Africa Cup of Nations

The Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Coupe d'Afrique des Nations in French, is the men's football tournament contested by the member associations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Often referred to as AFCON or CAN, the competition was created in 1957 and has been held every two years since 1968.

The inaugural tournament had only three participants, with Sudan, one of those three competitors, hosting the event. The home side was joined by Ethiopia and Egypt, with the Pharaohs winning the very first AFCON title before establishing themselves as a giant of the continent.

The Africa Cup of Nations has undergone expansions over the years. In 1998, the number of participants reached 16. In July 2017, CAF decided to increase this figure to 24. Additionally, the organizers also decided to move the Africa Cup of Nations from January to June but adhering to this is not always easy due to Africa’s harsh climatic conditions during the summer.

The hosts receive automatic qualification while the other nations have to book their tickets through a qualifying stage. The 24 participants are then drawn into six groups of four, with the two best-ranked teams in each group progressing to the round of 16. They are joined by the four best third-placed teams in the knockout stage. The group stage follows a round-robin format while the knockout matches, from the round of 16 to the final, are single-leg ties.

This competition is Africa’s main men’s international tournament and has played center stage to the continent’s greatest players of all time, including Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Mohamed Aboutrika, Roger Milla, Jay-Jay Okocha, and others. Qatar-based broadcaster beIN Sports has played a huge role in bringing this tournament to the bring screen, having agreed a $415M deal to secure broadcasting rights in the USA, France, and the the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions for 2017-2028.

However, CAF prematurely ended this deal in late 2023, just a few months before the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations.