Evolution of CAF African Cup of Nations (AFCON) from 1957 to 2023

AFCON is among the most prominent tournaments in football

Men’s football at the Africa Cup of Nations, or AFCON, has grown to be a major international event that draws attention from far beyond the region where the champion is crowned.

The 34th edition of Africa’s biannual national men’s squad football tournament will take place in January 2024 at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.

Like a few others, the competition has come to captivate people’s attention. Its hue is unparalleled. Its stage aided in the ascent of careers to the status of superstars.

It’s currently larger than it has ever been.

A long cry from its beginnings more than 60 years ago, AFCON has grown in size while concurrently addressing more people with its biennial games. Currently consisting of 24 nations following a qualifying round featuring 54 teams.

In 1957, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Sudan formed the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

That year saw the inaugural AFCON, however, only three nations competed because South Africa’s apartheid stance caused their exclusion.

Egypt emerged victorious initially, defeating Sudan 2-1 in the semifinals and Ethiopia 4-0 in the championship match.

Egypt would prevail another in 1959, this time under the name United Arab Republic after a brief union with Syria, although this would mark the end of the closed shop, as qualifying was added starting with the 1962 edition.

From then on, the competition grew gradually. Six countries competed in 1963 and 1965, up from four in 1962, but eight quickly became the standard.

The unpredictable nature of AFCON is one of its many wonderful aspects. That still holds true today just as it did back when the competition only included eight countries.

There were not less than ten consecutive champions in the twelve eight-team editions from 1968 to 1990 inclusive, with Ghana becoming the first to win twice (1978 and 1982).

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The boom of the 1990s.

African football caused recurrent global shockwaves in the 1990s.

One such achievement was Cameroon’s 1990 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal appearance, which came after the team upset reigning champions Argentina under Diego Maradona’s coaching.

However, that was arguably overshadowed by Nigeria’s incredible victory at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The young Super Eagles, who have played men’s football at the under-23 level since 1992, won gold after defeating Brazil and Argentina, two of the strongest teams in South America, in the semifinals and final, respectively.

Players individually were at the same time gaining recognition on a global scale.

At the 1994 World Cup, Roger Milla, then 42 years old, was playing for Cameroon and defying age.

Medical knowledge was being defied by Nwankwo Kanu. The attacker led Nigeria to victory in Atlanta, including the scoring of a late equaliser and the game-winning goal against Brazil. He had secured a big-money move from Dutch powerhouse Ajax to Inter.

After receiving a devastating heart defect diagnosis and being told he would never play again, he underwent surgery to correct the problem, and he and Lauren, a right-back from Cameroon, became members of Arsenal’s “Invincibles,” who remained undefeated during the 2003–04 Premier League season.

George Weah, a striker from Liberia, was also confounding expectations. Weah is still the only player from Africa to have earned both the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or in 1995.

African football was experiencing a boom, and in 1992, the AFCON itself grew to 12 teams. In 1996, it settled on a 16-team structure that would last until 2017.

With consecutively AFCON title victories in 2000 and 2002, Cameroon established itself as the side to beat throughout this period. However, Egypt went one better, winning three straight from 2006 to 2010.

Worldwide acknowledgement

The ability to post viral videos of AFCON goals from a distance or abilities that seem to go against the rules of nature has raised the competition to a new level in the social media era.

Not by accident, the popularity of AFCON has increased as African players have become stars at elite European clubs.

Before Samuel Eto’o excelled at Barcelona and Inter, Weah established himself at Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, and AC Milan.

Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure, two Ivorians, led Chelsea and Manchester City to numerous awards in England. In addition, Senegal’s Sadio Mane and “Egyptian King” Mo Salah led Liverpool to a recent sequence of victories.

Perhaps an era of greatness for African football. However, the 2023 edition, which will take place in Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in early 2024, might simply be the most recent development in the continent’s rise to prominence in the world.

Furthermore, the possibility of an African team winning the world championship has not vanished since Morocco created history in 2022 by making it to the World Cup semifinals.

It’s unclear when that will occur, but AFCON is unquestionably the venue for such an achievement to succeed.

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