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Algeria Plays a Different Game

Edited By: Africa Eye

Football has long been more than a game. It is a global stage — a place where nations find pride, where underdogs write legends, and where, at its best, the field unites rather than divides. But when national politics cross the touchline and begin dictating what happens between goalposts, the very spirit of sport is at risk.

That spirit is under strain at the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by Morocco. Instead of celebrating the rise of women’s football on the continent, one team has introduced a political agenda into the heart of the tournament. The Algerian Football Federation (FAF) has launched a series of calculated provocations that threaten the fragile unity football seeks to uphold.

Symbolic Acts, Political Intent

The events speak for themselves. Algeria’s national team refused to appear in the official pre-match photo alongside the Moroccan squad. Shortly after, the FAF circulated official graphics in which the tournament’s logo was altered — the host country’s name quietly removed.

On paper, these are symbolic acts. In context, they are unmistakably political: a subtle but deliberate attempt to question Morocco’s legitimacy as host, and by extension, to reignite a broader diplomatic rivalry. This is not about football — it’s about erasure. And it crosses a line.

When the Field Becomes a Front Line

Every nation carries its history, its borders, and its disputes. But sport exists, in part, to transcend them. It offers a rare moment of shared rules, shared space — however temporary.

By importing its geopolitical conflict into the tournament, Algeria has transformed a field of play into a proxy battlefield. It has traded team spirit for diplomatic posturing, undermining not only the host nation, but the entire African footballing project.“If sport becomes just another weapon, it loses its ability to heal,” one former African Union envoy told me. “It stops being a bridge — and becomes another wall.”

Caught in the Crossfire: The Players

The ones who suffer most are not politicians. They are not federation officials or government spokespeople. They are the players — the women who trained, sacrificed, and endured to earn their place on a continental stage.

Now, instead of their skill or determination, the headlines are about political gestures.

“We didn’t come here for this,” one West African player told reporters. “We came to play — not to carry a conflict we had no part in.”

Where Is the CAF?

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) was built to uphold the integrity of African sport. It sets the rules, governs the competition, and ensures the game is played fairly — both on and off the pitch.

So far, it has remained silent. But that silence risks becoming complicity. If a national federation can defy the tournament’s basic protocols — from branding to protocol — without consequence, what message does that send to other nations, other players, future tournaments?

More Than a Host, More Than a Logo

This tournament was meant to showcase the best of African women’s football — the talent, the energy, the unity. Instead, it has revealed the vulnerabilities that surface when one actor chooses not to play by the rules.

This isn’t just a dispute between Algeria and Morocco. It is a test of whether African football can hold the line — against political interference, against institutional erosion, against the creeping normalization of disruption.

This Is Not a Call for Escalation. It’s a Call for Standards.

If the CAF allows this moment to pass without action, it sets a dangerous precedent. Today, it’s an edited logo and a boycotted photo. Tomorrow? A skipped anthem? A refused match? A final abandoned for political reasons?

Sport deserves better. Africa deserves better. And the women who fought to earn this spotlight? They deserve a tournament unclouded by someone else’s war