Embark on a fascinating journey through the vibrant history of the Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament that embodies the continent’s love for football and its rollercoaster of victories and hurdles.
From the early days in the 1950s-60s to the recent expansions and exciting games, each segment unveils the enduring passion characterizing African football.
Come along with us as we uncover the peaks, the iconic figures, and the transformation that has turned the Africa Cup of Nations into a globally acclaimed spectacle.
Africa Cup of Nations
Organising body – CAF | |
Founded – 1957; 67 years ago | |
Region – Africa | |
Number of teams – 24 (finals)54 (eligible to enter qualification) | |
Current champions – Ivory Coast (3rd title | |
Most successful team – Egypt (7 titles) |
Website: CAF Online
2023 Africa Cup of Nations opening ceremony at Alassane Ouattara Stadium Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The start and early times of the 1950s-60s
The African Nations Cup traces its roots back to June 1956 when the idea of establishing the Confederation of African Football was put forth at the third FIFA Congress in Lisbon. Following swift deliberations, plans were set in motion for a continental tournament. In February 1957, the inaugural Africa Cup of Nations took place in Khartoum, Sudan, featuring the four founding nations of CAF: Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Africa. However, South Africa’s adherence to an apartheid policy, selecting only white players, resulted in their disqualification. Consequently, Ethiopia advanced straight to the final. With only two matches played, Egypt emerged as the first continental champion, defeating hosts Sudan in the semi-final and Ethiopia in the final.
In 1959, Egypt hosted the second ANC in Cairo, where the same three teams participated. Once again, Egypt secured victory, overcoming Sudan in the final. The tournament expanded to nine teams for the third ANC in 1962 in Addis Ababa, featuring a qualification round for the first time. Host Ethiopia and reigning champion Egypt received automatic berths, and they were joined by Nigeria and Tunisia in the final four. Despite Egypt making its third consecutive final appearance, Ethiopia emerged triumphant by first defeating Tunisia and then securing victory over Egypt in extra time.
Ghana ruled the 1960s
In 1963, Ghana entered the competition as the host nation, securing the title by defeating Sudan in the final. They repeated this success two years later in Tunisia, matching Egypt as two-time champions, with only two players from the 1963 team returning. In 1965, CAF implemented a rule limiting overseas players in each team to two, a regulation that endured until 1982.
The 1968 tournament featured an expanded format, including eight teams from the initial 22. After preliminary rounds, qualifying teams were divided into two groups, engaging in single round-robin tournaments. The top two teams from each group advanced to the semi-finals, maintaining this format until 1992. The Democratic Republic of Congo claimed its first title in 1968 by defeating Ghana in the final. Starting from the 1968 edition, the competition became a biennial event in even-numbered years until 2012, followed by a tournament in 2013, and subsequent editions in odd-numbered years.
Laurent Pokou, a forward from Ivory Coast, topped the scoring charts in the 1968 and 1970 tournaments with six and eight goals, respectively. His total of 14 goals remained the record until 2008. Television coverage was introduced during the 1970 tournament in Sudan, where the hosts secured the trophy by defeating Ghana, who were making their fourth consecutive final appearance.
The 1970s: A time when many teams became champions
During the 1970-1980 period, six nations clinched titles: Sudan, Congo-Brazzaville, Zaire, Morocco, Ghana, and Nigeria. Zaire secured its second title in 1974 (having previously won as the Democratic Republic of Congo) by triumphing over Zambia in the final. In an unprecedented move for the competition, the initial match ended in a 2–2 draw after extra time, prompting a replay two days later, where Zaire emerged victorious with a 2–0 scoreline. Forward Mulamba Ndaye, the tournament’s top scorer with nine goals, netted all four of Zaire’s goals in these two matches, setting an unmatched single-tournament record. Notably, three months prior, Zaire had achieved the historic feat of becoming the first Sub-Saharan African nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Morocco secured their inaugural title in the 1976 ANC hosted in Ethiopia, while Ghana claimed its third championship in 1978, becoming the first nation to win three titles.
