Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations

The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations was hosted by Ghana, in the 26th edition of this tournament. Officially known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations, it is the most important football competition in Africa and it is run under the supervision of CAF (Confederation of African Football). Ghana won the right to host it by beating Libya 9-3 in a CAF executive committee vote in Cairo. South Africa had formerly lodged a bid, but withdrew theirs after winning the rights to hose the World Cup in 2010. The tournament took place between January 20 and February 10, 2008, and the winner will represent CAF at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in 2009.

The Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) has many name variations, as the official name is French - Coupe d'Afrique des Nations (CAN). The competition is also referred to in English as the African Nations Cup (ANC) and the African Cup of Nations, as well as just the African Cup. All names and abbreviations refer to the same pan-African national team competition, which is held once every two years.

Africa Cup of Nations History

The Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated ACN and sometime CAN after the French spelling) has a 30+ year history. During the 1950's, only a few countries in Africa were independent, and in 1956 in Lisbon seven people decided to found the CAF (Confédération Africaine de Football). The members decided also to give birth to a continental tournament for the year after, to be held in Sudan. Four countries, the hosts, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa are the 'Fab Four' of the first edition in 1957. The African Cup for Nations will take place every two years.

1957: Egypt (in Sudan)
In 1956 apartheid had increased its presence in South Africa, so their National team was banned from the tournament. Ethiopia has a bye to the final, while at Stade Municipal in Karthoum the Egyptians beat the hosting nation 2-1. The final is much easier for Egypt: 4-0 against Ethiopia, all the goals scored by Ad-Diba, that finished the tournament as top scorer with 5 goals. Only two games to give Egypt the African Champions title, but at least something new happened.

1959: Egypt (in Egypt)
With only three teams, the format changed into a round robin group. Curiously, the results were the same, Egypt won over Ethiopia 4-0 and over Sudan 2-1. The Sudanese finished second, defeating Ethiopia 1-0. This edition will also be remembered because of the three coaches from Eastern Europe: the Czechoslovakian Starosta (Ethiopia) and Hada(Sudan), the Hungarian Pal Titkos, coach of Egypt.

1962: Ethiopia (in Ethiopia)
Nine teams and a final round with just four, so CAF had to organize a qualifying tournament. Uganda and Tunisia lost the semi-finals with Egypt (automatically qualified as holders) and the Ethiopian hosts, which won the Cup beating the North-African 4-2 after extra time.

1963 Ghana (in Ghana)
For the third consecutive time the hosts won the African Cup. The format changer: two groups of 3 teams each, the winners played the final, the runners-up could only play Third Place final. Ghana won Group A over Ethiopia and Tunisia, Sudan claimed the top spots in Group B for the better goal difference over Egypt. The final in Accra on 1st December saw the hosts winning 3-0 on Sudan, after the first half finished 0-0.

1965: Ghana (in Tunisia)
Ghanaian Odoi is the hero of this edition, scoring on minutes 96 of the final Ghana-Tunisia: 3-2 the final score. Before that, Ghana won group A defeating Cote d'Ivoire and Congo-Leopoldville, Tunisia qualified to the final on toss of a coin: same points and same goal difference as Senegal, that finished 4th, being defeated 1-0 in the Third Place final.

1968: Congo-Kinshasa (in Ethiopia)
Many countries became independent, and the number of federations grew: 18 teams and a final tournament with two groups of four, then semi-finals and finals. Ghana were big favourites, won their group and the semi-final with Cote d'Ivoire, but they lost the final with Congo-Kinshasa, second in their group but winner of the other semi-final. Congo won 1-0, the man of the match was Kalala, after a control with his chest he shot the championship goal.

1970: Sudan (in Sudan)
Same format, and another win by the hosting country, this time Sudan. El-Issed of Sudan was the best player of the tournament, by scoring two goals against Egypt in the semi-final, and in final to Ghana: 1-0 the final score, and this is the only African Cup won by Sudan. Egypt finished third, Cote d'Ivoire (with the top scorer Pokou, goals) was fourth.

