The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is the biggest football tournament in Africa. AFCON was first contested by three teams in Sudan back in 1957. The teams were Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt.
Egypt beat Sudan to win the first cup. Since then, AFCON has become the most prestigious cup in the continent. Up until 2019, the tournament had a total of 16 teams competing. The number of teams has since increased to 24.
The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) is the organizer of the cup.
How many AFCON trophies are there?
Since the first tournament, three trophies have been awarded.
The first Cup, the Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem Trophy, was permanently awarded to Ghana in 1978 after being the first country to win the cup three times.
The second trophy – African Unity Cup – was awarded to Cameroon in 2000. The team had bagged its third championship since 1978.
The current and third trophy, The Africa Cup of Nations, debuted two years later in 2002 and is being used to date.
Why is the Africa Cup of Nations played every 2 years?
The Africa Cup of Nations is played once every two years. This decision was made in 1968, following growing participation by teams across the continent. This move by the CAF was also meant to spur the development of football in the region.
In the same year, CAF introduced qualifying rounds in the tournament.
In 2013, CAF changed the tournament format from being held every even-numbered year to odd-numbered years.
The switch on how often the Africa Cup of Nations is played was to keep the tournament from clashing with the FIFA World Cup.
AFCON Cup Winners over the years
Below are the winners of the biennial AFCON tournaments since 1957.
| YEAR | COUNTRY |
|---|---|
| 1957 | Egypt |
| 1959 | Egypt |
| 1962 | Ethiopia |
| 1963 | Ghana |
| 1965 | Ghana |
| 1968 | Congo (Kinshasa) |
| 1970 | Sudan |
| 1972 | Congo (Brazzaville) |
| 1974 | Zaire |
| 1976 | Morocco |
| 1978 | Ghana |
| 1980 | Nigeria |
| 1982 | Ghana |
| 1984 | Cameroon |
| 1986 | Egypt |
| 1988 | Cameroon |
| 1990 | Algeria |
| 1992 | Côte d’Ivoire |
| 1994 | Nigeria |
| 1996 | South Africa |
| 1998 | Egypt |
| 2000 | Cameroon |
| 2002 | Cameroon |
| 2004 | Tunisia |
| 2006 | Egypt |
| 2008 | Egypt |
| 2010 | Egypt |
| 2012 | Zambia |
| 2013 | Nigeria |
| 2015 | Côte d’Ivoire |
| 2017 | Cameroon |
| 2019 | Algeria |
| 2021 | Senegal |
Worth noting is that the 2021 AFCON tournament was pushed to 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What are the criteria for hosting AFCON?
To host the AFCON tournament, the interested country must have six stadiums. All these stadiums will be used by all the 24 teams playing.
The specific CAF requirements for the stadiums are; two stadiums of 40,000, 20,000 15,000 seating capacity.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected spectator turnout at the 2021 tournament held in Cameroon.
Who has won the most Africa Cup of Nations tournaments?
Since 1957, there have been 14 winners of the AFCON tournament. Of these, 7 wins go to Egypt. The Egypt national team has also finished twice as runners-up, in 1962 and again in 2017.
Similar posts
- AFCON prize money for winners and competing teams
- Is African Football League the same as CAF Champions League?
