African association football tournament for men's national teams
Football tournament
The
Africa Cup of Nations
, commonly abbreviated as
AFCON
and officially known as the
TotalEnergies
Africa Cup of Nations
for
sponsorship
reasons,
[1]
[2]
is the main international men's
association football
competition in
Africa
. It is sanctioned by the
Confederation of African Football
(CAF) and was first held in
1957
.
[3]
Since
1968
, it has been held every two years, switching to odd-numbered years
[n 1]
in 2013.
In the first tournament in 1957, there were only three participating nations:
Egypt
,
Sudan
, and
Ethiopia
.
South Africa
was originally scheduled to join, but was
disqualified
due to the
apartheid
policies of the government then in power.
[4]
Since then, the tournament has expanded greatly, making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament. The number of participants in the final tournament reached 16 in 1998 (16 teams were to compete in 1996, but
Nigeria
withdrew, reducing the field to 15, and the same happened with
Togo
's withdrawal in 2010), and until 2017, the format had been unchanged, with the 16 teams being drawn into four groups of four teams each, with the top two teams of each group advancing to a "knock-out" stage. On 20 July 2017, the Africa Cup of Nations was moved from January to June and expanded from 16 to 24 teams.
[5]
Egypt
is the most successful nation in the cup's history, winning the tournament seven times, with
Cameroon
winning five times and
Ghana
four times.
[6]
Three
trophies
have been awarded during the tournament's history; the current trophy was first awarded in 2002.
Egypt
won an unprecedented three consecutive titles in 2006, 2008, and 2010. In 2013, the tournament format was switched to being held in odd-numbered years so as not to interfere with the
FIFA World Cup
.
[7]
Ivory Coast
are the tournament's current champions, having beaten
Nigeria
2?1 in the
2023 final
.
History
[
edit
]
1950s?60s: Origin and early years
[
edit
]
Raafat Attia
scored the first goal in the history of the tournament for Egypt
The origin of the African Nations Cup dates from June 1956, when the creation of the Confederation of African Football was proposed during the third
FIFA
congress in
Lisbon
. There were immediate plans for a continental tournament to be held and, in February 1957, the
first Africa Cup of Nations
was held in
Khartoum
,
Sudan
.
Egypt's captain
Hanafy Bastan
carrying the African Cup of Nations trophy in 1957
There was no qualification for this tournament, the field being made up of the four founding nations of CAF (
Egypt
,
Sudan
,
Ethiopia
, and
South Africa
). South Africa's insistence on selecting only
white
players for its squad due to its
apartheid
policy led to its disqualification, and as a consequence Ethiopia were handed a bye straight to the final.
[8]
Hence only two matches were played, with Egypt being crowned as the first continental champion after defeating hosts Sudan in the semi-final and Ethiopia in the
final
by a score of 4?0.
Two years later in 1959, Egypt hosted the second ANC in
Cairo
with the participation of the same three teams. Host and defending champions Egypt again won, after defeating Sudan in the
final
by a score at of 2?1 .
Egypt national football team
in 1959
The field grew to include nine teams for the
third ANC in 1962
in
Addis Ababa
, and for the first time there was a qualification round to determine which four teams would play for the title. Host Ethiopia and reigning champion Egypt received automatic berths and were joined in the final four by
Nigeria
and
Tunisia
. Egypt made its third consecutive final appearance, but the Ethiopia team emerged as victors, first beating Tunisia and then downing Egypt in
extra time
.
1960s: Ghanaian domination
[
edit
]
In 1963,
Ghana
made its first appearance as it hosted the event and won the title after beating Sudan in the final. They repeated that as they became champions two years later in
Tunisia
?equalling Egypt as two-time winners?with a squad that included only two returning members from the 1963 team.
[9]
In 1965, the CAF introduced a rule that limited the number of overseas players in each team to two. The rule persisted until 1982.
[10]
The
1968, competition
's final tournament format expanded to include eight of the 22 teams entered in the preliminary rounds. The qualifying teams were distributed in two groups of four to play single
round-robin tournaments
, with the top two teams of each group advancing to semi-finals, a system that remained in use for the finals until 1992. The
Democratic Republic of Congo
won its first title, beating Ghana in the final. Starting with the 1968 tournament, the competition was regularly held every two years in even-numbered years; this ended with the 2012 tournament, which was followed by a tournament in 2013, and successor editions in each odd-numbered year.
