Africa Cup of Nations
Organising body | CAF |
---|---|
Founded | 1957 |
Region | Africa |
Number of teams | 24 (finals) 54 (eligible to enter qualification) |
Current champions | Ivory Coast (3rd title) |
Most successful team(s) | Egypt (7 titles) |
Website | cafonline.com |
2025 Africa Cup of Nations |
Tournaments |
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The Africa Cup of Nations commonly referred to as the
In the first tournament in 1957, there were only three participating nations:
History
1950s–60s: Origin and early years
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
.There was no qualification for this tournament, the field being made up of the four founding nations of CAF (
The field grew to include nine teams for the
1960s: Ghanaian domination
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
1970s: A decade of champions
Six nations won titles from 1970 to 1980:
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
1980s: Cameroonian domination
Between 1980 and 1990,
1990s: The return of South Africa
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.
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
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
The
In January 2008,
2010s: Switch to odd years
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,
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
In 2014–15, the
In July 2016,
Since 2019: Tournament expansion
Under
Match days 3 and 4 of the
Format
The number of teams and the format of each final tournament have varied over the years. In most tournaments, the tournament consists of a
# | Year | Host | Teams | Matches | Round 1 | Final stages |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1957 | Sudan | 3(4)[s 1] | 2[s 2] | knockout of 4 teams: 3 matches (no third-place match was played) | |
2 | 1959 | United Arab Republic | 3 | 3 | 1 group of 3 teams: 3 matches | |
3 | 1962 | Ethiopia | 4 | 4 | knockout of 4 teams: 4 matches | |
4 | 1963 | Ghana | 6 | 8 | 2 groups of 3 teams: 6 matches | final (round 1 group winners) and third-place match (round 1 group runners-up) |
5 | 1965 | Tunisia | ||||
6 | 1968 | Ethiopia | 8 | 16 | 2 groups of 4 teams: 12 matches | knockout of 4 teams (round 1 group winners and runners-up): 4 matches (not counting replays) |
7 | 1970 | Sudan | ||||
8 | 1972 | Cameroon | ||||
9 | 1974 | Egypt | 17 | |||
10 | 1976 | Ethiopia | 18 | 1 group of 4 teams (round 1 group winners and runners-up): 6 matches | ||
11 | 1978 | Ghana | 16 | knockout of 4 teams (round 1 group winners and runners-up): 4 matches | ||
12 | 1980 | Nigeria | ||||
13 | 1982 | Libya | ||||
14 | 1984 | Ivory Coast | ||||
15 | 1986 | Egypt | ||||
16 | 1988 | Morocco | ||||
17 | 1990 | Algeria | ||||
18 | 1992 | Senegal | 12 | 20 | 4 groups of 3 teams: 12 matches | knockout of 8 teams (round 1 group winners and runners-up): 8 matches |
19 | 1994 | Tunisia | ||||
20 | 1996 | South Africa | 15(16)[s 3] | 29 | 4 groups (3 groups of 4 teams and 1 group of 3 teams): 21 matches | |
21 | 1998 | Burkina Faso | 16 | 32 | 4 groups of 4 teams: 24 matches | |
22 | 2000 | Ghana Nigeria | ||||
23 | 2002 | Mali | ||||
24 | 2004 | Tunisia | ||||
25 | 2006 | Egypt | ||||
26 | 2008 | Ghana | ||||
27 | 2010 | Angola | 15(16)[s 4] | 29 | 4 groups (3 groups of 4 teams and 1 group of 3 teams): 21 matches | |
28 | 2012 | Equatorial Guinea Gabon |
16 | 32 | 4 groups of 4 teams: 24 matches | |
29 | 2013 | South Africa | ||||
30 | 2015 | Equatorial Guinea | ||||
31 | 2017 | Gabon | ||||
32 | 2019 | Egypt | 24 | 52 | 6 groups of 4 teams: 36 matches | knockout of 16 teams (round 1 group winners and runners-up, plus 4 best 3rd-placed teams): 16 matches |
33 | 2021 | Cameroon | ||||
34 | 2023 | Ivory Coast | ||||
35 | 2025 | Morocco | ||||
36 | 2027 | Kenya Tanzania Uganda |
- ^ South Africa were disqualified due to the country's apartheid policies
- ^ The second semi-final was scratched and Ethiopia were advanced to the final after South Africa were disqualified due to apartheid
- ^ Nigeria withdrew prior to the start of the finals. Guinea, as the best side not to qualify, were offered Nigeria's spot in the finals, but declined due to a lack of preparation time
- ^ Togo withdrew from the competition after their bus was attacked by gunmen in Cabinda, Angola. They were then formally disqualified from the tournament after failing to fulfil their opening Group B game against Ghana on 11 January
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
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
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
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
- Keys
- a.e.t.: after extra time
- p: penalty shoot-out
- awd: awarded result.
- TBD: to be determined.
Summary
- * hosts
- 1 as United Arab Republic
- 2 as Congo-Kinshasa
- 3 as Zaire
All-time record
Tournaments | Matches | Goals scored | Goals per match |
---|---|---|---|
1957 | 2 | 7 | 3.50 |
1959 | 3 | 8 | 2.67 |
1962 | 4 | 18 | 4.50 |
1963 | 8 | 33 | 4.13 |
1965 | 8 | 31 | 3.88 |
1968 | 16 | 52 | 3.25 |
1970 | 16 | 51 | 3.19 |
1972 | 16 | 53 | 3.31 |
1974 | 17 | 54 | 3.18 |
1976 | 18 | 54 | 3.00 |
1978 | 16 | 38 | 2.38 |
1980 | 16 | 33 | 2.06 |
1982 | 16 | 32 | 2.00 |
1984 | 16 | 39 | 2.44 |
1986 | 16 | 31 | 1.94 |
1988 | 16 | 23 | 1.44 |
1990 | 16 | 30 | 1.88 |
1992 | 20 | 34 | 1.70 |
1994 | 20 | 44 | 2.20 |
1996 | 29 | 78 | 2.69 |
1998 | 32 | 93 | 2.91 |
2000 | 32 | 73 | 2.28 |
2002 | 32 | 48 | 1.50 |
2004 | 32 | 88 | 2.75 |
2006 | 32 | 73 | 2.28 |
2008 | 32 | 99 | 3.09 |
2010 | 29 | 71 | 2.45 |
2012 | 32 | 76 | 2.38 |
2013 | 32 | 69 | 2.16 |
2015 | 32 | 68 | 2.13 |
2017 | 32 | 66 | 2.06 |
2019 | 52 | 102 | 1.96 |
2021 | 52 | 100 | 1.92 |
2023 | 52 | 119 | 2.29 |
Champions by region
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
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).
Team | Two championships | Three championships |
---|---|---|
Egypt | 1: ( 1959 )
|
1: (2006, 2008, 2010) |
Ghana | 1: ( 1965 )
|
— |
Cameroon | 1: ( 2002 )
|
— |
Bold indicate tournament hosts
Records and statistics
Awards
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
Notes
- ^ 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
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- ^ a b "The early years". BBC Sport. 16 January 2004. Archived from the original on 24 January 2004. Retrieved 9 March 2007.
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- ^ "2015 Nations Cup: Equatorial Guinea to host tournament". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
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Further reading
- The Great Adventure of African Football (FIFA)
- History of African Nations cup since 1957 (Egypt State Information Service)