A prominent official at a top European club has now insisted that the Africa Cup of Nations and the UEFA European Championship cannot be compared.
With the 2023 AFCON and EURO 2024 taking place just six months apart, it is arguably natural that comparisons between the two tournaments have started to swirl.
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The most recent edition of Africa's grand showpiece lived up to its billing in January and February, receiving widespread plaudits from across the globe, with many on social media touting it as the best AFCON there has been in many years.
Meanwhile, EURO 2024 has many in Europe just as excited, with the competition having already produced some thrilling moments, including a shock defeat for the third-ranked FIFA nation Belgium at the hands of European minnows Slovakia.
Earlier this week, Olympique Marseille sports co-ordinator Basile Boli, who represented the Ivory Coast as a player, was asked if he could compare AFCON to the EUROs during an interview with Afrika Foot.
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He responded: "We experienced an exceptional Africa Cup of Nations. I was in Abidjan, but I can tell you that it was something else.
"The fever, the atmosphere, the life inside and outside the stadiums, the colours... The CAN remains a unique competition.
"It's a competition that can compete with others, especially since the level of play has really progressed.
"Personally, I was surprised, pleasantly surprised in fact!
"We cannot compare the two, football in Africa is more than football.
"... I had three teams, Senegal, Mali and my country Ivory Coast. I am Senegalese because of my wife who is Senegalese.
"The family was divided when the two teams met. And when Ivory Coast eliminated these two countries, I wanted them to go to the end. I was thrilled, I shed tears like a child in the arms of Sébastien Haller.
"Football is something else in Africa!"
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