Ivory Coast
forward
Laurent Pokou
led the 1968 and 1970 tournaments in scoring, with six and eight goals respectively, and his total of 14 goals remained the all-time record until 2008. Play was covered for television for the first time during the
1970 tournament
in Sudan,
[9]
as the hosts lifted the trophy after defeating Ghana ? who were playing their fourth consecutive final.
1970s: A decade of champions
[
edit
]
Six nations won titles from 1970 to 1980:
Sudan
,
Congo-Brazzaville
,
Zaire
,
Morocco
, Ghana, and Nigeria. Zaire's second title in the
1974 edition
(it won its first as the
Democratic Republic of Congo
) came after facing
Zambia
in the final.
Egypt
in Afcon, 1974
For the only time to date in the history of the competition, the match had to be replayed as the first contest between the two sides ended in a 2?2 draw after extra time. The final was re-staged two days later with Zaire winning 2?0. Forward
Mulamba Ndaye
scored all four of Zaire's goals in these two matches: he was also the top scorer of the tournament with nine goals, setting a single-tournament record that remains unmatched. Three months earlier, Zaire had become the first Sub-Saharan African nation to qualify to the
FIFA World Cup
. Morocco won their first title in the 1976 ANC held in Ethiopia and Ghana took its third championship in 1978, becoming the first nation to win three titles.
1980s: Cameroonian domination
[
edit
]
Between 1980 and 1990,
Cameroon
managed to reach the final of the Africa Cup three times in a row, winning the competition twice in
1984
and
1988
and losing once on penalties against
Egypt
in the
1986 edition
, the other dominant team during this period was
Algeria
, along with their solid
1982
and decent
1986
World Cup
appearances, the North African nation lost in the final against hosts
Nigeria
in the
1980 tournament
allowing the Super Eagles to capture their first championship. After the
1980 edition
,
Algeria
reached the semi-finals of every edition except the
1986 cup
until they eventually won the competition in
1990
. Ghana's fourth continental title came in the
1982 cup tournament
, where they beat host
Libya
in the final. The match ended in a 1?1 draw after 120 minutes and
Ghana national football team
won the
penalty shootout
to become champions.
1990s: The return of South Africa
[
edit
]
In 1990, the
1990 African Cup of Nations
was the 17th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by
Algeria
. Just like in 1988, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. Algeria won its first championship, beating Nigeria in the final 1?0. Nigeria lost once again as they made their third final appearance in four tournaments, this time falling to host
Algeria
.
The
1992 Cup of Nations
expanded the number of final tournament participants to 12; the teams were divided into four groups of three, with the top two teams of each group advancing to quarter-finals.
Ghanaian
midfielder
Abedi "Pele" Ayew
, who scored three goals, was named the best player of the tournament after his contributions helped Ghana reach the final; he was, however, suspended for that match and Ghana lost to
Ivory Coast
in a penalty shootout that saw each side make 11 attempts to determine the winner. Ivory Coast set a record for the competition by holding each of their opponents scoreless in the six matches of the final tournament.
The 12-team, three-group format was used again two years later, where hosts
Tunisia
were humiliated by their first-round elimination.
Nigeria
, who had just qualified to the World Cup for the first time in their history, won
the tournament
, beating
Zambia
, who a year before had been struck by disaster when most of their national squad died in a
plane crash
while traveling to play a
1994 World Cup qualification
match. Nigerian forward
Rashidi Yekini
, who had led the 1992 tournament with four goals, repeated as the top scorer with five goals.
South Africa
hosted the
20th ACN competition
in 1996, marking its first ever appearance after a decades-long ban was lifted with the end of apartheid in the country, which had been followed by a failed attempt to qualify in 1994. The number of final-round participants in 1996 was expanded to 16, split into four groups. However, the actual number of teams playing in the final was only 15, because Nigeria withdrew from the tournament at the final moment for political reasons.
[11]
Bafana Bafana
won their first title on home soil, defeating Tunisia in the final.
[12]
The South Africans would reach the final again
two years later
in
Burkina Faso
, but were unable to defend their title, losing to Egypt who claimed their fourth cup.
