Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana 2008

Dates:

20 January – 10 February

Number of Teams:

Location:

Ghana

Stadiums:

4 (in 4 host cities)

Official website:

Facts

1 Overview
- 1.1 Dates
2 Qualification Process
- 2.1 Qualification Requirements
3 Competition Format
4 Location and Venues
5 Ticket Availability
6 Official Sponsors
7 Important Links
8 References

Overview

Dates

Jan 20 – Feb 10, 2008

Qualification Process

In 1998, the number of teams participating became 16, and a format was installed where the sixteen teams were drawn into four groups of four teams each (by random), with the top two teams from each group advancing to a the knockout stages.

Qualification Requirements

For the 2008 tournament, qualification consisted of 11 groups of 4 teams, and 1 group of 3 teams (12 groups in total). Each group winner qualified, along with the three runners-up with the best records. The hosts qualify by default.

Competition Format

Location and Venues

Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi
The Kumasi Sports Stadium is a multi-sports facility in Kumasi, Ghana. It is occasionally used for athletics, but mostly for football. It is home to one of Africa's most popular clubs, Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko, and is also where Ghana’s “Black Stars” usually play.

The capital of the Ashanti Kingdom, Kumasi is Ghana’s second largest city, and is considered to be the country’s “football capital” – the sport is followed more fanatically here than anywhere else in the country.

This stadium hosted 7 matches in the 2000 Ghana-Nigeria African Cup of Nations.

Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra
The Ohene Djan stadium (previously known as the Accra Sports stadium) was named after Ohene Djan, the first Director of Sports in newly-independent Ghana. It is a centre piece of Accra, and its 2004 renaming was quite controversial, as many Ghanaians felt it should be named after a prominent Ghanaian. It is home to “Hearts of Oak”, one of Africa’s most popular teams, and also hosts some Black Stars matches. It is considered by many to be the national stadium, but is used mostly for football matches. This stadium hosted 9 matches in the 2000 Ghana-Nigeria African Cup of Nations.

Tamale Stadium, Tamale
The Tamale stadium is a multi-use stadium that was built for the African Cup of Nations. It has a capacity of 21,077, although only 50% of this is seated. Once complete, it will be the new home stadium for Ghanaian club side <a href=link to Real Tamale United>Real Tamale United</a>, and used mostly for football matches.

Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi
The Sekondi-Takoradi stadium is a multi-use stadium that was purpose built for the African Cup of Nations. Once complete, it will be the new home stadium for Ghanaian club side <a href=link to Sekondi HFC page>Sekondi Hasaacas FC</a>, and used mostly for football matches.