Famous streamer Darren Jason Watkins Jr., better known as iShowSpeed, made an unexpected appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations final this weekend by showing up to the match dressed up as the tournament’s mascot.
Ahead of Morocco’s final against Senegal, the official AFCON account revealed that iShowSpeed was the one dressed as the mascot. When he took off the huge mask, the whole Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium recognized and cheered for him.
IShowSpeed is a known football fan, so it’s no surprise that he ended up visiting the continent’s biggest match while on his African tour. It’s also clear that this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment cameo – his appearance was built into the pre-match presentation, with broadcast cameras and a stadium countdown helping set up the unmasking.
This could be a conscious push by the organizers to connect with the younger audience, who iShowSpeed has captured quite well. In fact, Morocco is his most successful tour country, as he has gained more than 400,000 active subscribers during his stay there.
Speed’s AFCON final weekend didn’t end with the mascot moment, either. During the match, he had an interaction with MMA star Francis Ngannou on the touchline, in which Ngannou lightly tapped him, and Speed dramatically sold the hit for the cameras.
Neither Speed nor the organizers have provided any information or details on how the collaboration was arranged.
During his stay in Morocco, Speed also found time for good deeds. He met a blind fan who uses the phone’s accessibility features to do many things in his daily life. He gifted him a brand new iPhone, which has better accessibility features.
He ended the meeting with a very simple yet important piece of advice: to never give up, despite any hardship.
As for the AFCON final itself, it ended in disappointment for iShowSpeed’s host nation of Morocco. After one of the craziest games of football that had disallowed goals, missed penalties, one of the teams walking out in protest, and towel tugs-of-war, Senegal managed to score the only goal of the match in the extra time, and won the 2026 edition of the continental trophy.
