Afcon 2021: Toghu unveiled as official match ball

The Confederation of African Football has unveiled Toghu as the official match ball for next year's Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Named ‘Toghu’ after the traditional outfit that is very popular in Cameroon, the ball was designed by English sports manufacturing outfit Umbro.

The ball features simple technological features including a smart panel configuration and it’s Fifa-approved to be used at the highest levels of the game.

In 2019, Umbro had replaced Mitre as the official match ball supplier for Afcon.

“As part of the countdown to Africa’s biggest sporting event, Caf today (Monday) announced the launch of the official match ball for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations,” a statement from the continental football body read.

“The new official match ball, named “Toghu” after the traditional outfit that is very popular in Cameroon, will be used by the 24 teams during the 52 matches to be played at the competition between 9 January 2022 and 6 February 2022.

“Toghu is a multi-coloured and finely embroidered outfit. A ‘Toghu’ was initially designed for Royalty in the North West region of Cameroon but has since been adopted by Cameroonians as an outfit for special occasions.”

The biennial tournament was due to begin in Cameroon on January 9, 2021, but was pushed back to January 2022 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic across the continent.

Cameroon and Burkina Faso will slug it out in the opening ceremony on January 9 at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.

Algeria are the reigning African champions, having defeated Senegal 1-0 in the 2019 final in Cairo.

Egypt are the most successful country in the tournament having emerged as champions for a record seven times.

For Nigeria, they have lifted the diadem on three occasions with their last triumph at the 2013 Afcon staged in South Africa.

The Africa Cup of Nations was long-held during January and February, but moved to a June-July schedule ahead of the 2019 event, with former Caf president Ahmad Ahmad keen to avoid the club-vs-country disputes that often overshadowed a tournament being played during the European winter.

However, the dates were brought forward to January due to the challenging climate in Cameroon during the summer months.