Cameroon ruled the 1980s
From 1980 to 1990, Cameroon made it to the Africa Cup final three times in a row. They won the championship in 1984 and 1988 but lost to Egypt on penalties in 1986. Algeria, a strong team in this period, reached the final in 1980 but lost to hosts Nigeria, allowing the Super Eagles to claim their first title. After 1980, Algeria consistently reached the semi-finals in every edition except 1986, eventually winning the tournament in 1990. Ghana secured their fourth continental title in the 1982 Cup, defeating host Libya in the final. The match ended 1–1 after 120 minutes, and Ghana won the penalty shootout to become champions.
In the 1990s, South Africa made a comeback
In 1990, the 17th Africa Cup of Nations took place in Algeria, featuring eight teams split into two groups. Algeria emerged victorious, securing their first championship by defeating Nigeria 1–0 in the final. Nigeria faced disappointment once more, making their third final appearance in four tournaments, this time succumbing to the host nation.
The 1992 Cup of Nations expanded to 12 participants, organized in four groups of three. Abedi “Pele” Ayew, a Ghanaian midfielder, stood out as the tournament’s best player, contributing three goals. Despite his efforts, Ghana lost in a penalty shootout to Ivory Coast in the final, where both teams attempted 11 penalties each. Ivory Coast set a record by keeping all their opponents scoreless throughout the tournament.
The 1994 edition maintained the 12-team format, with Nigeria emerging victorious again by defeating Zambia. Rashidi Yekini, the Nigerian forward, repeated as the top scorer with five goals. Hosts Tunisia faced a humiliating first-round elimination.
In 1996, South Africa hosted the 20th Africa Cup of Nations, making their debut after the end of apartheid. Despite Nigeria’s last-minute withdrawal for political reasons, Bafana Bafana secured their first title by defeating Tunisia in the final. Two years later in Burkina Faso, South Africa reached the final but couldn’t defend their title, losing to Egypt, who claimed their fourth cup.
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In the 2000s, Egypt made history by winning three major titles in a row
In 2000, Ghana and Nigeria co-hosted the tournament instead of the initially chosen Zimbabwe. The final between Cameroon and Nigeria ended in a 2–2 draw after extra time, with Cameroon ultimately winning on penalty kicks. In 2002, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions secured their second consecutive title by defeating first-time finalists Senegal.
Senegal and Cameroon, however, were both eliminated in the quarter-finals during the 2004 tournament in Tunisia, where the hosts claimed their first title by beating Morocco 2–1 in the final. Egypt hosted and won the 2006 tournament, marking their fifth title. The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by Ghana, witnessed Egypt retaining the trophy and winning their record-extending sixth title by defeating Cameroon 1–0 in the final.
Leading up to the 2008 tournament, there were calls from European clubs to reconsider the schedule, as the event clashed with the European season, causing players to miss club matches. FIFA president Sepp Blatter proposed moving the tournament to June or July 2016 to align with the international calendar, despite potential challenges for countries in central and west Africa during their wet season.
In the 2010s, they started having the event in odd-numbered years
In the 2010 tournament hosted by Angola, Egypt achieved an unprecedented feat by securing its third consecutive title, defeating Ghana 1–0 in the final. This remarkable achievement extended Egypt’s record to seven continental titles, including the period when Egypt was known as UAR between 1958 and 1961. Egypt became the first African nation to win three consecutive cups, joining the ranks of Mexico, Argentina, and Iran, who also accomplished this feat in their respective continental competitions.
On January 31, 2010, Egypt set a new African record by remaining undefeated for 19 consecutive Cup of Nations matches, with the last loss occurring against Algeria in Tunisia in 2004. They also established a record 9 consecutive win streak.
In May 2010, it was announced that the tournament would shift to odd-numbered years from 2013 to avoid coinciding with the World Cup. This adjustment resulted in two tournaments within twelve months in January 2012 (co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea) and January 2013 (hosted by South Africa). The change in the FIFA Confederations Cup schedule and the switch of the Africa Cup of Nations to odd-numbered years meant that previous champions like Egypt, Zambia, and Ivory Coast were deprived of participating in the Confederations Cup.
