Africa Cup of Nations

Home » Ghana Soccer Net » Fri 16th Jan, 2026 » AFCON 2025: Arsene Wenger visits Technical Study Group, praises tournament intensity and rise of African coaches

AFCON 2025: Arsene Wenger visits Technical Study Group, praises tournament intensity and rise of African coaches

Ghana Soccer Net

Fri 16th Jan, 2026 14:50

FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger, has paid a working visit to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 Technical Study Group (TSG), where he lauded the tournament’s high intensity, competitiveness and the growing quality of African coaching at the elite level.

The former Arsenal manager was warmly welcomed by members of the Technical Study Group before joining a technical workshop focused on performance analysis and key trends emerging from the ongoing competition.

Wenger described AFCON 2025 as a clear reflection of the demands of modern football, noting that the tournament has been played at an exceptionally high physical and mental level.

“Overall, the competition has been very intense,” Wenger said. “The mental attitude of the teams has been very strong, and the physical level is absolutely unbelievable.”

He highlighted the fine margins separating teams at the tournament, making outcomes increasingly difficult to predict.

“When you watch the games, it’s very hard to know who will win because the levels are very close,” he added.

According to Wenger, that competitiveness is a sign of growing tactical maturity across the continent, with the teams that reached the final distinguished by their technical quality and experience.

One of the standout positives for the FIFA development chief was the standard of coaching on display, particularly the impact of African coaches leading their national teams.

“I was impressed by the level of the coaches,” Wenger noted. “It’s very positive to see African coaches leading African teams. It shows there is no gap anymore, and that information in modern football travels very quickly.”

Wenger also stressed the importance of the Technical Study Group’s work, explaining that their analysis plays a vital role in identifying tactical trends, anticipating the future direction of the game and shaping player development strategies.

“The TSG has the responsibility to analyse trends and guide where we can develop players,” he said. “I was impressed by the quality of their work and the passion they put into the analysis.”

The visit ended with Wenger posing for photographs with members of the AFCON 2025 Technical Study Group, a moment that underlined FIFA’s endorsement of CAF’s growing technical and analytical capacity.

Some photos below: