Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has been criticized for his comments that the African Cup of Nations is not a major tournament.
While analyzing Mohammed Salah’s chances of winning this year’s Ballon d’Or, Carragher says the Liverpool forward is at a disadvantage given that he is with Egypt and won’t play in any major tournament this year.
African players, past and present, including other football pundits like John Bennet and Rio Ferdinand, have criticized Carragher over his controversial take on the tournament.
Former Super Eagles captain and AFCON 1994 winner Jay Jay Okocha is the latest to blast the former Liverpool defender. The former Bolton Wanderers captain didn’t hold back, as he says no parent would want their kids to play like Jamie Carragher.
There are some players who, when they talk, you just overlook it. If you look at their careers and the type of football they played, you can understand. I mean, you won’t want your son to be like Jamie Carragher. So he can never appreciate African football or the talents that come from it.
Jay Jay Okocha made these comments at a football gathering with fans and journalists in the United Kingdom.
Other players who have knocked Jamie Carragher over his take on AFCON include former captain of the Pharaohs of Egypt and four-time Africa Cup of Nations winner Ahmed Hassan, former Super Eagles midfielder Mikel Obi John, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, former Senegalese striker El-Haji Diouf, and Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, among others.
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will be held from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026 in Morocco.
