After losing in the semifinals against eventual tournament champions Senegal, Burkina Faso's head coach Kamou Malo paid respect to Senegal rival Aliou Cisse, claiming that Cisse was "fighting a fight I have an affinity for" as one of the tiny handful of African managers. "African leaders must trust local coaches," Malo continued.
Local coaches appear to have broken through to a level formerly reserved for European coaches, with 15 of the 24 head coaches at this AFCON being native to the country they were heading. Cisse's success after five years in command demonstrates the importance of consistency and faith in coaching.
But do the success experiences of countries such as Burkina Faso and Gambia indicate that the coaching pipeline in Africa has actually opened up?
While it is tough to state conclusively for such a huge and diverse continent, there are hints from many nations that, while Cisse's presence and success in Senegal is admirable, there is a significant gap between him and those seeking to follow in his footsteps.
Anthony Kimani is a former Kenya international who is now an assistant coach with Bandari in the Kenyan Premier League in Mombasa. Kimani received his first coaching certificate in 2015, after an injury caused him to retire from football. In Kenya, the next coaching course accessible to him was two years later. He will receive his Confederation of African Football (or CAF) B license in 2021. Surprisingly, it was the first CAF B license course offered in Kenya in ten years.
"As an upcoming coach I have encountered a few stumbling blocks along the way, but the major one is that the number of coaching courses are few and far between," Kimani told DW.
"I feel this is an issue CAF should look closely at and with member associations so that all coaches around Africa can get a fair playing ground and be able to help coaches develop and progress."
Furthermore, Kimani nearly missed out on completing his B license due to a shortage of courses as well as administrative issues. Not only that, but he and the other 24 coaches on the course had to wait three to four years for validation of their previous coaching qualification, which kept them from proceeding to the next step.
What makes Kimani's situation even more aggravating is that he found these courses to be difficult and professional, which is not typically the case with coaching courses in Africa. This has frequently made it difficult to build nation-specific identities.
The Confederation for African Football requires coaches in Africa to have coaching certifications ranging from the D license, which is primarily geared at U12 coaching, all the way up to the A license.
A coach with a CAF B license used to be able to enroll in UEFA A courses, however this appears to be no longer the case. CAF and UEFA were both contacted to provide clarification on this topic, but neither responded to DW's inquiries.
Even if coaches obtain their certificates, chances will remain few.
"The two biggest teams in Kenya don't seem to be giving local coaches a chance to develop their philosophies. All coaches deserve equal opportunities. If you're giving coach A two years, it's only fair to give coach B the same,” said Kimani.
Mas-Ud Didi Dramani believes that preparation is important.
"When we are aligned, communication aligned, player's mindset, values are worked on. This is key to the direction of African football," Dramani told DW.
Dramani works as a technical director for the Right to Dream academy. Since retiring from playing in 2000, the 55-year-old Ghanian has witnessed the growth of coaching in Ghana and beyond Africa. He then became an assistant coach for Ghana's women's national team and participated in the first ever CAF coaching course in 2007.
"Everybody wants money. If you work at the bank, does your money follow your home? You need to put in plans and work towards it."
"Nigeria should be building a team, Ghana should be building a future with these players. [Winning] AFCON is just a bonus. I think we are putting something together that looks interesting that should be the focus."
Dramani feels that the establishment of coaching license boards, infrastructure, and youth development programs are all contributing to the professionalization of clubs and coaching.
Nonetheless, equal opportunity continues to be a concern.
With this in mind, Ezirim Kennedy established the African Coaches League (ACL), a non-profit organization that provides sports instruction to underprivileged coaches across Africa.
"I set up the African Coaches League to help bridge the gap in illiteracy amongst coaches in Africa, which has affected the development a lot of children," Kennedy told DW.
Kennedy feels that not only are the present support structures and credentials for coaches insufficient, but that children's lives are jeopardized in the absence of stronger coaches.
Better coaching can help since it teaches young children "integrity, respect, values, and a positive attitude," according to the theory.
The ACL currently has over a thousand coaches in its messaging group. Kennedy offers them coaching materials, educational activities, movies, and learning chances.
"I want to see true grassroots development in unreached countries in Africa," Kennedy says.
Clearly, the coaching situation has improved in recent years, as seen by the increased number of African head coaches in AFCON.
However, course provision and coaching chances are only two instances of how much effort still has to be done to assist train the next generation of keen African coaches.