1972: Congo (in Cameroon)
First time in Cameroon, always 8 teams in the final tournament, some newcomers like Kenya and Togo. The hosts qualified to the semi-final, but were stopped by Congo, in the other match Mali won after extra time, 4-3 to Zaire. In Yaoundè, Omnisports Stadium, Congo won 3-2, with a double of M'Bono and a goal scored by M'Pelè

1974: Zaire (in Egypt)
Played for the second time in Egypt, the 1974 Cup saw the confirmation of Zaire and Congo, while Zambia was the surprise, qualifying to the final. In Nasser Stadium, Zaire and Zambia drew 2-2 after extra time, no penalty kicks by the rule-book, and Zaire could win the replay 2-0, and they also qualified to the World Cup finals.

1976: Morocco (in Ethiopia)
No knockout games, just two groups of four to qualify two teams for the final round robin group. Ethiopia was out after first round, the final game between Morocco and Guinea was valid for the title, though for Morocco a draw was enough. On minutes 86, Baba scores the decisive goal and Morocco is African Champion for the first time. Best player Ahmed Faras, from Morocco

1978: Ghana (in Ghana)
Ghana is the first team to win the Cup for the third time, in 1978 while they're hosts of the tournament. The format changes, back to semi-finals and final after the first group. The Ghanaians beat the surprise Uganda in Accra, 2-0 with two goals by Opoku Afriye.

1980: Nigeria (in Nigeria)
After the group, Nigeria got through the semi-finals with 3 teams of Maghreb: Morocco, Egypt and Algeria. Nigeria and Algeria (after penalty shootouts, for the first time) are the finalists, the hosts win 3-0 with a double of Odegbami.

1982: Ghana (in Libya)
Great disappointment for the Libyans, who reached the final game and lost 7-6 after the penalty shootouts. Ghana won their fourth title. <a href=link to George Alhassan page>George Alhassan</a> was the top scorers with 4 goals.

1984: Cameroon (in Cote d'Ivoire)
After a good World Cup in Spain two years before, Roger Milla and his teammates won the African Cup for the first time, in spite of a bad debut (0-1 with Egypt). Cameroon were second in their group and qualified to the final after penalty shootouts with Algeria. Final game in Abidjan: Nigeria scored immediately, N'Dieya drew and the game seemed to go to the overtime. Abéna and Ebongué scored in the last 10 mins and Cameroon were the Champions.

1986: Egypt (in Egypt)
Another title for the hosting country. Egypt won their group for a better goal difference, won the Northern-Africa derby with Morocco and in the final, after 120' minutes without a goal, the Egyptian won the Indomitable Lions 5-4 on penalties.

1988: Cameroon (in Morocco)
Morocco hosted the 16th edition after Zambia withdrawal as host. This was one of the less spectacular tournaments, but the star of Roger Milla, 36 years old, shined again. Milla scored with Egypt and Nigeria in the first round, then Cameroon won the semi-final in Casablanca with Morocco. Nigeria won the other semi-final but was defeated by Cameroon 1-0 in the final, after a penalty scored by Emmanuel Kundé.

1990: Algeria (in Algeria)
The rivalry between Algeria and Egypt was great, after a match for the World Cup 1990 the Egyptians had some intimidations. So, when they were drawn in the same Group of the Algerians, they first decided not to go, then to send a team of substitutes. Egypt lost all the games, Algeria won the tournament defeating 2-1 Senegal and, in front of 100,000 viewers, Nigeria 1-0 with a goal scored by Chèrif Oudjani.

1992: Cote d'Ivoire (in Senegal)
The 18th edition of the African Cup had a format change, 12 teams divided in four groups of three, with just one team to be sent out of the tournament. Ghana (Abedi Pele, Yeboah) and Cameroon (Omam-Biyik, Ebongue) were the favourites, but at the end Cote d'Ivoire won without exciting: 1-0 on quarter finals against Zambia with a goal on minutes 94, then 0-0 with Cameroon and Ghana, two win on penalty shootouts (a neverending 11-10 in the final)

1994: Nigeria (in Tunisia)
Tunisia hosted the 1994 edition after Zaire withdrawal as host. Same format as two years before, the Cup was won by Nigeria, that in the same year went really close to knock down Italy in the USA 94 World Cup. The West African side had top players like Amunike (who scored two goals in the final), Okocha, Finidi George,Yekini. Good tournament by Zambia, that had a reaction after the plane crash where 18 players died.

