The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. The competition was established at the high noon of decolonisation in the mid-20th century with Pan-African ideals of unity and cooperation at its heart. The current tournament is the 32nd edition.
At inception, AFCON set out lofty ambitions for itself. In its first few decades, AFCON aspired to a pan-African vision. According to historian Peter Alegi, author of African Soccerscapes, the first tournament was the vehicle for political idealism. “It sought to assert Africans’ equality with Europeans, who still colonised most of the continent at the time,” he says. “AFCON also made a statement about Africa’s citizenship and belonging in the globalising world of football.
In a 1974 speech delivered to the CAF General Assembly in Cairo, its then president Yidnekatchew Tessema captured a vision of football carrying out an important social function in helping the continent bridge differences. “I’m issuing a call to our general assembly that it affirm that Africa is one and indivisible,” he declared, “that we work towards the unity of Africa together. We do not accept the division of Africa into Francophone, Anglophone, and Arabophone.
Throughout its history, AFCON was held between January and February when weather conditions are most suitable in most African countries. As of this year, the tournament will be played in the summer. This means that AFCON is very likely to be played from now on in very high heat or heavy rain.
Arguably, it still serves a valid purpose in its own right. As AFCON professionalised during the 1980s and opened up to the increasing number of African players based outside of the continent, it also commercialised rapidly, under the three-decade tenure of Hayatou, who sanctioned many sponsorship deals. This matched the wider trend in global football under then FIFA President João Havelange.
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On the bright side, the 24-team format means almost half of African nations are represented in Egypt. As US-based writer Miriti Murungi reflected recently, when an African team is playing at the World Cup he’ll think: “Come on, Africa. Do it for the motherland!” However, when AFCON comes around, he says, “things break down and Africans start saying things like ‘I don’t trust those people’ and arguing about who has better rice,” or “I don’t know about them.
Yet if ordinary Africans who love football can’t afford match tickets (or even to see their heroes on television) there’s a real risk that AFCON gets hollowed out, and the high ideals it once represented so forcefully may dwindle and ebb away.
Between January 19th and February 20th, 2002 school children from all over Africa along with their parents and friends were glued to their radios and TV sets. After an elimination process that lasted nearly six months, national teams representing 16 African countries earned the right to participate in the African Cup of Nations tournament, the premiere sporting event in Africa.
After one month of exciting matches that were listened to and watched by tens of millions of people from all over the continent, the African championship came down to the final match between Cameroon, a traditional powerhouse in African football, and Senegal. It was a tense and exciting match that after regulation time ended in a draw.
Neither team scored in the twenty minute overtime period. Consequently, the championship came down to a penalty shoot-out. The first two penalty shooters for each team made their shoots. The third penalty kicker from Cameroon made his shot. However, to the great disappointment of millions of fans in Senegal, he missed his shot. Can you imagine how he felt?
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As in the United States sports are very important in most African countries. Many school children and young people are just as interested in most recent football or cricket match as they are in their school-work.
Early Years and Expansion
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.
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 was originally scheduled to join, but was disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government then in power. 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 of 2-1 . 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.
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.
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In 1965, the CAF introduced a rule that limited the number of overseas players in each team to two. 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.
A brief History of the Africa Cup of Nations
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.
Six nations won titles from 1970 to 1980: Sudan, Congo-Brazzaville, Zaire, Morocco, Ghana, and Nigeria. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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.
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. 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. The Cameroonians beat first-time finalists Senegal, who also debuted in the World Cup later that year, via penalty kicks.
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.
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). 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, and a record 9 consecutive win streak.
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 (co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea) and January 2013 (hosted by South Africa). 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. Ongoing fighting in Libya ultimately prompted CAF to move the 2017 tournament to Gabon).
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. All football activities in Liberia were suspended, and the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia was converted into an Ebola treatment unit. 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.
In July 2016, Total secured the rights to an eight-year sponsorship package to support 10 of CAF's principal competitions. Under Ahmad Ahmad's presidency, there were discussions regarding further changes to the Africa Cup of Nations. In July 2017, two changes were proposed: 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).
