The top countries from Asia and Africa will assemble for two significant men’s football tournaments next month to compete in their respective 2023 continental championships, which were both pushed back to 2024 owing to weather-related delays.
To be held in Côte d’Ivoire from January 13 to February 11, 2024, the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations will feature 24 men’s national teams from Africa.
The tournament, which is typically held every other year, will be held in conjunction with the Olympic Games for the first time since 2012.
The men’s senior AFCON and the Olympic men’s under-23 gold medal have never been won by the same team, Cameroon, in 2000. Nigeria is the only other nation to have won both championships, albeit in different years (AFCON in 1994 and Olympic gold in 1996).
Discover what to know about this year’s event.
Group F’s Morocco will be the focus of attention since they are the African team that advanced the farthest in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Atlas Lions, who qualified for the World Cup semi-finals, have only once won the AFCON title back in 1976 and have not made it to the championship game since 2004.
Côte d’Ivoire hosts are placed in a difficult Group A with Nigeria, another perennial favorite. Sebastien Haller of Borussia Dortmund, the 1992 and 2015 champions, will be relied upon as he is now fully recovered from testicular cancer.
Nigeria is scheduled to participate in their 20th AFCON competition in the meantime. The Super Eagles, who haven’t won the championship since 2013, will be counting on Napoli star Victor Osimhen to lead the goal-scoring charge.
Senegal, the reigning champions, are in Group C. Keeping the trophy in Dakar will fall to well-known figures like Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly, Nicolas Jackson, and Idrissa Gueye.
Chris Hughton, an Irishman and former manager of the English Premier League, is leading Ghana this season. Hughton has selected a formidable Black Stars team with three Premier League players: Thomas Partey, Mohamed Kudus, and captain Andre Ayew.
And finally, seven-time champions Egypt are alongside Ghana in Group B, having last won the title in 2019. The strength of Egyptian domestic football is reflected in the relatively small number of foreign players in an overwhelmingly domestic squad, including Mohamed Salah of Liverpool and Mohamed Elneny of Arsenal.
| Groups | Teams |
|---|---|
| Group A | Ivory Coast (hosts), Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau |
| Group B | Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Mozambique |
| Group C | Senegal (holders), Cameroon, Guinea, Gambia |
| Group D | Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Angola |
| Group E | Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Namibia |
| Group F | Morocco, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Tanzania |
| Date | Match | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 13 January | Group A – Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau | 20:00 |
| Sunday 14 January | Group A – Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea Group B – Egypt vs Mozambique Group B – Ghana vs Cabo Verde | 14:00 17:00 20:00 |
| Monday 15 January | Group D – Burkina Faso vs Mauritania Group E – Tunisia vs Namibia Group E – Mali vs South Africa | 14:00 17:00 20:00 |
| Tuesday 16 January | Group D – Burkina Faso vs Mauritania Group E – Tunisia vs Namibia Group E – Mali vs South Africa | 14:00 17:00 20:00 |
| Wednesday 17 January | Group D – Morocco vs Tanzania Group D – DR Congo vs Zambia | 17:00 20:00 |
| Thursday 18 January | Group A – Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau Group A – Ivory Coast vs Nigeria Group B – Egypt vs Ghana | 14:00 17:00 20:00 |
| Friday 19 January | Group B – Cabo Verde vs Mozambique Group C – Senegal vs Cameroon Group C – Guinea vs The Gambia | 14:00 17:00 20:00 |
| Saturday 20 January | Group D – Algeria vs Burkina Faso Group D – Mauritania vs Angola Group E – Tunisia vs Mali | 14:00 17:00 20:00 |
| Sunday 21 January | Group F – Morocco vs DR Congo Group F – Zambia vs Tanzania Group E – South Africa vs Namibia | 14:00 17:00 20:00 |
| Monday 22 January | Group A – Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast Group A – Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria Group B – Mozambique vs Ghana Group B – Cabo Verde vs Egypt | 17:00 17:00 20:00 20:00 |
| Tuesday 23 January | Group C – Guinea vs Senegal Group C – Gambia vs Cameroon Group D – Angola vs Burkina Faso Group D – Mauritania vs Angola | 17:00 17:00 20:00 20:00 |
| Wednesday 24 January | Group E – South Africa vs Tunisia Group E – Namibia vs Mali Group F – Tanzania vs DR Congo Group F – Zambia vs Morocco | 17:00 17:00 20:00 20:00 |
| Saturday 27 January – Tuesday 30 January | each day – Round of 16 | 17:00 and 20:00 |
| Friday 2 February – Saturday 3 February | each day – Quarter-finals | 17:00 and 20:00 |
| Wednesday 7 February | Semi-finals | 17:00 and 20:00 |
| Saturday 10 February | Third-place playoff | 20:00 |
| Sunday 11 February | Final | 20:00 |
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) hopes to make the competition accessible on free-to-air TV throughout the continent. The 2023 AFCON will be televised both domestically and internationally.
CANAL+, which will broadcast the event in French in Sub-Saharan Africa; GTV in Ghana; AfroSport in Nigeria; Supersports in South Africa; ZIGGO Sport in the Netherlands; and the CAF’s own media channels will also show games in some countries are among the other broadcasters. beIN Sport will broadcast the tournament in the Middle East and North Africa as well as in France and the United States.
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