2000s: Egypt's unprecedented treble
[
edit
]
The
2000 edition
was hosted jointly by
Ghana
and
Nigeria
, who replaced the originally designated host
Zimbabwe
. Following a 2?2 draw after extra time in the final, Cameroon defeated Nigeria on penalty kicks. In 2002, Cameroon's
Indomitable Lions
won their second consecutive title. This was the first repeat since Ghana had done it in the 1960s and after Egypt had done it before in 1957 and 1959.
Egypt against Cameroon at the
2008 Africa Cup of Nations Final
.
The Cameroonians beat first-time finalists
Senegal
, who also debuted in the
World Cup
later that year, via
penalty kicks
. Both finalists were eliminated in the quarter-finals
two years later
in
Tunisia
, where the hosts won their first title, beating Morocco 2?1 in the final.
The
2006 tournament
was also won by the hosts,
Egypt
, who reached a continental-record fifth title. Ahead of the
2008 Africa Cup of Nations
several European clubs called for a rethink of the tournament's schedule. Given that it takes place during the European season, players who are involved miss several matches for their clubs.
[13]
In January 2008,
FIFA
president
Sepp Blatter
announced that he wanted the tournament to be held in either June or July by 2016, to fit in the international calendar, although this would preclude many countries in central and west Africa from hosting the competition (for these months occur during their
wet season
).
[14]
The
2008 tournament
was hosted by Ghana, and saw Egypt retain the trophy, winning its record-extending sixth tournament by defeating Cameroon 1?0 in the final.
[15]
2010s: Switch to odd years
[
edit
]
Nigeria
players celebrate after winning the
2013 AFCON
.
Ivory Coast
players celebrate after winning the
2015 AFCON
.
Cameroon
players celebrate after winning the
2017 AFCON
.
Egypt set a new record in the
2010 tournament
(hosted by
Angola
) by winning its third consecutive title in an unprecedented achievement on the African level after defeating Ghana 1?0 in the final, retaining the gold-plated cup indefinitely and extending its record to seven continental titles (including when Egypt was known as UAR between 1958 and 1961).
[16]
Egypt became the first African nation to win three consecutive cups and joined
Mexico
,
Argentina
, and
Iran
who also won their
continent
cup three times in a row. On 31 January 2010,
Egypt
set a new African record, not being defeated for 19 consecutive Cup of Nations matches, since a 2?1 loss against
Algeria
in
Tunisia in 2004
,
[
citation needed
]
and a record 9 consecutive win streak.
[
citation needed
]
In May 2010, it was announced that the tournament would be moved to odd-numbered years from 2013 in order to prevent the tournament from taking place in the same year as the
World Cup
. It also meant there were two tournaments within twelve months in January 2012
[17]
(
co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea
) and January 2013 (
hosted by South Africa
).
[7]
The change of
FIFA Confederations Cup
from a biennial to a quadrennial tournament, and the switching of the Africa Cup of Nations from even to odd-number years, meant that some previous Africa Cup of Nations champions such as
Egypt
,
Zambia
, and
Ivory Coast
(winners of the 2010, 2012, and 2015 tournaments respectively) were deprived from participating in the
Confederations Cup tournament
.
In 2011,
Morocco
won the bid to host the
2015 edition
, and
Libya
won the right to host the
2013 tournament
, but the
2011 Libyan civil war
prompted Libya and South Africa to trade years, with
South Africa hosting in 2013
and Libya hosting in 2017.
[18]
Ongoing fighting in Libya
ultimately prompted CAF to move the
2017 tournament to Gabon
).
[19]
In 2012, Zambia won the final after a penalty shootout against Ivory Coast. This drew increased media attention since the match took place in Gabon, only a few hundred meters from the crash site of the
1993 air disaster
of their national team. The 2013 tournament was won by Nigeria, beating first time finalists Burkina Faso.
In 2014?15, the
West African Ebola virus epidemic
disrupted the tournament.
[20]
All football activities in
Liberia
were suspended,
[21]
and the
Antoinette Tubman Stadium
in
Monrovia
was converted into an Ebola treatment unit.
[22]
The
2015 Africa Cup of Nations
was scheduled to be held in Morocco, but they refused to hold the tournament on the allotted dates due to concerns of the Ebola outbreak, so it was moved to Equatorial Guinea.
[23]
In July 2016,
Total
secured the rights to an eight-year sponsorship package to support 10 of
CAF
's principal competitions. This began with the
2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon
which was renamed the "Total Africa Cup of Nations".