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. 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.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, hosted by Cameroon, was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to several circumstances the 2021 and 2023 editions, mainly to the heat on the African continent, but recently, i.e. 2025, due to the new quadrennial FIFA Club World Cup tournament, it has been held around January in the following year.
The number of teams and the format of each final tournament have varied over the years. 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 qualification phase has evolved over time according to the increasing number of nations affiliated to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
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. 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. 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.
Trophies
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.
The second trophy was awarded from 1980 to 2000 and was named "Trophy of African Unity" or "African Unity Cup". 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.
In 2001, the third trophy was revealed, a gold-plated cup designed and made in Italy. 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.
Egypt had a penalty shoot-out winning streak of six, winning every shoot-out since their 5-4 win to Cameroon in the 1986 final. In 2017, Egypt set a new record of 24 consecutive Africa Cup of Nations matches played without defeat, dating back to their last tournament appearance in 2010. During this run, Egypt also reached a record nine consecutive wins in AFCON matches after beating Ghana in the 2010 final, while becoming the first team to win three consecutive AFCON titles.
East Africa's Struggle for Recognition
As the Africa Cup of Nations tournament goes on in Ghana, one region of the world is conspicuously missing. The Eastern Africa region, with its history of poor performance is football, is a perennial absentee at this continental gala.
Perhaps it is time that the FAs of Eastern African countries - Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Somali, Ethiopia, Burundi and Rwanda - got together to find a solution to the problem of underperformance by their teams. And money is not the issue. Uganda and Kenya have bigger economies than Benin but Benin managed to make it to the tournament. The problem is not just in the national teams.
This region’s leagues are also the weakest on the continent. Enyimba, Asante Kotoko, Obwasi Goal fields, Esperance, Zamalek, Pirates are all famous clubs from all the other regions who have won the continental club championship or featured prominently. Nope, never. East African teams mostly suck at the world stage, and the strongest (and oldest) teams are Ethiopia and Sudan.
2 east African teams founded the Africa Cup in 1957 (Sudan and Ethiopia). Ethiopia won 2nd place then and first place in 1962. They went on to the 1962 World Cup qualification were they were knocked out by Israel in the 2nd round. This was probably one of Ethiopia's best national team and was mostly Eritreans, when Eritrea was still part of Ethiopia. They closest since then was 2014 World Cup where they advanced to Group A World Cup qualifications after beating Somalia 5-0.
In the 1958 World Cup qualifications, Ethiopia was refused entry. Sudan was allowed in but withdrew because they had to play Israel. Somalia's team has never qualified for the World or African cups, nor has it won or gotten top 3 in any tournament. March 2007 after a Africa Cup qualifying game in Angola, another 6 Eritrean national team members defected and sought asylum.
Because of all these high profile defections, Eritrea withdrew from the 2008 CECAFA cup, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2010 African Cup. This didn't work though, since when Eritrea returned to the 2009 CECAFA cup, 12 members of the team failed to show up for their return flight and instead sought assistance from the Refugee Consortium of Kenya.
This was very embarrassing to the Eritrean regime which hired on a new coach who promised to prevent any future defections like the infamous one in Kenya.
NAIROBI, Jan. "Where are East Africa's candidates? We have had this tournament many times in West or North Africa. Southern Africa has also had its share with South Africa. In 1996, all eyes were on Kenya's return to the Africa Cup of Nations as hosts. "Kenya are always jokers in regard to sports. We don't give them the right support. We have no structures to help budding players get through to the international scene. "This needs to change. After this, it failed to qualify until 2004 in Tunisia.
In 2017, Libya lost the hosting rights to Gabon. Initial host Morocco's decision to request a postponement of the event was due to a fear of the Ebola epidemic arriving on their shores. Again in 2013, Libya once again lost out due to its civil war. They swapped with South Africa with hopes of hosting the 2017 tournament should normalcy resume in the country. In 2000, Zimbabwe's spirited efforts to convince CAF to allow them to stage the tournament were thwarted.
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