The battle for continental supremacy is bound to be a fierce one when 24 teams compete in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Initially scheduled to take place last summer to avoid clashing with European club competitions, extreme weather conditions in the host country forced CAF into a rethink. While the tournament will now be held at the start of 2024, much to the dismay of clubs across Europe, the event has retained its original name much like Euro 2020 did despite taking place in 2021.
Sadio Mane inspired Senegal to their maiden AFCON triumph last time out, and it’s hard to pick out a clear favourite for the upcoming iteration. Mohamed Salah, Mane, Victor Osimhen, Riyad Mahrez, and Achraf Hakimi will each be trying to propel their respective nations to glory in the Ivory Coast.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The 2023 African Cup of Nations will start on 13 January 2024 with host Ivory Coast taking on Guinea-Bissau in the tournament opener.
The tournament will conclude less than a month later with the final scheduled for 11 February 2024.
Ivory Coast were initially expected to host the 2021 African Cup of Nations, but Cameroon’s failure to progress during hosting preparations for the 2019 tournament meant they hosted in 2021 instead.
As a result, Ivory Coast’s hosting duties were pushed back two years.
Guinea, who were meant to host the 2023 AFCON, will now take centre stage in 2025.
|
Nation |
Method of qualification |
Previous best AFCON finish |
|---|---|---|
|
Ivory Coast |
Hosts / Group H runners-up |
Champions (1992, 2015) |
|
Morocco |
Group K winners |
Champions (1976) |
|
Algeria |
Group F winners |
Champions (1990, 2019) |
|
South Africa |
Group K runners-up |
Champions (1996) |
|
Senegal |
Group L winners |
Champions (2021) |
|
Burkina Faso |
Group B winners |
Runners-up (2013) |
|
Tunisia |
Group J winners |
Champions (2004) |
|
Egypt |
Group D winners |
Champions (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
|
Zambia |
Group H winners |
Champions (2012) |
|
Equatorial Guinea |
Group J runners-up |
Fourth place (2015) |
|
Nigeria |
Group A winners |
Champions (1980, 1994, 2013) |
|
Guinea-Bissau |
Group A runners-up |
Group stage (2017, 2019, 2021) |
|
Cape Verde |
Group B runners-up |
Quarter-finals (2013) |
|
Mali |
Group G winners |
Runners-up (1972) |
|
Guinea |
Group D runners-up |
Runners-up (1976) |
|
Ghana |
Group E winners |
Champions (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982) |
|
Angola |
Group E runners-up |
Quarter-finals (2008, 2010) |
|
Tanzania |
Group F runners-up |
Group stage (1980, 2019) |
|
Mozambique |
Group L runners-up |
Group stage (1986, 1996, 1998, 2010) |
|
DR Congo |
Group I winners |
Champions (1968, 1974) |
|
Mauritania |
Group I runners-up |
Group stage (2019, 2021) |
|
Gambia |
Group G runners-up |
Quarter-finals (2021) |
|
Cameroon |
Group C winners |
Champions (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017) |
|
Namibia |
Group C runners-up |
Group stage (1998, 2008, 2019) |
Group A
|
Rank |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Ivory Coast |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2. |
Nigeria |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
3. |
Equatorial Guinea |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
4. |
Guinea-Bissau |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Group A fixtures
|
Date / Kick-off Time (GMT) |
Fixture |
Location |
|---|---|---|
|
13/01/24 / 20:00 |
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau |
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan |
|
14/01/24 / 14:00 |
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea |
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan |
|
18/01/24 / 14:00 |
Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau |
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan |
|
18/01/24 / 17:00 |
Ivory Coast vs Nigeria |
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan |
|
22/01/24 / 17:00 |
Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast |
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan |
|
22/01/24 / 17:00 |
Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria |
Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan |
Group B
|
Rank |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Egypt |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2. |
Ghana |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
3. |
Cape Verde |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
4. |
Mozambique |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Group B fixtures
|
Date / Kick-off Time (GMT) |
Fixture |
Location |
|---|---|---|
|
14/01/24 / 17:00 |
Egypt vs Mozambique |
Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan |
|
14/01/24 / 20:00 |
Ghana vs Cape Verde |
Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan |
|
18/01/24 / 20:00 |
Egypt vs Ghana |
Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan |
|
19/01/24 / 14:00 |
Cape Verde vs Mozambique |
Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan |
|
22/01/24 / 20:00 |
Mozambique vs Ghana |
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan |
|
22/01/24 / 20:00 |
Cape Verde vs Egypt |
Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan |
Group C
|
Rank |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Senegal |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2. |
Cameroon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
3. |
Guinea |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
4. |
Gambia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Group C fixtures
|
Date / Kick-off Time (GMT) |
Fixture |
Location |
|---|---|---|
|
15/01/24 / 14:00 |
Senegal vs Gambia |
Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro |
|
15/01/24 / 17:00 |
Cameroon vs Guinea |
Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro |
|
19/01/24 / 17:00 |
Senegal vs Cameroon |
Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro |
|
19/01/24 / 20:00 |
Guinea vs Gambia |
Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro |
|
23/01/24 / 17:00 |
Guinea vs Senegal |
Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro |
|
23/01/24 / 17:00 |
Gambia vs Cameroon |
Stade de la Paix, Bouaké |
Group D
|
Rank |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Algeria |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2. |
Burkina Faso |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
3. |
Mauritania |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
4. |
Angola |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Group D fixtures
|
Date / Kick-off Time (GMT) |
Fixture |
Location |
|---|---|---|
|
15/01/24 / 20:00 |
Algeria vs Angola |
Stade de la Paix, Bouaké |
|
16/01/24 / 14:00 |
Burkina Faso vs Mauritania |
Stade de la Paix, Bouaké |
|
20/01/24 / 14:00 |
Algeria vs Burkina Faso |
Stade de la Paix, Bouaké |
|
20/01/24 / 17:00 |
Mauritania vs Angola |
Stade de la Paix, Bouaké |
|
23/01/24 / 20:00 |
Angola vs Burkina Faso |
Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro |
|
23/01/24 / 20:00 |
Mauritania vs Algeria |
Stade de la Paix, Bouaké |
Group E
|
Rank |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Tunisia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2. |
Mali |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
3. |
South Africa |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
4. |
Namibia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Group E fixtures
|
Date / Kick-off Time (GMT) |
Fixture |
Location |
|---|---|---|
|
16/01/24 / 17:00 |
Tunisia vs Namibia |
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo |
|
16/01/24 / 20:00 |
Mali vs South Africa |
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo |
|
20/01/24 / 20:00 |
Tunisia vs Mali |
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo |
|
21/01/24 / 20:00 |
South Africa vs Namibia |
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo |
|
24/01/24 / 17:00 |
South Africa vs Tunisia |
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo |
|
24/01/24 / 17:00 |
Namibia vs Mali |
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro |
Group F
|
Rank |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal difference |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Morocco |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2. |
DR Congo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
3. |
Zambia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
4. |
Tanzania |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Group F fixtures
|
Date / Kick-off Time (GMT) |
Fixture |
Location |
|---|---|---|
|
17/01/24 / 17:00 |
Morocco vs Tanzania |
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro |
|
17/01/24 / 20:00 |
DR Congo vs Zambia |
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro |
|
21/01/24 / 14:00 |
Morocco vs DR Congo |
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro |
|
21/01/24 / 17:00 |
Zambia vs Tanzania |
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro |
|
24/01/23 / 20:00 |
Tanzania vs DR Congo |
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo |
|
24/01/23 / 20:00 |
Zambia vs Morocco |
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro |
The 2023 African Cup of Nations will follow the same format as its previous two iterations. Since 2019, 24 teams have competed in the tournament and have been divided into six groups of four.
A total of 16 teams will then progress into the knockout stage, with the four best-performing third-place teams joining the winners and runners-up of each group.
A traditional round robin then ensues until a winner is crowned. All knockout ties are played over one leg, with extra-time and penalties deciding the contest should the scores be level after 90 minutes.
Sky Sports held broadcasting rights to the 2021 AFCON, but there is not yet any news on who will take the rights for the upcoming tournament in the UK.
As it stands, beIN Sports are the only confirmed English-speaking broadcaster of the 2023 AFCON.
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