AFCON has the Best Ball | OneFootball

This nugget passed through our social feeds this morning:

Source: X

It had me do two things. 1. Remind my male colleagues to check their own equipment. 2. Give a huge thumbs up to Puma for designing what might be one of the best looking tournament match balls in a long while.

Check Your Balls

The first shout is a nod to Movember, which seeks to raise awareness of men’s health issues, particularly prostate cancer, suicide prevention and, yes, testicular cancer. So give ’em a squeeze, guys.

A Design Triumph

The second shout matters because the ball is simply gorgeous. This stunner of an orb integrates patterns from traditional zellij tiles, paying homage to Morocco’s alluring and centuries-old artistic expressions. Since the hip marketing ploy is to give all these balls names, this one is called ITRI. That’s the Berber word for star, which also makes a reference to the green star in the center of the Moroccan flag.

Other design elements carry symbolic meanings as well. Star patterns represent ambition and pursuit of greatness. The petal shapes symbolize growth and celebration of the festive AFCON spirit. Lastly, the sphere itself represents unity of all the nations who participate.

The other reason to call attention to this is because AFCON tends to get a bum rap (excuse me, the correct and accurate name of the tournament is TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations). Notwithstanding comments from certain on-air personalities earlier in 2025 which appeared to place AFCON on a level below that of “major tournaments,” here at Hooligan we do think it’s a big deal. And to be fair with a game ball as striking as this one, it’s another reason to turn in and watch.

AFCON

The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations will run from December 21, 2025 through January 18, 2026. It will feature 24 teams vying for the title and honor of being African champions.

To see this ball in action, sadly, you’ll have to do some work. In the United States the broadcast/streaming rights for AFCON are controlled by beIN SPORTS. There is no free-to-air option for ANY game, from group stage to the finals. You must have a subscription, either with beIN directly or with select third parties such as Fubo, SlingTV and Fanatiz. Hey, everyone has the right to make a buck, so surely some of the later stage games should be free, right? Just my opinion.

Cover photo courtesy of the official website of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations.