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All you need to know about the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023

   January 7, 2024
All you need to know about the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023


Tournament format, venues, title favorites, groups and prize money for AFCON 2023 in Ivory Coast.

The much-anticipated Confederation of African Football (CAF) 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is set to begin on January 13 in Ivory Coast, where the continent’s biggest stars are set to shine after an impressive performance from their respective clubs at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

The tournament will feature five teams from the Qatar tournament, with the semi-finalists of the global showpiece – Morocco – the firm favorites to win Africa’s title.

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming AFCON:

Who are the hosts?

The African Cup of Nations will take place in Ivory Coast for the second time.

The games will be played in six stadiums in five cities.

The capital Abidjan offers two venues – the Félix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium and the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, which will also host the final.

Yamoussoukro, Bouake, Korhogo and San Pedro will host the remaining games.

Which teams qualified?

  • Group A – Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau
  • Group B – Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde and Mozambique
  • Group C – Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea and 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 do the opening games take place?

Ivory Coast will face Guinea-Bissau in their opening Group A match at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on January 13. Kick-off is at 20:00 GMT.

The host will focus on the host country on the first day, after which there will be at least two games per day in the group stage.

On the second matchday, Nigeria will face Equatorial Guinea at 2:00 p.m. GMT to complete the first round of Group A. The game will again be played at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.

Abidjan remains the focus for the day’s next two games as Egypt face Mozambique before Ghana take on Cape Verde. Both Group B matches will be played at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium on the day, with kick-off times of 3:00 p.m. GMT and 8:00 p.m. GMT respectively.

The newly built Alassane Ouattara Stadium will host the opening match and final of the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters]

How does the group stage work?

The top two teams in each group and the four best-placed third-place teams advance to the round of 16.

The bottom teams and the two worst-placed third-place teams in each group are eliminated from the tournament.

How does the knockout phase work?

From January 24th there will be three days of rest before the round of 16 games begin.

This is what the last 16 stages look like:

  • Winner of Group D vs. third place in Group B/E/F
  • Second in Group A vs. Second in Group C
  • Winner of Group A vs. third place in Group C/D/E
  • Second place in Group B against the second place team in Group F
  • Winner of Group B vs. third place in Group A/C/D
  • Winner of Group C vs. third place in Group A/B/F
  • Winner of Group E vs. Runners-up in Group D
  • Winners of Group F vs. runners-up in Group E
Mohamed Salah lost the last final with Egypt
Egypt has won a record seven Africa Cup of Nations titles, but Mohamed Salah lost in both the 2017 and 2021 finals [File: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters]

Who are the previous winners?

Egypt is the record winner in AFCON history with seven titles. Most recently they took second place in 2017 and 2021.

Cameroon is the second most successful team with five wins.

Ghana has won the trophy four times, but not since 1982. However, that will still upset their West African rivals Nigeria, who have won the title three times.

Hosts Ivory Coast, Algeria (winners in 2019) and DR Congo each have two wins.

Senegal is defending its only Africa Cup of Nations title, while Morocco, the top-ranked nation, has also only been crowned winner once, in 1976. Tunisia, Zambia, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Africa and the Republic of Congo also hold the title once won.

Who are the favorites?

World Cup semi-finalists Morocco are the clear favorites as they look to end a nearly 40-year wait for their second AFCON title.

The 1976 winners are the highest-ranked team in the tournament.

Reigning champions Senegal and the team they beat in the last edition, Egypt, are expected to be the teams closest to them.

Nigeria has the strongest squad.

How much is the prize money?

For the winners of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the prize money will increase by 40 percent.

The winners of the latest edition in Ivory Coast will receive 5.5 million pounds ($7 million).

The runner-up will receive £3.165 million (US$4 million), each of the two semi-finalists will receive £1.979 million (US$2.5 million) and the four quarter-finalists will each receive £1.029 million (US$1.3 million).

Where can you watch the games?

Global listings are available at Livesoccertv.com.





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