[24]
Since 2019: Tournament expansion
[
edit
]
Under
Ahmad Ahmad
's presidency, there were discussions regarding further changes to the Africa Cup of Nations. In July 2017, two changes were proposed:
[25]
[26]
switching the timing of the competition from January to the Northern Hemisphere summer and expanding from 16 to 24 teams (effective from the
2019 Africa Cup of Nations
). On 20 July 2017, the CAF Executive Commission approved the propositions at a meeting in
Rabat, Morocco
.
[5]
Algeria
won the
African Cup of Nations 2019
, achieving a 1?0 victory against Senegal in the final. The title was Algeria's second ever and first since 1990. Nigeria came third after beating Tunisia 1?0 in their third-place decider match.
[27]
The prize money awarded to the
2019 Africa Cup of Nations
winner amounted to $4.5 million while runners-up
Senegal
got $2.5 million.
[28]
[29]
Match days 3 and 4 of the
2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers
, which was slated from 25 to 30 March 2020, were postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
.
[30]
The
2021 Africa Cup of Nations
tournament, hosted by
Cameroon
, and was postponed to 2022 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
. The Confederation of African Football increased the cash prize for the winner from $4.5 million to $5 million for
2021 Africa Cup of Nations
while the second-best team will get $2.75 million.
[31]
Senegal
won the tournament for the first time after beating Egypt on penalties in the
final
.
[32]
Format
[
edit
]
The number of teams and the format of each final tournament have varied over the years. In most tournaments, the tournament consists of a
round-robin
group stage followed by a
single-elimination
knockout stage.
Year
|
Teams
|
Matches
|
Format
|
Min.
|
Act.
|
1957
|
3
|
2
|
semi-final, final
|
1959
|
3
|
3
|
round-robin group of 3
|
1962
|
4
|
4
|
semi-finals, 3rd-place match, final
|
1963
|
6
|
8
|
2 groups of 3, 3rd-place match, final
|
1965
|
6
|
8
|
1968
|
8
|
16
|
2 groups of 4, semi-finals, 3rd-place match, final
|
1970
|
8
|
16
|
1972
|
8
|
16
|
1974
|
8
|
16
|
17
|
1976
|
8
|
18
|
2 groups of 4, final round-robin group of 4
|
1978
|
8
|
16
|
2 groups of 4, semi-finals, 3rd-place match, final
|
1980
|
8
|
16
|
1982
|
8
|
16
|
1984
|
8
|
16
|
1986
|
8
|
16
|
1988
|
8
|
16
|
1990
|
8
|
16
|
1992
|
12
|
20
|
4 groups of 3, quarter-finals, semi-finals, 3rd-place match, final
|
1994
|
12
|
20
|
1996
|
15
|
29
|
4 groups of 3?4, quarter-finals, semi-finals, 3rd-place match, final
|
1998
|
16
|
32
|
4 groups of 4, quarter-finals, semi-finals, 3rd-place match, final
|
2000
|
16
|
32
|
2002
|
16
|
32
|
2004
|
16
|
32
|
2006
|
16
|
32
|
2008
|
16
|
32
|
2010
|
15
|
29
|
4 groups of 3?4, quarter-finals, semi-finals, 3rd-place match, final
|
2012
|
16
|
32
|
4 groups of 4, quarter-finals, semi-finals, 3rd-place match, final
|
2013
|
16
|
32
|
2015
|
16
|
32
|
2017
|
16
|
32
|
2019
|
24
|
52
|
6 groups of 4, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, 3rd-place match, final
|
2021
|
24
|
52
|
2023
|
24
|
52
|
2025
|
24
|
52
|
2027
|
24
|
52
|
Since the
1962 edition
, this competition has been held in two phases: a qualification phase (or called the elimination phase) and a final tournament. The host country of the final tournament is automatically qualified, and in the first editions the defending champion was also qualified for the following tournament.
Qualifying
[
edit
]
Map of countries by their number of titles
The qualification phase has evolved over time according to the increasing number of nations affiliated to the
Confederation of African Football
(CAF). It was set up from
1962
, during the first two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, the founding nations of the CAF participated in the final tournament, namely
Egypt
,
Ethiopia
and
Sudan
(
South Africa
was excluded just after its foundation due to
Apartheid
).
