24 Nations, 1 Trophy
AFCON
January 13. – February 11.
Ivory Coast, the host nation, is in a group with Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau. Both Ivory Coast and Nigeria are expected to advance from the group, but they were both eliminated in the Round of 16 in the previous tournament. The Ivorians have two titles in their history, with their most recent coming in 2015 during their “golden generation”.
Senegal will start defend their title from Group C, where they will face Cameroon, the second-most successful team in the competition’s history. Cameroon narrowly missed out on a spot in the final in the previous tournament, losing in a shootout to Egypt, the most successful team in the competition.
The most successful team in the tournament’s history, Egypt, will look to improve on their silver medal from the last tournament. They will begin their quest for another title in Group B, which also includes Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. Ghana also has a history of success, but their last title came in 1982.
TITLES WON
7 titles: Egypt
5 titles: Cameroon
4 titles: Ghana
3 titles: Nigeria
2 titles: Algeria, DR Congo, and Ivory Coast
1 title: Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia.
IN THE MOST RECENT EDITION
Algeria: Finished at the bottom of a group that consisted of Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
Burkina Faso: Knocked out through a penalty shootout with Gabon in the Round of 16 stage after a 1-1 draw.
Cameroon: Lost ‘3-1’ in the penalty shootout with Egypt in the semifinals after playing a goalless draw.
Cape Verde: Knocked out by Senegal in the Round of 16. Senegal went on to win the tournament, so it was a worthy defeat.
Egypt: Lost in the final to Senegal, picking up their third silver medal to add to their record seven gold medals. They played extra time in all of their knockout games.
Equatorial Guinea: Knocked out in the quarterfinal by Senegal ‘3-1’.
Gambia: Knocked out by Cameroon ‘2-1’ in the quarterfinal.
Ghana: Finished at the bottom of their group without a win, with their only point coming in a draw with Gabon. Morocco and Comoros were the other members of the group.
Guinea: Knocked out in the Round of 16 by Gambia, 1-0.
Guinea-Bissau: Finished at the bottom of their group without a win. They had Nigeria, Egypt, and Sudan as group mates.
Ivory Coast: Knocked out in the Round of 16 through a penalty shootout after playing a goalless draw with Egypt.
Mali: Knocked out in the Round of 16 through a penalty shootout after playing a goalless draw with Equatorial Guinea.
Mauritania: Lost all their matches and finished winless and at the bottom of a group that included Mali, Gambia, and Tunisia.
Morocco: Exited the tournament in the quarterfinal after a 2-1 defeat against Egypt.
Nigeria: Knocked out at the Round of 16 stage by Tunisia 1-0.
Senegal: Won their first title, defending champions.
Tunisia: Knocked out in the quarterfinals by Burkina Faso 1-0.
PAST CHAMPIONS
Egypt (1957) Egypt (1959) Ethiopia (1962) Ghana (1963) Ghana (1965) DR Congo (1968) Sudan (1970) PR Congo (1972) Zaire (1974) Morocco (1976) Ghana (1978) Nigeria (1980) Ghana (1982) Cameroon (1984) Egypt (1986) Cameroon (1988) Algeria (1990) Ivory Coast (1992) Nigeria (1994) South Africa (1996) Egypt (1998) Cameroon (2000) Cameroon (2002) Tunisia (2004) Egypt (2006) Egypt (2008) Egypt (2010) Zambia (2012) Nigeria (2013) Ivory Coast (2015) Cameroon (2017) Algeria (2019) Senegal (2021) ?? (2023)
EIGHT NATIONS HAVE WON THE TOURNAMENT AS HOSTS:
Eight nations have won the tournament as hosts, with Egypt and Ghana being the only two to achieve this feat on multiple occasions. Egypt has done so three times, while Ghana has accomplished it twice. Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tunisia have each won once, as have Ethiopia and Sudan. However, the latter two did not qualify for this tournament.
Cote d’Ivoire has never secured victory as a host nation, so this might be their opportunity to make a significant impact.
Egypt was the last host nation to win the tournament, in 2006.
