The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is the leading international men’s football tournament in the continent of Africa. It started in 1957.
From a small competition that featured only three teams in the inaugural edition, AFCON has become the biggest football event in Africa and now has 24 countries in the main draw and 52 in the qualifiers.
Organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) – the governing body of football in the continent – the Africa Cup of Nations has been held 33 times and 14 different countries have lifted the championship till now.
Only Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan competed in the first edition in 1957, with Egypt becoming the first AFCON winners after beating Ethiopia 4-0 in the final.
In the early days, AFCON was held in random intervals but became a biennial competition from 1968.
Moreover, the tournament was gradually expanded to eight teams in 1968, which increased the level of competition.
Six countries won the continental title between 1970 and 1980, out of which five teams won it for the first time.
With new nations joining CAF, the field for AFCON was increased to 12 in 1992 and 16 in 1996. The 2019 and 2021 editions saw 24 teams take part in the continental showpiece.
The African Cup of Nations was switched to odd years in 2013 to prevent clashes with the FIFA World Cup in even years.
The tournament has featured some of the best players ever in world football, including Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Sadio Mane (Senegal) and Mohamed Salah (Egypt).
Olympic gold medallist and Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o is the highest goalscorer in AFCON with 18 goals, followed by Laurent Pokou of Ivory Coast with 14.
Egypt are the most successful team in the AFCON winners list, claiming the title seven times, including a hat-trick between 2006 and 2010. They have finished runners-up on three occasions (1962, 2017 and 2021) and third thrice (1963, 1970 and 1974).
Cameroon are the next most successful team in AFCON with five titles to their name and three other podium finishes.
Senegal won the AFCON 2021 (held in 2022) after beating Egypt on penalties in the final. It was Senegal’s first-ever triumph at the continental showpiece.
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