In 1962, new nations were affiliated and forced CAF to set up a qualifying phase for the final tournament in the form of knockout matches. This system was used until the
1992 edition
, when the organization of the qualifying phase became closer to that of the
UEFA European Championship
, with qualifying groups of four to seven teams depending on the editions where each selection plays a round-trip opposition against each of its opponents, the qualified country being decided according to its classification within its group.
Final phase
[
edit
]
Only the hosts received an automatic qualification spot, with the other 23 teams qualifying through a
qualification tournament
. At the finals, the 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four teams each. The teams in each group played a single round robin.
After the group stage, the top two teams and the four best third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16. The winners advanced to the quarter-finals. The winners of the quarter-finals advanced to the semi-finals. The losers of the semi-finals played in a third-place play-off, while winners of the semi-finals played in the final.
[33]
Trophy and medals
[
edit
]
The current trophy.
Throughout the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, three trophies have been awarded to the winners of the competition. The original trophy, made of silver, was the Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem Trophy, named after the first CAF president,
Egyptian
Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem
. As the first winner of three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments,
Ghana
obtained the right to permanently hold the trophy in 1978.
[34]
The second trophy was awarded from 1980 to 2000 and was named "Trophy of African Unity"
[35]
or "African Unity Cup".
[34]
It was given to CAF by the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa prior to the 1980 tournament and it was a cylindrical piece with the
Olympic rings
over a map of the continent engraved on it. It sat on a squared base and had stylized triangular handles.
Cameroon
won the Unity Cup indefinitely after they became three-time champions in 2000.
In 2001, the third trophy was revealed, a gold-plated cup designed and made in
Italy
.
[34]
Cameroon, permanent holders of the previous trophy, were the first nation to be awarded the new trophy after they won the 2002 edition.
Egypt
won the gold-plated cup indefinitely after they became three-time champions in 2010. Unlike previous winners who would have then taken the trophy home, Egypt was presented with a special full-size replica that they were allowed to keep. The winner of each edition receives a replica whose dimensions are equal to that of the original trophy.
CAF give 30 gold medals to the winning team, 30 silver medals to the runners-up, 30 bronze medals to the team ranked third and 30 diplomas to the team ranked fourth in the final tournament.
Results
[
edit
]
- Keys
Summary
[
edit
]
Team
|
Winners
|
Runners-up
|
Third place
|
Fourth place
|
Top 4
total
|
Egypt
|
7 (
1957
,
1959
*
1
,
1986
*
,
1998
,
2006
*
,
2008
,
2010
)
|
3 (
1962
1
,
2017
,
2021
)
|
3 (
1963
1
,
1970
1
,
1974
*
)
|
3 (
1976
,
1980
,
1984
)
|
16
|
Cameroon
|
5 (
1984
,
1988
,
2000
,
2002
,
2017
)
|
2 (
1986
,
2008
)
|
2 (
1972
*
,
2021
*
)
|
1 (
1992
)
|
10
|
Ghana
|
4 (
1963
*
,
1965
,
1978
*
,
1982
)
|
5 (
1968
,
1970
,
1992
,
2010
,
2015
)
|
1 (
2008
*
)
|
4 (
1996
,
2012
,
2013
,
2017
)
|
14
|
Nigeria
|
3 (
1980
*
,
1994
,
2013
)
|
5 (
1984
,
1988
,
1990
,
2000
*
,
2023
)
|
8 (
1976
,
1978
,
1992
,
2002
,
2004
,
2006
,
2010
,
2019
)
|
?
|
16
|
Ivory Coast
|
3 (
1992
,
2015
,
2023
*
)
|
2 (
2006
,
2012
)
|
4 (
1965
,
1968
,
1986
,
1994
)
|
2 (
1970
,
2008
)
|
11
|
Algeria
|
2 (
1990
*
,
2019
)
|
1 (
1980
)
|
2 (
1984
,
1988
)
|
2 (
1982
,
2010
)
|
7
|
DR Congo
|
2 (
1968
2
,
1974
3
)
|
?
|
2 (
1998
,
2015
)
|
2 (
1972
3
,
2023
)
|
6
|
Zambia
|
1 (
2012
)
|
2 (
1974
,
1994
)
|
3 (
1982
,
1990
,
1996
)
|
?
|
6
|
Tunisia
|
1 (
2004
*
)
|
2 (
1965
*
,
1996
)
|
1 (
1962
)
|
3 (
1978
,
2000
,
2019
)
|
7
|
Sudan
|
1 (
1970
*
)
|
2 (
1959
,
1963
)
|
1 (
1957
*
)
|
?
