Abu Bakar Yasin<\/span>and<\/span><\/p>\n Naomi Clarke,<\/span>BBC Newsbeat<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n He’s played on some of the biggest stages in the world <\/b>in <\/b>the Premier League, but Alex Iwobi believes the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is a “special” experience. <\/p>\n The tournament will see 24 teams battling for the continental crown across the next couple of weeks. <\/p>\n Fulham midfielder Iwobi will represent his home country of Nigeria in the competition, where they will be hoping to clinch the title after missing out in a 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast in 2023’s final.<\/p>\n “With Afcon, you get to celebrate Africa through football,” he tells BBC Newsbeat. <\/p>\n “You get to see different cultures, you get to see how different people dress, how people from Nigeria, the way we walk into the changing rooms.<\/p>\n “When some of the other countries walk into the changing rooms, we play music, so we’re celebrating our music through that as well.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Nigeria will be hoping to redeem themselves after failing to qualify for a second successive World Cup. <\/p>\n Iwobi says it was a “big disappointment”, but the team will be using it to fuel them in the Afcon tournament.<\/p>\n “We owe it to ourselves to make it right, and there’s no better way from the last Afcon to improve (than) just to win this one,” the 29-year-old says. <\/p>\n This year’s Afcon is being held in Morocco.<\/p>\n Nigeria have won the competition three times over the years, the last being back in 2013. <\/p>\n Their most recent loss to Ivory Coast is still prominent in Iwobi’s mind as he says it “shattered” their dreams. <\/p>\n However, he feels the moment was “written” for striker S\u00e9bastien Haller, who scored the winning goal after overcoming testicular cancer. <\/a><\/p>\n “It was a tough loss, but you give credit when credit due, they deserved it,” Iwobi says.<\/p>\n “But it’s also fuelled us and we’ve been working hard to get into the Afcon again and, hopefully, this is our story.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Fulham midfielder was born in Lagos, but moved to London as a child. His talent was spotted early and he was selected to represent England up to under-18 level.<\/p>\n After many years with the Three Lions, he made his debut for Nigeria’s national team in 2015 as he says he felt more “at home” with the team.<\/p>\n “England treated me with a lot of respect and they loved me,” he says. “But at the same time, I felt more of a connection with my roots in Nigeria.”<\/p>\n He has since made 91 appearances, making him the fourth most capped player for the Nigerian Super Eagles. <\/p>\n Iwobi says he never thought he would play for Arsenal, Fulham, or Nigeria growing up, but he is “honoured and grateful” for his achievements. <\/p>\n Ademola Lookman, Calvin Bassey and Iwobi’s school friend Ola Aina are also among the players on the Nigerian national team who were not raised in the country.<\/p>\n They have been affectionately nicknamed the “innit boys”, and Iwobi hopes they have helped open the door for others to represent their home country. <\/p>\n “You’re Nigerian at the end of the day and you will get loved regardless,” he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There has been debate over whether Afcon gets the respect it deserves.<\/p>\n![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/31d5\/live\/b43ea590-dcf8-11f0-b936-bbd75bfb2f25.jpg.webp\")
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