AFCON 2023: Africa Cup of Nations records and statistics – The African Cup of Nations is the prestigious football competition in Africa. It is organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and is contested by national teams. Over time, the format of the tournament has changed, from 3 teams in 1957 to 24 teams in 2019. In 1968, qualifying rounds were introduced and the tournament has been held every two years since then.
The first African Cup of Nations final took place in February 1957 in Khartoum, Sudan, where Egypt became champions by defeating the hosts in the final. The Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem Prize, named after its sponsor, an Egyptian who was the first president of CAF, was awarded to the winning team.
In 1978, the trophy was definitively awarded to Ghana when they became the first country to win the tournament three times. Later, the African Union Cup was definitively awarded to Cameroon in 2000 after its third league victory since 1978. In 2002, a new cup called the Nations Cup was introduced.
AFCON 2023: Africa Cup of Nations records and statistics
Year of debut for national teams and the number of teams debuting in each year are as follows:
– 1957: Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan (3 teams)
– 1962: Tunisia, Uganda (2 teams)
– 1963: Ghana, Nigeria (2 teams)
– 1965: Congo-Léopoldville, Ivory Coast, Senegal (3 teams)
– 1968: Algeria, Congo-Brazzaville (2 teams)
– 1970: Cameroon, Guinea (2 teams)
– 1972: Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Togo (4 teams)
– 1974: Mauritius, Zambia (2 teams)
– 1978: Upper Volta (1 team)
– 1980: Tanzania (1 team)
– 1982: Libya (1 team)
– 1984: Malawi (1 team)
– 1986: Mozambique (1 team)
– 1994: Gabon, Sierra Leone (2 teams)
– 1996: Angola, Liberia, South Africa (3 teams)
– 1998: Namibia (1 team)
– 2004: Benin, Rwanda, Zimbabwe (3 teams)
– 2012: Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Niger (3 teams)
– 2013: Cape Verde (1 team)
– 2017: Guinea-Bissau (1 team)
– 2019: Burundi, Madagascar, Mauritania (3 teams)
– 2021: Comoros, Gambia (2 teams)
Teams yet to qualify: Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Lesotho, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan
Medial Title Table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Egypt | 7 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| 2 | Cameroon | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 | Ghana | 4 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| 4 | Nigeria | 3 | 4 | 8 | 15 |
| 5 | Ivory Coast | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | Algeria | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | DR Congo | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | Zambia | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 | Sudan | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | Tunisia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | Senegal | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Ethiopia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | Morocco | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 14 | South Africa | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 15 | Congo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Mali | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 17 | Burkina Faso | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 18 | Guinea | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Libya | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Uganda | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (20 entries) | 33 | 33 | 33 | 99 | |
Winner by Years
| year | winner | runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Egypt | Ethiopia |
| 1959 | Egypt | Sudan |
| 1962 | Ethiopia | Egypt |
| 1963 | Ghana | Sudan |
| 1965 | Ghana | Tunisia |
| 1968 | Congo (Kinshasa) | Ghana |
| 1970 | Sudan | Ghana |
| 1972 | Congo (Brazzaville) | Mali |
| 1974 | Zaire | Zambia |
| 1976 | Morocco | Guinea |
| 1978 | Ghana | Uganda |
| 1980 | Nigeria | Algeria |
| 1982 | Ghana | Libya |
| 1984 | Cameroon | Nigeria |
| 1986 | Egypt | Cameroon |
| 1988 | Cameroon | Nigeria |
| 1990 | Algeria | Nigeria |
| 1992 | Côte d’Ivoire | Ghana |
| 1994 | Nigeria | Zambia |
| 1996 | South Africa | Tunisia |
| 1998 | Egypt | South Africa |
| 2000 | Cameroon | Nigeria |
| 2002 | Cameroon | Senegal |
| 2004 | Tunisia | Morocco |
| 2006 | Egypt | Côte d’Ivoire |
| 2008 | Egypt | Cameroon |
| 2010 | Egypt | Ghana |
| 2012 | Zambia | Côte d’Ivoire |
| 2013* | Nigeria | Burkina Faso |
| 2015 | Côte d’Ivoire | Ghana |
| 2017 | Cameroon | Egypt |
| 2019 | Algeria | Senegal |
| 2021** | Senegal | Egypt |
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