The Confederation of African Football’s (CAF’s) highly anticipated African Cup of Nations, AFCON, 2023 is set to kick off on January 13 in the Ivory Coast, where the continent’s biggest stars are expected to shine after an impressive showing for their respective clubs and the Qatar World Cup 2022.
The tournament boasts five teams from the tournament in Qatar, with semifinalists at the global showpiece – Morocco – the red-hot favourites to become the champions of Africa.
Who are the AFCON hosts?
This is the second time that the African Cup of Nations is held in Ivory Coast, AFCON. Six stadiums in five locations will host the matches.
The Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium and the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, which will also host the final, are the two venues available in the capital, Abidjan.
The remaining matches will be held in San Pedro, Korhogo, Bouake, and Yamoussoukro.
Which teams have qualified for AFCON?
Group A – Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau
Group B – Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mozambique
Group C – Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, and The Gambia
Group D – Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola
Group E – Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, and Namibia
Group F – Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania
When are the opening fixtures?
Group A begins on January 13 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan with Ivory Coast taking on Guinea-Bissau. The game begins at 2:00 PM GMT.
After the opening day, there will be at least two games per day through the group stage, with the host country taking center stage.
The second match of the Group A schedule will see Nigeria play Equatorial Guinea at 14:00 GMT. The match will once more take place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.
Abidjan remains the focus for the next two games of the day as Egypt meet Mozambique before Ghana open against Cape Verde. Both Group B games will be played at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium that day, with kickoff times of 15:00 GMT and 20:00 GMT, respectively.
How does the group stage work?
The four teams ranked third best overall and the top two teams in each group will move on to the round of 16.
Each group’s bottom two teams and its two lowest-ranked third-place teams will be eliminated from the competition.
How does the knockout stage work?
There will be three rest days from January 24 before the last-16 fixtures commence.
This is how the last 16 stage looks:
Group D winners vs third place Group B/E/F
Group A runners-up vs Group C runners-up
Group A winners vs third place Group C/D/E
Group B second place vs Group F runners-up
Group B winners vs third place Group A/C/D
Group C winners vs third Place Group A/B/F
Group E winners vs Group D runners-up
Group F winners vs Group E runners-up
Who are the past AFCON winners?
With seven titles, Egypt holds the record for most victories in AFCON history. The most recent times they finished second were in 2017 and 2021.
With five victories, Cameroon is the second-most successful team.
Although Ghana has won the trophy four times, it hasn’t happened since 1982. That would still annoy Nigeria, their rivals from West Africa who have won the championship three times.
The 2019 champions, Algeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo each have two victories.
AFCON Defending Champions
Senegal is defending its one and only Africa Cup of Nations title, while Morocco, the top-ranked country, has also only won it once, in 1976. The title has also been lifted once by the Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan, Zambia, South Africa, and Tunisia.
Who are the favourites?
World Cup semifinalists Morocco are the clear favourites as they look to end a nearly 40-year wait for their second AFCON crown.
The 1976 winners are the highest-ranked team at the tournament.
Reigning champions Senegal and the team they defeated in the last edition, Egypt, are expected to be the teams to push them closest.
Nigeria boast the squad with the most depth.
How much is the prize money?
There will be a 40 percent increase in the prize money for the winners of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The winners of the latest edition in Ivory Coast will receive 5.5 million pounds ($7m).
The runners-up will get 3.165 million pounds ($4m), with each of the two semifinalists receiving 1.979 million pounds ($2.5m) and the four quarterfinalists taking 1.029 million pounds ($1.3m