|
4
|
Senegal
|
1 (
2021
)
|
2 (
2002
,
2019
)
|
?
|
3 (
1965
,
1990
,
2006
)
|
6
|
South Africa
|
1 (
1996
*
)
|
1 (
1998
)
|
2 (
2000
,
2023
)
|
?
|
4
|
Ethiopia
|
1 (
1962
*
)
|
1 (
1957
)
|
1 (
1959
)
|
2 (
1963
,
1968
*
)
|
5
|
Morocco
|
1 (
1976
)
|
1 (
2004
)
|
1 (
1980
)
|
2 (
1986
,
1988
*
)
|
5
|
Congo
|
1 (
1972
)
|
?
|
?
|
1 (
1974
)
|
2
|
Mali
|
?
|
1 (
1972
)
|
2 (
2012
,
2013
)
|
3 (
1994
,
2002
*
,
2004
)
|
6
|
Burkina Faso
|
?
|
1 (
2013
)
|
1 (
2017
)
|
2 (
1998
*
,
2021
)
|
4
|
Uganda
|
?
|
1 (
1978
)
|
?
|
1 (
1962
)
|
2
|
Guinea
|
?
|
1 (
1976
)
|
?
|
?
|
1
|
Libya
|
?
|
1 (
1982
*
)
|
?
|
?
|
1
|
Equatorial Guinea
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
1 (
2015
*
)
|
1
|
*
hosts
- 1
as
United Arab Republic
- 2
as
Congo-Kinshasa
- 3
as
Zaire
All-time record
[
edit
]
Countries coloured according to their highest ever achievement at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Champion
Runner-up
Third place
Fourth place
Quarter-finals
Round of 16
Group stage
Champions by region
[
edit
]
Regional federation
|
Champion(s)
|
Title(s)
|
UNAF (North Africa)
|
Egypt
(7),
Algeria
(2),
Morocco
(1),
Tunisia
(1)
|
11
|
WAFU (West Africa)
|
Ghana
(4),
Ivory Coast
(3),
Nigeria
(3),
Senegal
(1)
|
11
|
UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
|
Cameroon
(5),
DR Congo
(2),
Congo
(1)
|
8
|
CECAFA (East Africa)
|
Ethiopia
(1),
Sudan
(1)
|
2
|
COSAFA (Southern Africa)
|
South Africa
(1),
Zambia
(1)
|
2
|
Consecutive championships
[
edit
]
Teams that have won the Africa Cup of Nations consecutively and have become two-time champions (two consecutive titles) or three-time champions (three consecutive titles).
Bold
indicate tournament hosts
Records and statistics
[
edit
]
Awards
[
edit
]
There are currently six post-tournament awards
- the
Best Player
for
most valuable player
;
- the
Top Goal-scorer
for most prolific goal scorer;
- the
Best Goalkeeper
for most outstanding goalkeeper;
- the
Best Young Player
for most outstanding young player;
- the
Team of the Tournament
for best combined team of players at the tournament;
- the
Fair Play Award
for the team with the best record of fair play.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
The 2021 tournament was held in 2022 but retained the name for sponsorship reasons. The 2023 tournament was held in 2024 but retained the name for sponsorship reasons
- ^
South Africa were disqualified due to the country's
apartheid
policies.
- ^
The United Arab Republic
won 2?1
over Sudan in the decisive match to claim the title.
- ^
Morocco
drew 1?1
with Guinea in the decisive match to claim the title.
- ^
Nigeria won 3?2 over Egypt in the decisive match to claim the third place.
- ^
The match was abandoned at 1?1 after the Tunisian team withdrew from the field in the 42nd minute in protest at the officiating. Nigeria were awarded a 2?0 walkover.
- ^
Nigeria withdrew prior to the start of the finals amidst political tension between the country and the host South Africa. Guinea were offered the spot but declined it.
- ^
Togo were formally disqualified for failing to fulfil their opening match, after they had withdrawn after
a terrorist attack against their bus
on their way to the tournament.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Live score: Cameroon v Burkina Faso (African Cup of Nations) ? News ? AFCON 2021"
.
Ahram Online
.
Archived
from the original on 9 January 2022
. Retrieved
9 January
2022
.
- ^
"AFCON 2021: Teams and players to watch, start and final date"
.
