AFCON 2019 gets Africa talking on social media

Image source: Gallo/Getty.

Last week marked the end of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), a spectacular tournament that had people glued to their screens for the month of its duration. Africa moved to the rhythm of AFCON 2019, with more than 10 million people choosing Facebook to share their passion and excitement.
Based on data measured between June 21st when AFCON started and July 16th:

• People on Facebook generated more than 30 million AFCON-related interactions (likes, comments, reactions etc.).
• The day that got most people engaged on Facebook was July 14, the day of the semi-finals.
• Riyad Mahrez from Algeria was the most talked about player, followed by Mohamed Salah from Egypt.
• The most discussed national teams were, in order: Nigeria, Senegal, Algeria, South Africa and Tunisia.
• The countries that discussed AFCON the most were Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Algeria and Senegal.
• Egypt, the country who hosted the championship, was the 6th most engaged in the conversation.

Facebook measured Facebook conversation including posts, comments, shares, likes and reactions related to the tournament. All data was aggregated and de-personalised. Conversations were identified based on keywords and combinations of keywords that were associated with discussions around AFCON 2019.