AFCON 2025 nicknames explained, from « Pharaons » and « Super Eagles » to « Fennecs » | OneFootball

The Africa Cup of Nations runs in Morocco from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026, with kick-off on Sunday at 20:00. According to L'Équipe, every team arrives with a nickname rooted in animals, national symbols or history.

Hosts Morocco field the 'Lions de l'Atlas', already on the national coat of arms. The title honours a lion that once roamed the Atlas, now extinct in the wild.

Cameroon are the 'Lions Indomptables', embodying strength and resolve. Senegal, long the 'Lions', added 'de la Téranga', meaning hospitality in Wolof, to define their identity.

Defending champions Côte d'Ivoire go by the 'Éléphants', a name rooted in the country’s historic ivory trade.

Mali are 'Les Aigles' and Tunisia the 'Les Aigles de Carthage'. Nigeria are the 'Super Eagles'. The eagle sits on the national coat of arms and 'Super' replaced 'Vert' to project power, alongside Victor Osimhen.

DR Congo are the 'Léopards', a sign of vigilance and a former emblem of authority. Benin switched from 'Écureuils' to 'Guépards' in the early 2020s, judged the former too timid.

Gabon rely on 'Les Panthères' of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Algeria on 'Les Fennecs'. Angola line up as 'Os Palancas Negras', the nation’s emblematic black antelope.

Botswana’s 'Zèbres', taken from the coat of arms and chosen for tribal neutrality, join Burkina Faso’s 'Étalons', a homage to a Mossi legend. Mozambique are 'Les Mambas', named after a highly venomous snake.

Beyond fauna, Egypt wear 'Les Pharaons', a direct reference to Antiquity. South Africa adopted 'Bafana Bafana' in the 1990s and Zambia celebrate 'Les Chipolopolos', the copper bullets. Tanzania’s 'Taifa Stars', Zimbabwe’s 'Warriors' and Equatorial Guinea’s 'Nzalang Nacional' round off the list.

Source: L'Équipe