MARCA
. 9 January 2022.
Archived
from the original on 9 January 2022
. Retrieved
9 January
2022
.
- ^
"Africa Cup of Nations | History, Winners, Trophy, & Facts | Britannica"
.
Encyclopedia Britannica
.
Archived
from the original on 28 April 2021
. Retrieved
20 May
2022
.
- ^
"African Cup of Nations ? How it all began"
.
BBC Sport
. 14 December 2001.
Archived
from the original on 30 March 2012
. Retrieved
13 February
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"Africa Cup of Nations moved to June and July and expanded to 24 teams"
. BBC Sport. 20 July 2017.
Archived
from the original on 9 November 2020
. Retrieved
12 February
2018
.
- ^
Paul Reidy (8 January 2022),
"Which national team has won the Africa Cup of Nations most times?"
,
en.as.com
,
archived
from the original on 20 January 2022
, retrieved
20 January
2022
- ^
a
b
"Africa Cup of Nations Cup to move to odd-numbered years"
. BBC Sport. 16 May 2010.
Archived
from the original on 22 December 2019
. Retrieved
13 February
2012
.
- ^
"African Nations Cup ? How it all began"
. BBC Sport. 14 December 2001.
Archived
from the original on 18 December 2006
. Retrieved
9 March
2007
.
- ^
a
b
"The early years"
. BBC Sport. 16 January 2004.
Archived
from the original on 24 January 2004
. Retrieved
9 March
2007
.
- ^
Macdonald, Tom (2010).
The World Encyclopedia of Football:A Complete Guide to the Beautiful Game
. London: Hermes House. p. 61.
- ^
Gleeson, Mark (12 October 2004).
"SA to meet Nigeria"
. BBC Sport.
Archived
from the original on 11 May 2011
. Retrieved
10 December
2007
.
- ^
"African Cup of Nations: 1980?2002"
. BBC Sport. 16 January 2004.
Archived
from the original on 12 February 2004
. Retrieved
11 March
2007
.
- ^
Hassan, Nabil (12 December 2007).
"Clubs want African Cup rethink"
. BBC Sport.
Archived
from the original on 13 December 2007
. Retrieved
27 November
2020
.
- ^
"Blatter wants Cup of Nations move"
. BBC Sport. 18 January 2008.
Archived
from the original on 19 January 2008
. Retrieved
18 January
2008
.
- ^
"Ghana 2008 all results"
. International Football Journalism. 10 February 2008.
Archived
from the original on 2 October 2011
. Retrieved
10 February
2008
.
- ^
"Ghana 0?1 Egypt"
. BBC Sport. 31 January 2010.
Archived
from the original on 1 February 2010
. Retrieved
31 January
2010
.
- ^
"Equatorial Guinea: Ahead of AU Summit, Government Curtails Political Rights, Disregards Social Needs"
(Press release). Human Rights Watch.
Archived
from the original on 20 October 2012
. Retrieved
24 June
2011
.
- ^
BBC Sport.
"South Africa replace Libya as 2013 Nations Cup hosts"
Archived
9 January 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
.
BBC
, 28 September 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
- ^
"Libya stripped of right to host 2017 Nations Cup"
.
Eurosport
. 23 August 2014.
Archived
from the original on 14 April 2023
. Retrieved
3 January
2018
.
- ^
Longman, Jere (11 November 2014).
"Africa Cup Disrupted by Ebola Concerns"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on 4 January 2018
. Retrieved
1 March
2017
.
- ^
"Ebola outbreak: Liberia suspends football"
. BBC News. 29 July 2014.
Archived
from the original on 20 June 2018
. Retrieved
21 June
2018
.
- ^
"Liberia football ground converted into Ebola treatment centre"
.
liberiansoccer.com
. Archived from
the original
on 13 November 2014.
- ^
"2015 Nations Cup: Equatorial Guinea to host tournament"
. BBC Sport.
Archived
from the original on 27 January 2016
. Retrieved
12 February
2018
.
- ^
"Total to sponsor CAF competitions for the next eight years"
.
Africa News
. 21 July 2016.
Archived
from the original on 25 April 2019
. Retrieved
21 July
2016
.
- ^
"Infantino in Rabat as CAF mulls 24 ?team AFCON"
. Nigeria Football Ffederation. 18 July 2017.
Archived
from the original on 4 January 2018
. Retrieved
18 July
2017
.