GROUPS
Group A: Equatorial Guinea / Guinea-Bissau / Ivory Coast / Nigeria Group B: Cape Verde / Egypt / Ghana / Mozambique Group C: Cameroon / Gambia / Guinea / Senegal Group D: Algeria / Angola / Burkina Faso / Mauritania Group E: Mali / Namibia / South Africa / Tunisia Group F: DR Congo / Morocco / Tanzania / Zambia
GROUP STAGE FIXTURES
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Ivory Coast vs. Guinea-Bissau (GROUP A)
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Nigeria vs. Equatorial Guinea (GROUP A)
Egypt vs. Mozambique (GROUP B)
Ghana vs. Cape Verde (GROUP B)
Monday, January 15, 2024
Senegal vs. Gambia (GROUP C)
Cameroon vs. Guinea (GROUP C)
Algeria vs. Angola (GROUP D)
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Burkina Faso vs. Mauritania (GROUP D)
Tunisia vs. Namibia (GROUP E)
Mali vs. South Africa (GROUP E)
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Morocco vs. Tanzania (GROUP F)
DR Congo vs. Zambia (GROUP F)
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Equatorial Guinea vs. Guinea-Bissau (GROUP A)
Ivory Coast vs. Nigeria (GROUP A)
Egypt vs. Ghana (GROUP B)
Friday, January 19, 2024
Cape Verde vs. Mozambique (GROUP B)
Senegal vs. Cameroon (GROUP C)
Guinea vs. Gambia (GROUP C)
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Algeria vs. Burkina Faso (GROUP D)
Mauritania vs. Angola (GROUP D)
Tunisia vs. Mali (GROUP E)
Sunday, January 21, 2024
South Africa vs. Namibia (GROUP E)
Morocco vs. DR Congo (GROUP F)
Zambia vs. Tanzania (GROUP F)
Monday, January 22, 2024
Equatorial Guinea vs. Ivory Coast (GROUP A)
Guinea-Bissau vs. Nigeria (GROUP A)
Mozambique vs. Ghana (GROUP B)
Cape Verde vs. Egypt (GROUP B)
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Guinea vs. Senegal (GROUP C)
Gambia vs. Cameroon (GROUP C)
Angola vs. Burkina Faso (GROUP D)
Mauritania vs. Algeria (GROUP D)
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
South Africa vs. Tunisia (GROUP E)
Namibia vs. Mali (GROUP E)
Tanzania vs. DR Congo (GROUP F)
Zambia vs. Morocco (GROUP F)
FIFA’s RANKING: Using FIFA’s World Rankings to determine the favorites, the leading teams are expected to be Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt. Following closely as other prime contenders are Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Mali.
13. Morocco (Group F) 20. Senegal (Group C) 28. Tunisia (Group E) 30. Algeria (Group D) 33. Egypt (Group B) 42. Nigeria (Group A) 46. Cameroon (Group C) 49. Ivory Coast (Group A) 51. Mali (Group E) 57. Burkina Faso (Group D) 61. Ghana (Group B) 66. South Africa (Group E) 67. DR Congo (Group F) 73. Cape Verde (Group B) 80. Guinea (Group C) 84. Zambia (Group F) 88. Equatorial Guinea (Group A) 103. Guinea-Bissau (Group A) 105. Mauritania (Group D) 111. Mozambique (Group B) 115. Namibia (Group E) 117. Angola (Group D) 121. Tanzania (Group F) 126. Gambia (Group C)
A few record holders in the competition’s history:
MOST TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES AS COACH
Claude Le Roy, a seasoned football manager, boasts an extensive coaching history in various nations in the African Cup of Nations, having managed six different nations and participated in nine tournaments.
(1986 – Cameroon, 1988 – Cameroon ⭐, 1990 – Senegal, 1992 – Senegal, 2006 – DR Congo, 2008 – Ghana, 2013 – DR Congo, 2015 – Congo, 2017 – Togo).
He won the tournament with Cameroon in 1988, following a runners-up finish in 1986. In 1990, he guided Senegal to a 4th-place finish, but the subsequent campaign in 1992 was less successful.
In 2008, as the manager of Ghana during their host year, Le Roy secured a bronze medal for the team. He reached the quarterfinals with DR Congo in 2006 but faced disappointment in 2013 when the team failed to advance from the group stage.
