Awilo Longomba Ignites CAF Awards 2025

The scene in Rabat was electric. As Africa’s football elite gathered for the 2025 CAF Awards, an unexpected star all but stole the show. Awilo Longomba, the Congolese soukous legend behind 90s anthems like “Karolina” and “Coupé Bibamba”, wasn’t just a musical guest he was the night’s cultural MVP.

The moment Awilo hit the stage, a formal awards gala transformed into a pan-African dance party. Dressed in his flamboyant style and armed with that infectious smile, the 63-year-old icon had diplomats, strikers and dignitaries alike on their feet, revisiting hip-swaying moves they hadn’t busted out in years. It’s not every day you see a Ballon d’Or contender attempting ndombolo footwork in a tuxedo but such is the power of Awilo’s groove.

Awilo’s set came after a Moroccan pop opener and before Ghana’s afrobeats star Fuse ODG closed a billing that symbolized a convergence of generations. When the Congolese maestro finally took his turn under the lights, you could feel the energy rippling across Mohammed VI Polytechnic’s auditorium. Backed by a full band, he launched into classic soukous rhythms with driving percussion and joyful dance breaks, true to his hallmark mix of unstoppable rhythm and generous stagecraft.

Within seconds, the audience caught the vibe. Camera pans showed football legends like Mohamed Salah and Achraf Hakimi nodding along, while others couldn’t resist standing to wriggle their shoulders and hips.

Why did this moment feel so big? 

For one, Awilo Longomba is a bona fide African icon whose music transcends eras. Two decades ago, he dominated dance floors from Kinshasa to Kampala with a new hybrid of techno-infused soukous. His 1998 hit “Coupé Bibamba” wasn’t just a catchy tune it became a pan-African classic, blasting from nightclubs in Lagos and minibuses in Nairobi.

At the turn of the millennium, Awilo’s popularity was so colossal that he became the first artist ever to sell out Lagos’s 45,000-capacity National Stadium three nights in a row.

(Yes, you read that right a Congolese singer had tens of thousands of Nigerian fans packing a football stadium, three consecutive days. The man is legend.) Even now, mention his name and any Afro-pop lover of a certain age will likely break into the “Coupe Bibamba” chorus on cue. Having Awilo grace the CAF Awards was more than a nostalgia trip it was a reminder that African music legends still reign in our collective memory.

What made Awilo’s appearance especially meaningful was the cultural bridge it created with the world of sport. Here were Africa’s top footballers being crowned the Salahs, Osimhens and Ajibades yet the loudest cheers weren’t just for the golden trophies but for the golden oldies lighting up the stage. Awilo himself felt the synergy.

Backstage, brimming with pride, he reflected that the night was serendipitous:

He grew up in Kinshasa surrounded by local football heroes, and he understands the fervor first-hand as he put it, “Football has always held a huge place in my life,” and being here to celebrate the sport felt like destiny. Little wonder he gave the performance every ounce of passion he had.

When Awilo broke into “Karolina”, with its blazing guitar riffs and call-and-response chorus, the auditorium turned into a pan-African karaoke. Even those who didn’t know the Lingala lyrics were clapping and humming along.

On social media, attendees posted clips of CAF President Patrice Motsepe attempting Awilo’s signature knee-bend dance proof that the joyous spirit was contagious. The night underscored a beautiful truth: football, music and culture are forces that unite Africa. Awilo himself articulated it best, noting that events like these “bring us together and reinforce our role as ambassadors of African culture”.

Here was a soukus superstar often dubbed the Soukous King  sharing the spotlight with football kings and queens, and the result was pure magic. The CAF Awards ceased to be just a trophy presentation; they became a pan-African block party, a place where the beat and the ball shared equal billing.

Awilo’s presence also spoke to the pan-African identity of contemporary Afropop. Sharing the stage with younger stars like Fuse ODG (who calls Awilo “Papa” affectionately) symbolized a passing of the torch. The Ghanaian-British Fuse represents the new school the Afrobeats generation making waves globally and he’s been vocal about legends like Awilo paving the way.

That cross-generational camaraderie was palpable in Rabat.

As Angélique Kidjo  another legend, hosting the show stood offstage dancing along, it was a powerful image of African music’s continuum: the veterans cheering on the youngbloods, and vice versa. The ceremony united Francophone and Anglophone Africa, North, West, Central and beyond, through the universal languages of rhythm and passion. It was a living, breathing OkayAfrica moment if ever there was one.

In the lead-up to the event, Awilo had been hyping fans about his performance on Instagram posting a flyer and excitedly telling everyone he’d “see you on 19 November in Rabat” for the big night (@awilolongomba on Instagram). And he did not disappoint. By the next morning, #AwiloLongomba was trending across several African countries as clips of his explosive performance made the rounds.

From Nairobi to Lagos, viewers at home were buzzing about how the CAF Awards suddenly felt like a concert they wished they hadn’t missed. “Awilo turning the CAF Awards into a Ndombolo festival is the content I signed up for,” one tweet read, summing up the joyful surprise of the night.

Even CAF’s own X account had teased his set as “legendary grooves” beforehand, and those grooves proved timeless indeed. It’s not every awards show that ends with people in formal wear doing Congolese dances, but that’s exactly what went down and social media loved it.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Awilo’s CAF Awards moment is how it highlights the respect African institutions now give to pop culture icons. Where once a sports awards ceremony might have relegated singers to mere interludes, this year the music was front and center  integral to the story. In honoring African excellence, CAF acknowledged that cultural legends like Awilo Longomba are part of that excellence.

The reception he got from the crowd (and online after) was akin to a lifetime achievement award, even if unofficial. It sends a message: Africa’s creative giants deserve to stand on the podium too. As Pulse Nigeria wrote in a similar context years ago, Awilo has gone from being an usher at early-2000s awards shows to being the headliner at today’s a testament to how far African music has come.