Two months from now, the Africa Cup of Nations will commence. Since its inception in 1957, the biennial competition has vividly showcased the finest talents across the continent at the highest level of top class sports.
Senegal won its third AFCON championship by defeating Egypt on penalties in the championship match at the previous event. Will Senegal achieve triumph once more? Or, Egypt, guided by Mohamed Salah of The Reds, could exact vengeance.
In advancing to the final four of the 2022 World Cup, Morocco’s semi final result established a new benchmark for African countries. Led by Walid Regragui, Morocco defeated Spain and Portugal en route to becoming the first African team to reach the WC semis. After failing to advance to the final of the AFCON since a 2004 loss to Tunisia, the Atlas Lions will seek to turn that around on the back of the success above.
While there are numerous intriguing storylines and characters to anticipate, there are also unanswered questions. Breaking Latest News provides an update on the status of Africa’s premier competition.
What Happened to AFCON 2023?
As with the 2022 tournament, AFCON 2024 has undergone a significant reorganisation of its schedule.
AFCON 2022 was originally planned to take place in Cameroon from June to July 2021. Still, it was rescheduled to January 2021 due to concerns about competing during the peak of summer and heavy rainfall.
Later, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the tournament was rescheduled to January 2022. Similarly, AFCON 2023 was postponed until 2024, as player welfare concerns regarding competition in mid-summer in Africa were reaffirmed.
The tournament has been designated as AFCON 2023 for sponsorship purposes, even though it takes place in 2024.
African Cup of Nations: A quick history lesson
Egypt is the most accomplished nation to date. They have achieved seven tournament victories, which is three more than Ghana. Following their victories in the first two competitions, the Pharaohs captured a third and fourth title in 1986 and 1998, respectively. Egypt experienced a period of prominence following the turn of the century, during which it won three straight tournaments from 2006 to 2010. Four times, Egypt has also contributed to the record number of tournament hostings, which includes Ghana.
Samuel Eto’o, a former striker for Cameroon, holds the record for most goals scored in the African Cup of Nations among players with 18 goals. Second in position is Laurent Pokou of Ivory Coast. Rigobert Song, a native of Cameroon as well, holds the record with 33 appearances and eight tournament participations, which is tied with Ahmed Hassan of Egypt. Hassan and Essam El-Hadary, an Egyptian compatriot, have each claimed a record four titles.
The AFCON 2024 Stadiums
Fifty-one matches will be played in six stadiums in five different cities: Korhogo, San Pedro, Bouake, Yamoussoukro, and Abidjan.
Honouring the nation’s former president, the inaugural and championship matches will be held at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium. The site’s construction was concluded in October of 2020. It can accommodate a capacity of 60,000 individuals.
Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, formally inaugurated in 1964, hosted matches during the 1984 African Football Championships, the only time the tournament had been played in the nation before that year. For this edition, renovations have been undertaken to augment its capacity to 29,000. The Laurent Pokou Stadium, Stade de la Paix, Charles Konan Banny Stadium and Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium were all constructed for this competition.
AFCON 2024 Favourites
As of yet, the top-rated NZ betting apps have not published the AFCON odds for 2024. However, this doesn’t prevent us from evaluating the squads in preparation for our future wagers on the squads boasting the most potential to lift next year’s trophy.
Senegal, the reigning AFCON champions, advanced to the knockout rounds of the 2022 World Cup but were ultimately ousted by England. Aliou Cisse’s potential team comprises Nicolas Jackson, a striker from Chelsea, Sadio Mane – a former attacker for Liverpool and Bayern Munich – and Pape Matar Sarr from Tottenham Hotspur.
They will be considered one of the top contenders, along with Morocco, who achieved the unprecedented feat of being the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. Morocco defeated Portugal, Spain, and Belgium in Qatar before being defeated by France, who ultimately became the runners-up of the competition.
Nigeria has the option to summon Fulham’s £21 million summer acquisition Calvin Bassey, Napoli’s attacker Victor Osimhen, and AC Milan’s winger Samuel Chukwueze. Egypt has achieved a remarkable feat by winning the event on seven occasions, with their most recent victory in 2010. Although Salah has gone close to winning, he has only secured two second-place medals in the 2017 and 2021 editions.
Over the past twenty years, Ghana has emerged as one of the most formidable teams. However, their confidence has taken a hit following their 4-0 defeat to the USA and a 2-0 loss to Mexico in October. The nation’s aspirations of advancing far in the tournament rely heavily on the performance of West Ham United’s £35.6 million offensive midfielder, Mohammed Kudus.
AFCON 2024 Format
The competition will consist of six groups, each including four teams labelled A through F. The top two teams from each group will directly advance to the Round of 16 knockout round.
The 12 teams will be accompanied by the four highest-performing third-placed nations from the six groups. The selection criterion will be based on the head-to-head outcomes between teams and, secondarily, the head-to-head goal difference.
The AFCON 2024 Schedule
The opening match between Guinea-Bissau and hosts Ivory Coast will commence on January 13 in Abidjan.
Round of 16 play commences on January 27, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals on February 2 and 7, correspondingly. With the final being held on February 11.