Shabani Nonda impressed with TotalEnergies CAF AFCON success 

• He attended all of DR Congo group matches.
•  He participated in the 2002 TotalEnergies CAF AFCON in Mali
• Nonda is one of the CAF Legends selected to promote the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Côte d'lvoire 2023

Former Congolese international, Shabani Christophe Nonda experienced the first round of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d'Ivoire 2023 by watching his country, DR Congo play. 

The former top scorer sat down with CafOnline to discuss the tournament, the first round and his aspirations for the future. 

What is your assessment of the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Côte d'lvoire 2023 so far?

This TotalEnergies CAF AFCON is a great success. A competition at the crossroads between the old format of 16 teams and that of the last two editions of 24 nations. The level is very high and the organization is perfect. 

At the local level, the Ivorian government has surpassed itself and CAF has put in significant resources. 

Visually, we see that CAF has reached a milestone. It’s good for football, for Africa and for the image of the continent. 

At the sporting level, the level is very high with many surprises. Big favorites have fallen like Tunisia, Algeria to name a few, even the organizing country which fled at the last minute. We have seen Angola, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea producing beautiful football. It's good for the show.

How do you rate the Leopards of the D.R. Congo? 

We got off to a bad start in the playoffs where we lost our first two games. Nobody gave us much of a chance to qualify. The boys finally did it. 

There was also a change in the coaching department with Sébastien Desabre who arrived. In a short time, he changed the dynamic with motivated players. 

Today, if we look at the level of games played, the team is much better. There is consistency and a style of play. We see that the boys are happy to be on the pitch and there is positive competition. It’s true that we didn’t score many goals. But we had a good first round. We'll see what happens on Sunday against Egypt. 

And as this TotalEnergies CAF AFCON is a competition of great surprises, anything is possible. 

Which players have impressed you so far?

Many players have been impressive, but I will stick to the collectives that impressed me, such as Cape Verde in particular. There is Senegal which remains very impressive on a collective level. There is also Equatorial Guinea, Angola, DR Congo. Even among eliminated teams like Zambia with players who were really sparkling. The level of football has been raised. 

The tournament is in the round of 16 stage, who do you think will win the trophy? 

As a former professional player, I've been around the industry quite a bit. 

In football, you cannot predict in advance. We have already seen a lot of surprises. All the nations have prepared well with good level players. We also see little difference between the levels of the players. 

It is difficult to feel any differences on the field, that means that there has been a lot of improvement and that is positive. We must congratulate CAF for that too with all the initiatives undertaken in recent years. The development projects that are multiplying on the continent also help.

It is very difficult to predict today who will win this trophy. Everything remains open. With my experience as a former player, I would not advise anyone to bet. Even if we have Senegal, Morocco. 

Even with Ivory Coast, it will not be easy for Senegal to get rid of them like that. Everyone is capable of winning. Let the terrain decide. 

Your best memory of TotalEnergies CAF AFCON

It’s this festive side. When you are there, we feel like it’s a party. You are happy to see your friends again. You feel the nation behind you. But by being professional, you know how to handle pressure. For me, these were unforgettable moments in my career. 

I haven't done many TotalEnergies CAF AFCONs in my career because each time, I got injured before the competitions. But I remember TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2002 in Mali. It was very festive, good times spent with teammates.