- ^
"Potential changes to Africa Cup of Nations high on agenda at key CAF symposium"
. Inside the Games. 17 July 2017.
Archived
from the original on 18 July 2017
. Retrieved
18 July
2017
.
- ^
"Algeria win Africa Cup of Nations"
. BBC Sport.
Archived
from the original on 20 July 2019
. Retrieved
22 June
2021
.
- ^
"Le vainqueur de la CAN 2019 empochera une prime de 4 millions d'euros"
.
Football365
. Football365. 14 April 2019.
Archived
from the original on 17 April 2019
. Retrieved
18 April
2019
.
- ^
"How much will the winners of the Africa Cup of Nations receive?"
.
finance.yahoo.com
. 10 January 2022.
Archived
from the original on 7 February 2022
. Retrieved
7 February
2022
.
- ^
"CAF postpones 2021 AFCON qualifiers"
.
Graphic Online
. 13 March 2020.
Archived
from the original on 3 December 2020
. Retrieved
14 March
2020
.
- ^
"How much will the winners of the Africa Cup of Nations receive?"
.
finance.yahoo.com
. 10 January 2022.
Archived
from the original on 7 February 2022
. Retrieved
7 February
2022
.
- ^
"Senegal 0 Egypt 0 (4?1 pn pens)"
. BBC Sport. 6 February 2022.
Archived
from the original on 5 October 2022
. Retrieved
7 February
2022
.
- ^
"Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations"
(PDF)
. Confederation of African Football. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 28 January 2019.
- ^
a
b
c
"Nations Cup trophy revealed"
. BBC Sport. 25 September 2001.
Archived
from the original on 26 May 2022
. Retrieved
16 March
2007
.
- ^
"The Great Adventure of African Football"
. FIFA. 1 December 1997. Archived from
the original
on 7 January 2008
. Retrieved
16 March
2007
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Editions
| |
---|
Qualification
| |
---|
Finals
| |
---|
Bids
| |
---|
Squads
| |
---|
Statistics
| |
---|
Miscellaneous
| |
---|
Notes:
The 2021 and 2023 tournaments were actually held in 2022 and 2024 respectively. • There were no 1957 and 1959 qualifications as places were given by invitation only. • The "finals" articles for 1959 and 1976 are about the decisive matches of final group stages.
Football in Africa portal
|
Links to related articles
|
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|
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| |
---|
Youth competitions
| |
---|
Club competitions
| |
---|
Sub-regions
| |
---|
Related competitions
| |
---|
|
|
---|
| Africa
| | |
---|
Asia
| |
---|
Europe
| |
---|
North & Central America
and the Caribbean
| |
---|
Oceania
| |
---|
South America
| |
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Non-FIFA
| |
---|
Games
| |
---|
|
|
---|
- 1957
:
Ad-Diba
- 1959
:
El-Gohary
- 1962
:
Fattah
&
L. Vassallo
- 1963
:
El-Shazly
- 1965
:
Acheampong
,
Kofi
&
Mangle
- 1968
:
Pokou
- 1970
:
Pokou
- 1972
:
F. Keita
- 1974
:
Mulamba
- 1976
:
M. Keita
- 1978
:
Afriyie
,
Odegbami
&
Omondi
- 1980
:
Labied
&
Odegbami
- 1982
:
Alhassan
- 1984
:
Abouzeid
- 1986
:
Milla
- 1988
:
Abdel-Hamid
,
Belloumi
,
Milla
&
Traore
- 1990
:
Menad
- 1992
:
Yekini
- 1994
:
Yekini
- 1996
:
Bwalya
- 1998
:
Hassan
&
McCarthy
- 2000
:
Bartlett
- 2002
:
Aghahowa
,
M'Boma
&
Olembe
- 2004
:
Kanoute
,
M'Boma
,
Okocha
&
Santos
- 2006
:
Eto'o
- 2008
:
Eto'o
- 2010
:
Nagy
- 2012
:
Aubameyang
,
Diabate
,
Drogba
,
Kharja
,
Katongo
,
Mayuka
&
Manucho
- 2013
:
Emenike
&
Wakaso
- 2015
:
Akaichi
,
Ayew
,
Balboa
,
Bifouma
&
Mbokani
- 2017
:
Kabananga
- 2019
:
Ighalo
- 2021
:
Aboubakar
- 2023
:
Nsue
|
|