CAF salutes Ghana’s memorable 2008 AFCON closing ceremony

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has saluted Ghana’s memorable closing ceremony when the country hosted the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2008.

Sixteen years ago, the entire continent gathered in Ghana for the tournament, which featured only 16 teams at the time (24 teams feature now).

While the Black Stars heralded the ‘host and win’ mantra, they fell short in the semi-finals when they suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Cameroon.

Claude Le Roy’s side, however, ended the tournament on a high by defeating the Ivory Coast in the third/fourth place playoffs to win bronze, as Egypt emerged champions after beating Cameroon in the final.

CAF celebrates Ghana's AFCON 2008 closing ceremony

One of the highlights of that AFCON was the closing ceremony, where a young girl hoisted the trophy while being carried in a palanquin by macho men.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), CAF recalled that memorable closing ceremony at the Accra Sports Stadium, accompanied by the sarcastic caption: “The perfect entrance doesn’t exi…”

Meanwhile, two years ago, Mimi Boateng, the young lady who hoisted the AFCON trophy during the closing ceremony in 2008, narrated how she was chosen for the role.

Over a decade and a half after the tournament, Mimi spoke to Pulse.com.gh about how she was picked for the role at the closing ceremony.

She explained that she went to the stadium with her father, who was part of the organisers of the closing ceremony, where the idea of taking part in the event was first mooted to her by chance.

“When Ghana lost in the semi-finals, I was very disappointed. My father was involved in the closing ceremony, so he came one day and said we’re going to do something to make Ghanaians happy and to lift spirits,” she told Pulse.com.gh in an exclusive interview.

“I didn’t even know what exactly he meant, but when I went to the stadium, they explained everything to me and I agreed to be part of the closing ceremony.”

Mimi moved to England in 2019 and is currently an Electrical Engineering student.