Evolution of the Africa Cup of Nations

For the first time in 51 years, the original founders of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will all simultaneously grace the showpiece’s final tournament at the 33rd edition in Cameroon.
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan started what would become the pride of a continent in 1957.

The only other times all the three teams have been at the finals, in 32 editions, are 1959, 1963 and 1970.
South Africa should have joined them for the opening edition but was disqualified because of trying to field only white players due to the Apartheid laws that were biting at the time.

Introducing qualifiers
In 1961, the tournament had gathered steam so six more countries wanted in but after a qualification phase, only Uganda and Tunisia managed to join holders Egypt and hosts Ethiopia in 1962 finals. 
The teams started off from what were categorized as semifinals before Ethiopia beat Egypt in the finals to win its only Afcon title.

Interestingly, Egypt – from 1959 – played as United Arab Republic after the country had united with Syria.
Another interesting bit about 1959 is that there was no official final match. The tournament winner was decided after a final round-robin group contested by three teams. 

Fortunately, the last match of the tournament pitted the two top ranked teams against each other, with UAR beating Sudan 2-1.

The other time there was no final match was in 1976. The tournament winner was decided by a final round-robin group contested by Morocco, Guinea, Nigeria, and Egypt. 

Again fortune struck as one of the last two matches of the tournament pitted the two top ranked teams Morocco and Guinea against each other.

The match between the lowest ranked teams, played on the same day, is therefore usually considered a third place playoff as Nigeria beat Egypt 3-2 to finish third.

To take you back, the tournaments in 1963 and 1965 had six teams and introduced the group stages. From the next edition to 1990, the tournament was played in even-numbered years but the teams also increased to eight.
Even when the tournament increased to 12 teams, Africa stuck to playing in even-numbered years till 2012 when Caf decided they no longer wanted to clash with the World Cup and reverted to odd-numbered years in 2013.

South Africa return
Further back in 1996, South Africa as hosts made their maiden appearance at Afcon and won it on the back of having failed to make it past the qualifiers in 1994.

That year, the tournament metamorphosed into what was a popular 16-team competition from until 2017 although Nigeria withdrew from the 1996 edition leaving only 15 teams as Guinea, the best placed team not to qualify, declined to take up the place due to lack of preparation time.

The other time there was a withdrawal was in 2010 when Togo pulled out after their bus was attacked by gunmen in Cabinda, Angola.

At Egypt 2019, Caf elected to have 24 teams.

Trophy for keeps
The tournament which has produced 14 different winners over 32 editions still retains its 24-man format but not the original trophy.

The first – the Abdelaziz Abdallah Selam  trophy – made from silver was retained by Ghana after they beat Uganda 2-0 in the 1978 final to become the first team to win a third Afcon title.
When the new trophy, the Africa Unity Cup – a cylindrical piece with Olympic rings designed over the map of the continent – was made in 1980, the count to retain it was reset, meaning Egypt could not retain it for winning a third Afcon title in 1986.

The honours instead went to Cameroon in 2000 after their 1984 and 1988 triumphs meant they were most successful team in the 20 years after Ghana.

The gold plated cup made in Italy in 2001 still rocks. A special replica was, however, made for Egypt for their unprecedented successive triumphs in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

The winners
Egypt: 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010
Cameroon: 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017
Ghana: 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982
Nigeria: 1980, 1994, 2013
Ivory Coast: 1992, 2015
DR Congo: 1968, 1974
Algeria: 1990, 2019
South Africa: 1996
Morocco: 1976
Ethiopia: 1962
Tunisia: 2004
Zambia: 2012 
Sudan: 1970
Congo: 1972

Top Appearances Players

8. Rigobert Song (Cameroon): 1996-2010
            Ahmed Hassan (Egypt): 1996-2010
7.Geremi Njitap (Cameroon): 1998-2010
           Siaka Tiene, Kolo Toure (Ivory                     
           Coast): 2002, 2006-2015
           Essam El Hadary (Egypt): 1998-                                               
           2002, 2006-2010, 2017
          *Oldest player to feature at 44 years and 21         
             days. Also won most titles alongside      
             countryman Ahmed Hassan (1998, 2006-
             2010)
          Hossam Hassan (Egypt): 1986, 1988,  
          1992, 1998-2002, 2006
          Asamoah Gyan (Ghana): 2008-2019
          Seidou Keita (Mali): 2002-2004,                            
          2008-2015

Waiting...Nations that have never played at Afcon

Ten teams are yet to qualify for Afcon: Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Lesotho, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan

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