Femi Kuti To Perform At The Opening Ceremony Of The 2019 Africa Cup Of Nations

Football fans across Africa are counting down the days to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt. The tournament is scheduled to kick off on Friday, and it looks like it’ll do so with a bang, as Femi Kuti has been billed to perform in the opening ceremony.

(Photo: Knitting Records)

According to the 2019 AFCON official Twitter handle, the Nigerian afrobeat singer — Fela Kuti’s oldest son, who has four Grammy nominations to his name — will be performing the English version of the tournament’s official song.

Given that the continental showpiece also involves French-speaking and Arabic-speaking countries, Kuti will be joined by Ivorian singer, Dobet Gnahoré and Egyptian singer, Hakim, who will be performing the French and Arabic versions of the song.

You will agree that a lot of fans don’t know the official song in question. So, while we expect Kuti’s appearance to help boost Nigeria‘s morale, we’re also hoping that his performance will make the song grow on us as the tournament lasts into mid-July.

The AFCON Organizing Committee have chosen three international singers to perform the #AFCON2019 official song in the opening ceremony :

“Hakim” (Arabic)
“Femi Kuti”@Femiakuti (English)
“Dobet Gnahoré” (French)#TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/mkMUuZY4de

— TOTAL AFCON 2019 (@TotalAFCON2019) June 19, 2019