OPINION: “Egypt Are S**t” “Bloody AFCON!”: EPL Fixtures For 2025/26 Season Rekindle Racist Feelings Towards African Football Again

On Wednesday, June 18, the Premier League announced 380 fixtures for the upcoming football season, scheduled to begin in August 2025. However, reactions from fans revealed a disturbing resurgence of racism and disrespect towards AFCON and Africans as a whole.

We’ve been here before, haven’t we?

Season after season—sometimes for no logical reason whatsoever—fans, commentators, pundits, and even journalists find a way to disrepute and bring negative attention towards black players, particularly from Africa.

You can win a Scudetto for the first time (since Diego Maradona) and still get labelled a monkey by your club on TikTok.

You can secure the first trophy for a barren manager with a Europa League Final hat-trick, only to face harsh criticism from that same manager the following season for a penalty miss.

You can even win the league title, best player award, and best playmaker award in the same season, and still have your fans call your nation “s**t” — with prayers and supplications for colossal failure in the continental tournament dearest to your heart.

AS DEEP AS THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

Unfortunately, it appears there is no way forward or silver lining here.

There is no cure, no gesture that can erase the deeply ingrained prejudices that persist in the hearts and minds of many.

The social ill of racism is deeply entrenched, centuries old, and far gone in decadence, with a horrendous depth that would rival the Great Barrier Reef.

The Premier League can coerce players to kneel before games, sport black armbands, or walk past “No room for racism” banners before games.

Yet such gestures are powerless in the face of the racial bias that festers against Black players, evidenced by delightful comments such as these:

“Why can’t this tournament be played during the summer like the others? Honestly so disruptive” — @asterlsk

“Should retire from internationals now, Egypt are s**t” — @Obs6times

“Why I would never sign another African player. Even if they’re world class” — @SaintsNewsfeed

“Just remembered it’s bloody AFCON again next season!” — @HenryJackson87

“They need to nuke AFCON man, you’re telling me we have to face Arsenal and City without Salah ffs” — SELLNUN3Z

“Hopefully knocked out by the time we face Arsenal” — @JurGoat

“Our right side when Mbuemo, Maz Onana and Anad are at AfCon” — @UTDUgarte25

“What a joke he [Salah] needs to retire from international football, imagine losing him for all those to a pointless friendly level tournament” — @Spider_saucy

EPL IS NOTHING WITHOUT AFRICANS

For the record, no Premier League team has won the league without a key player of African descent for the past 10 years.

That’s the real joke here.

It has either been with a Yaya Touré, Victor Moses, Wilfred Ndidi, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mané, Mo Salah, Manuel Akanji, or an N’Golo Kanté.

The Africa Cup of Nations is a prestigious tournament that showcases the talents of African players and national teams, with a certain Gambian sensation lighting up Brighton & Hove Albion on several occasions last season.

Phrases like “bloody AFCON” reflect a disrespectful attitude towards this tournament and continually perpetuate negative stereotypes about Africans and African football in general.

If Premier League teams (and fans alike) can’t stand African players going to the AFCON, perhaps they should reconsider their transfer choices instead of slandering them year after year.

The racism may never stop, but so too will the dominance of Africans in European football, and in every other continent on the globe.

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Ivo Okeke

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