1996: South Africa (in South Africa)
Apartheid was over, Mandela was President and South Africa could host the 20th African Cup. New format (16 teams divided in 4 groups), the end of the Cameroon winning cycle and title holders of Nigeria that withdrew because Mandela criticized the military government. For the first time, every win gave 3 points. The Bafana Bafana boy won the Cup, after a hard quarter final (won with a Mosheu goal 5 minutes before the final whistle). Then, 3-0 on Ghana in the semi-final, and the final, with 80,000 viewers, finished 2-0 with two goals scored by substitute Mark Williams.

1998: Egypt (in Burkina Faso)
Tradition (Egypt) and newcomers (South Africa), it was the final of an African Cup 1998 in Burkina Faso. The hosts were the surprise of the tournament, qualifying to the semi-final, defeated by Egypt 2-0. South Africa, after knocking out Congo with a goal of the star Benny McCarthy, lost the final, with Egypt that reached Ghana on the top of the Continent with 4 titles. Hassam and Mostafa scored twice in the first 15', game over.

2000: Cameroon (in Ghana/Nigeria)
First (and only at the moment) co-hosted edition, with a strange result in Group A (all the teams together with 4 points), was unlucky for the co-hosts: Ghana out on quarterfinals, Nigeria lost the final after penalty shootouts. Cameroon won its third Cup, and the new African star, that rose during the tournament, was Samuel Eto'o.

2002: Cameroon (in Mali)
First time in Mali for the second win in a row of Cameroon, 4 wins like Egypt and Ghana. Cote d'Ivoire and Northern-Africa nations missed the target. Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon and Senegal qualified to semi-finals, where the hosts could do nothing with the Giants of Cameroon (0-3). Senegal's Diao scored a decisive goal on extra-time. Nothing happened in the final, 0-0 and penalties, won by Cameroon 3-2.

2004: Tunisia (in Tunisia)
The revenge of Northern-African teams. Tunisia was the hosting country, in six different venues. Egypt and South Africa are the only Giants sent off after the Group stage, Guinea the surprise. Title holders of Cameroon were knocked out by Nigeria, though Eto'o scored, Kanoutè and Diarra brought Mali to semi-finals for the second time, but then lost 0-4 to Morocco. The final was between the host of Tunisia and Morocco, and the Tunisians won 2-1 with goals by Dos Santos and Jaziri.

2006: Egypt (in Egypt)
Fifth win in 25 editions: 20% of Africa is Egyptians. In 2006, with a lot of players coming from the European Leagues, Egypt hosted the competition for the fifth time too. Angola, Togo and Ghana, just qualified for the World Cup, went put after the Group stage. Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire was certainly the best quarterfinal, the game ended 1-1 aet, then the longest penalty shootouts series, so long that Eto'o and Drogba had to shoot twice: Eto'o missed the penalty, Drogba scored. Cote d'Ivoire went through together with Egypt, Senegal and Nigeria. In Cario, 76,000 people pushed Egypt to the final (2-1 over Senegal), then in Alexandria Cote d'Ivoire Drogba scored the only goal. A goalless draw in the final and Egypt won 4-2 on penalties, gave Egypt their fifth title to a team without World Stars. Drogba, Eboue, and company will do their best to seek revenge in the next weeks.

Cup of Nations Trophy

Over the history of the ACN there have been three different trophies have been awarded to the football tournament's winners. The first version of the trophy was made of silver and was called the "Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem Trophy" - it was named after the first CAF president Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem from Egypt. The trophy has been in Ghana since 1978 as that country won the first three Nations Cup tournaments.

The second Cup of Nations trophy was awarded to winners from 1980 to 2000. It is named the "Trophy of African Unity". It was gifted by the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa to the CAF before the 1980 event, and it isa cylindrical trophy with the Olympic rings engraved over a map of Africa. It has a square base and fancy triangular handles. Cameroon won the Unity Cup after they became three-time champions in 2000.

The third trophy was inaugurated in 2001 and handmade in Italy. It is a gold-plated cup. Cameroon, permanent holders of the previous trophy, were the first nation to be awarded the new trophy after they won the 2002 edition.

Team Honours

Past Winners

Most Successful Teams

Important Links

http://www.cafonline.com/?lng=1&module=accueil&cmpt=21&TNews=
http://www.cafonline.com

References