In 2011, Morocco won the bid to host the 2015 edition, and Libya won the right to host the 2013 tournament, but due to the 2011 Libyan civil war, Libya and South Africa swapped years, with South Africa hosting in 2013 and Libya in 2017. Ongoing conflicts in Libya eventually led the CAF to relocate the 2017 tournament to Gabon.
In 2012, Zambia won the final against Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout, drawing attention due to its proximity to the crash site of the 1993 air disaster of their national team. The 2013 tournament was won by Nigeria, defeating first-time finalists Burkina Faso.
The West African Ebola virus epidemic disrupted the 2014–15 tournament. Liberia suspended all football activities, and the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia was transformed into an Ebola treatment unit. The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, initially scheduled in Morocco, was moved to Equatorial Guinea due to Morocco’s refusal to host it on the allotted dates, citing concerns about the Ebola outbreak.
In July 2016, Total secured an eight-year sponsorship package for 10 of CAF’s principal competitions, starting with the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, which was renamed the “Total Africa Cup of Nations.”
From 2019 onward, there has been a notable expansion of the tournament
During Ahmad Ahmad’s presidency, discussions took place regarding modifications to the Africa Cup of Nations. In July 2017, two proposals were made: changing the competition’s timing from January to the Northern Hemisphere summer and expanding the teams from 16 to 24, effective from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. On July 20, 2017, the CAF Executive Commission approved these proposals during a meeting in Rabat, Morocco.
Algeria clinched the African Cup of Nations 2019 with a 1–0 victory against Senegal in the final, marking their second-ever title and the first since 1990. Nigeria secured third place by defeating Tunisia 1–0 in the third-place decider match. The prize money for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations winner was $4.5 million, with runners-up Senegal receiving $2.5 million.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers’ Matchdays 3 and 4, scheduled for March 25 to 30, 2020, were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, initially hosted by Cameroon, was rescheduled to 2022 due to the pandemic. The Confederation of African Football increased the cash prize for the winner from $4.5 million to $5 million for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, while the second-best team would receive $2.75 million. Senegal secured their first tournament victory by beating Egypt on penalties in the final.
Starting in 2013, the tournament schedule was changed to take place during years with odd numbers to prevent clashes with the FIFA World Cup. The current title holders of the tournament are Ivory Coast, who won the 2023 final by defeating Nigeria with a score of 2–1.
Source: Wikipedia
Conclusion:
As we conclude this journey through the annals of the Africa Cup of Nations, it’s evident that this tournament is more than just a football competition. It’s a narrative of resilience, diversity, and excellence that has unfolded over decades. The Africa Cup of Nations stands as a testament to the continent’s love for the beautiful game and its ability to adapt, grow, and leave an indelible mark on the world of football.
FAQs:
Q1: When did the Africa Cup of Nations begin?
Ans: The Africa Cup of Nations originated in 1956 when the idea was proposed at the third FIFA congress in Lisbon. The inaugural tournament took place in February 1957 in Khartoum, Sudan.
Q2: Which country secured the first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title?
Ans: Egypt emerged as the first continental champion in 1957, defeating hosts Sudan in the semi-final and Ethiopia in the final.
Q3: How many titles has Egypt won in the Africa Cup of Nations?
Ans: Egypt has won the Africa Cup of Nations a record seven times, including an unprecedented three consecutive titles in the 2000s.
Q4: Why was South Africa’s participation in the 1996 tournament unique?
Ans: South Africa made their debut in the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations after the end of apartheid, hosting the event and securing their first title.
Q5: Who ruled the 1980s in the Africa Cup of Nations?
Ans: Cameroon dominated the 1980s, reaching the final three times in a row and winning the championship in 1984 and 1988.
Q6: When did the Africa Cup of Nations transition to odd-numbered years?
Ans: The transition to odd-numbered years occurred in the 2010s, with the tournament being held in odd years starting from 2013.
Q7: What significant changes were approved during Ahmad Ahmad’s presidency in 2017?
Ans: In July 2017, the CAF Executive Commission approved changing the competition’s timing to the Northern Hemisphere summer and expanding the teams from 16 to 24, effective from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.