Benin are aiming to impress at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco as the squad prepare for their fifth appearance at the continent’s biggest football tournament.
The Cheetahs made their finals debut in 2004 but recent years have been challenging, with the team missing out on qualification for both the 2021 and 2023 editions.
After coming close to reaching the Fifa World Cup for the very first time, assistant coach and head scout Tunde Adelakun hopes to draw inspiration from their best-ever Afcon performance in 2019, when Benin reached the quarter-finals.
“I want my team to play good football, and let the clubs know that it was worth it to release [the players] at a very difficult time of the season,” Adelakun told BBC Sport Africa.
“I’d love to win the tournament. The journey will be tough [but] what I’ve got at the moment is seven Afcon finals to navigate.”
Head coach Gernot Rohr has named a squad largely made up of players who impressed during qualifying for 2026 World Cup, with captain Steve Mounie leading the team.
That campaign saw Benin come agonisingly close to securing a historic first-ever spot at the World Cup, only to suffer late heartbreak on the final matchday against Nigeria, ultimately losing out to group winners South Africa.
The West Africans now arrive in Morocco, where they will face Senegal, DR Congo and Botswana in Group D, eager to turn disappointment into a memorable Afcon outing.
“Losing out [on] qualification for the World Cup was a bitter pill we found really hard to swallow,” Adelakun said.
“We’ve put it behind us, there’s no regrets [and] we’re proud of what we did. It’s time to get onto the African stage and prove to the world what we are made of.”
