Africa Cup of Nations

When CAF was founded in Lisbon in February 1957, the new confederation immediately scheduled its inaugural championship for that same year. Three nations took part — Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia — after South Africa was disqualified for refusing to send a multiracial squad. Egypt won 4–0 in the final thanks to four goals from Mohamed Diab El-Attar, a haul no player has matched in any final since.

The tournament expanded steadily through the 1960s and 1970s as colonial-era national federations joined CAF. From 1968 onwards it has been held every two years. The field grew from three to eight, then sixteen, and to 24 teams from 2019 — a format consciously modelled on the European Championship's expansion.

Egypt remain the all-time benchmark with seven titles, three of them won consecutively between 2006 and 2010 under Hassan Shehata. Cameroon's five titles, Ghana's four (all between 1963 and 1982) and Nigeria's three frame the rest of the tournament's elite tier.

The 24 finalists are drawn into six groups of four. Each team plays the other three in their group once, with the top two from each group plus the four best third-placed teams advancing to a 16-team knockout phase. Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place play-off and final all use single-leg ties with extra time and penalties as needed.

The host is selected by the CAF Executive Committee through a bidding process. The 2025 edition was held in Morocco from December 2025 to January 2026; the 2027 tournament will be the first co-hosted by three nations — Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — between 19 June and 17 July 2027.

Samuel Eto'o went past Laurent Pokou's 38-year record in 2008 and finished his AFCON career on 18 goals — a tally compiled across six tournament appearances between 1996 and 2010. He won the Cup of Nations twice (2000, 2002) and was the tournament's top scorer in 2006 and 2008.

Pokou's 14-goal mark was set in just two tournaments — six goals in 1968, eight more in 1970, the latter a single-edition record at the time. Egypt's Hossam Hassan (11 goals across a 20-year international career), Zaire's Ndaye Mulamba and Zambia's Kalusha Bwalya round out the top five.

Among players still active, Cameroon's Vincent Aboubakar (eight goals at the 2021 edition alone) and Ghana's André Ayew sit closest to the all-time top ten.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will jointly stage the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations from 19 June to 17 July 2027 — the first time three countries have shared hosting duties. The bid, submitted under the 'Pamoja' banner, was approved by the CAF Executive Committee in September 2023.

Kenya is upgrading the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani and the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi. Tanzania's Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam and Uganda's Mandela National Stadium in Kampala are also slated to host group games. The tournament will be the first AFCON staged in the Northern Hemisphere summer, a calendar change introduced for 2025.