Managing Congo in the 2015 tournament, Le Roy led the team to the quarterfinals. However, his last tournament in 2017 with Togo marked his worst run, as they failed to advance from the group, finishing at the bottom without a win.
MOST TITLES WON AS COACH (3)
Charles Gyamfi (Ghana) 1963, 1965 and 1982 / Hassan Shehata (Egypt) 2006, 2008 and 2010
All three of Ghana’s titles were secured under the management of the legendary Charles Kumi Gyamfi. This achievement made him the first coach to lead a team to three titles, a record that still stands. This record is now shared with Egypt’s Hassan Shehata, who managed Egypt to their last three titles, all of which were achieved consecutively.
WINNING WITH MULTIPLE NATIONS
Hervé Renard managed Zambia to the title in 2012 and Cote d’Ivoire to the title in 2015. This accomplishment makes him the only manager to win the tournament with different nations.
Player with the most titles (4):
Essam El Hadary Egypt (1998, 2006, 2008, 2010)
Ahmed Hassan Egypt (1998, 2006, 2008, 2010)
Essam El Hadary and Ahmed Hassan were part of the Egyptian teams that won the title in 1998, 2006, 2008, and 2010, making them the two players with the most titles won.
TOP SCORERS:
Of all the active players, Andre Ayew of Ghana has scored the most goals in the competition’s history. With 10 goals to his name, he is the only active player to have reached double digits. Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar is only one goal away from matching this feat, while Senegal’s Sadio Mane trails by two goals. In the competition’s goalscoring records, Samuel Eto’o has a commanding lead, four goals ahead of his closest competitor. However, it is worth noting that the next three players after Eto’o are all deceased legends of the sport.
Samuel Eto'o ( Cameroon) - 18 goals Laurent Pokou ( Ivory Coast) - 14 goals Rashidi Yekini ( Nigeria) - 13 goals Hassan El-Shazly ( Egypt) - 12 goals Patrick Mboma ( Cameroon) - 11 goals Hossam Hassan ( Egypt) - 11 goals Didier Drogba ( Ivory Coast) - 11 goals
THE TOP SCORERS AMONG THE ACTIVE PLAYERS:
André Ayew ( Ghana) - 10 goals Vincent Aboubakar ( Cameroon) - 9 goals Sadio Mané ( Senegal) - 8 goals Youssef Msakni ( Tunisia) - 7 goals Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ( Gabon) - 6 goals Riyad Mahrez ( Algeria) - 6 goals Mohamed Salah ( Egypt) - 6 goals
POTT – PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT
1957 - Ad-Diba (Egypt) 1959 - Mahmoud El-Gohary (Egypt) 1962 - Mengistu Worku (Ethiopia) 1963 - Hassan El-Shazly (United Arab Republic) 1965 - Osei Kofi (Ghana) 1968 - Kazadi Mwamba (Democratic Republic of the Congo) 1970 - Laurent Pokou (Ivory Coast) 1972 - François M'Pelé (Republic of the Congo) 1974 - Ndaye Mulamba (Zaire) 1976 - Ahmed Faras (Morocco) 1978 - Karim Abdul Razak (Ghana) 1980 - Christian Chukwu (Nigeria) 1982 - Al-Issawi (Libya) 1984 - Théophile Abega (Cameroon) 1986 - Roger Milla (Cameroon) 1988 - Aziz Bouderbala (Morocco) 1990 - Rabah Madjer (Algeria) 1992 - Abedi Pele (Ghana) 1994 - Rashidi Yekini (Nigeria) 1996 - Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia) 1998 - McCarthy (South Africa) 2000 - Cameroon Lauren (Cameroon) 2002 - Rigobert Song (Cameroon) 2004 - Jay Okocha (Nigeria) 2006 - Ahmed Hassan (Egypt) 2008 - Hosny Abd Rabo (Egypt) 2010 - Ahmed Hassan (Egypt) 2012 - Christopher Katongo (Zambia) 2013 - Jonathan Pitroipa (Burkina Faso) 2015 - Christian Atsu (Ghana) 2017 - Christian Bassogog (Cameroon) 2019 - Ismaël Bennacer (Algeria) 2021 - Sadio Mané (Senegal)
