Africa-Press – Angola. Angolan President João Lourenço was booed on Sunday at the AfroBasket2025 final. More than 12,000 spectators watched the Angola-Mali match at the Kilamba Multipurpose Pavilion in Luanda.
It was a time for sporting celebration, but at that moment politics seemed to have entered the field, just weeks after riots against the rising cost of living in Angola, which resulted in 30 deaths.
At the Kilamba Multipurpose Pavilion in Luanda, there were boos when the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, was invited to present the trophy to the Angolan team, the AfroBasket2025 champion.
For Cláudio Fortuna, a researcher at the Catholic University of Angola (UCAN), the scene clearly highlights the “difficult moment the country is experiencing.”
“João Lourenço, as the holder of executive power, is ultimately responsible for the ‘pain of a collective birth’ that has been affecting the vast majority of Angolans,” Fortuna told DW.
That collective challenge was “a very clear message sent to the President of the Republic that people are, in some way, fed up,” adds the political analyst.
“It’s a normal gesture”
This is not the first time that this “saturation” has spilled over into sport.
Just last week, Angolan human rights organizations asked the Argentine Football Federation to cancel the friendly match with Angola, scheduled for November, because it involved “million-dollar expenses” that clashed with the “painful reality experienced by millions of Angolans.”
The AfroBasket2025 final, held on Sunday, took place exactly three years after the last general elections, at a time when the unemployment rate is around 32%, according to the most recent official data, and food and transport prices continue to rise.
According to Angolan political scientist Eurico Gonçalves, “it is normal and natural that some people [in the basketball championship] displayed behavior and attitudes contrary to the [government] policy that aims at social cohesion.”
Year of celebration
In a statement, the President of the Republic did not comment on the boos, but simply welcomed the victory of the Angolan team, which won its 12th continental title.
For João Lourenço, “the power of sport in projecting the country’s image” was evident. The head of state also stated that he hopes that Angola’s 70-43 victory over Mali will “influence economic and social life.”
What could João Lourenço have meant by these words?
“In his political communication, the President of the Republic used moral, rational, and emotional appeals to, once again, encourage the Angolan people, emphasizing that only with determination, discipline, and hard work will Angolans achieve social and economic progress,” explains Eurico Gonçalves.
In addition to this tournament, Angola also hosted and won the 1989, 1999 and 2007 Afrobasket editions.
The victory against Mali is a source of pride for the country, in a year in which Angola celebrates 50 years of independence, said Rui Falcão, the Angolan Minister of Youth and Sports.
“It’s a commitment we’ve made: to celebrate our 50th anniversary with dignity. To hold high-level international tournaments and win them,” the governor stated.
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