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2023 Africa Cup of Nations

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The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known for short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, is scheduled to be the 34th edition of the biennial African association football tournament organized by Confederation of African Football. It will be hosted by Ivory Coast for the second time, having first hosted it in 1984.

2023 Africa Cup of Nations
Coupe d'Afrique des Nations 2023
Logo used since introduction on 10 June 2023[1]
Tournament details
Host countryIvory Coast
Dates13 January – 11 February 2024
Teams24
Venue(s)6 (in 5 host cities)
← 2021
2025 →

This edition of the tournament was supposed to be the third time taking place in the Northern Hemisphere summer since the 2019 edition to reduce scheduling conflicts with European club teams and competitions.[2][3][4][5] On 3 July 2022, CAF postponed this edition to 13 January – 11 February 2024 due to the adverse summer weather concerns in Ivory Coast, whilst retaining the name 2023 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes.[6][7] This also meant for the first time in AFCON history, the tournament was forced to be moved twice after the earlier edition.

Senegal are the defending champions.

Host selection Edit

Bids Edit

  • Ivory Coast (originally awarded AFCON 2021, but was later pushed forward to 2023 following Cameroon hosting the 2021 edition. However Ivory Coast later requested to CAF for AFCON to be hosted in January-February 2024 to avoid a terrible West and Central African rain season which reaches its peak around June-July)
  • Guinea (originally awarded AFCON 2023, but hosting duties were pushed back to 2025 after Cameroon hosted in 2021 instead of 2019 owning to non-readiness at the time, however Guinea could not be ready and was later stripped AFCON 2023 hosting rights on 30 September 2022)
  • Algeria
  • Zambia

Rejected bids Edit

CAF announced the hosts for the 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions of AFCON after the final vote at its executive committee meeting on 20 September 2014: 2019 to Cameroon, 2021 to Ivory Coast and 2023 to Guinea.[8]

The announcement of the 2023 hosts was unscheduled. Guinea was one of the bidders for the 2019 and 2021 editions, whose host countries were scheduled to be announced on that day. A CAF spokesperson told BBC News that, on the basis of Guinea's presentation "and commitment", the committee "decided to exercise its power to make an immediate decision."[8]

Host change Edit

On 30 November 2018, CAF stripped Cameroon from hosting the 2019 edition due to lack of speed of progress in hosting preparations,[9][10][11] but accepted former CAF President Ahmad Ahmad's request to stage the following edition in 2021. Consequently, the original hosts of 2021, Ivory Coast, would host the 2023 edition, and the original hosts of 2023, Guinea would host the 2025 edition, which until then was yet to have a host.[12]

On 30 January 2019, CAF President confirmed the timetable shift, after a meeting with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.[13]

Teams Edit

Main article: 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
 
  Host
  Qualified
  Failed to qualify
  Withdrew or did not enter
  Suspended
  Not part of CAF

Qualification Edit

The following teams qualified for the tournament. There is no debutant nation, the first time since 2015.

Team Method of
qualification 		Date of
qualification 		Finals
appearance 		Last
appearance 		Previous best
performance
  Ivory Coast Hosts / Group H runners-up 30 January 2019 25th 2021 Champions (1992, 2015)
  Morocco Group K winners or runners-up 24 March 2023 19th 2021 Champions (1976)
  Algeria Group F winners 27 March 2023 20th 2021 Champions (1990, 2019)
  South Africa Group K winners or runners-up 28 March 2023 11th 2019 Champions (1996)
  Senegal Group L winners 28 March 2023 17th 2021 Champions (2021)
  Burkina Faso Group B winners 28 March 2023 13th 2021 Runners-up (2013)
  Tunisia Group J winners 28 March 2023 21st 2021 Champions (2004)
  Egypt Group D winners 14 June 2023 26th 2021 Champions (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010)
  Zambia Group H winners 17 June 2023 18th 2015 Champions (2012)
  Equatorial Guinea Group J runners-up 17 June 2023 4th 2021 Fourth place (2015)
  Nigeria Group A winners 18 June 2023 20th 2021 Champions (1980, 1994, 2013)
  Guinea-Bissau Group A runners-up 18 June 2023 4th 2021 Group stage (2017, 2019, 2021)
  Cape Verde Group B runners-up 18 June 2023 4th 2021 Quarter-finals (2013)
  Mali Group G winners 18 June 2023 13th 2021 Runners-up (1972)
  Guinea Group D runners-up 20 June 2023 14th 2021 Runners-up (1976)
  Ghana Group E winners 7 September 2023 24th 2021 Champions (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)
  Angola Group E runners-up 7 September 2023 9th 2019 Quarter-finals (2008, 2010)
  Tanzania Group F runners-up 7 September 2023 3rd 2019 Group stage (1980, 2019)
  Mozambique Group L runners-up 9 September 2023 5th 2010 Group stage (1986, 1996, 1998, 2010)
  DR Congo Group I winners 9 September 2023 20th 2019 Champions (1968, 1974)
  Mauritania Group I runners-up 9 September 2023 3rd 2021 Group stage (2019, 2021)
  Gambia Group G runners-up 10 September 2023 2nd 2021 Quarter-finals (2021)
  Cameroon Group C winners 12 September 2023 21st 2021 Champions (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017)
  Namibia Group C runners-up 12 September 2023 4th 2019 Group stage (1998, 2008, 2019)

Venues Edit

CAF established the following requirements for the expected six stadiums for this edition of the tournament:[14]

Number of stadiums Capacity
(Minimum)
2 40,000
2 20,000
2 15,000

In September 2017, the government of Ivory Coast launched a public tender for the venues of the competition. This includes public tender requested bids for renovating and expanding the existing Stade Félix-Houphouët Boigny and Stade de la Paix (Peace Stadium) of Bouaké, and building new stadiums in the cities of Korhogo, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro. The three new stadiums were to have a capacity of 20,000 each.

In addition to the renovation or construction of stadiums, the tender included the renovation or construction of training facilities in the host cities: 8 in Abidjan, and 4 in Bouaké, Korhogo, Yamoussoukro and San Pedro. It also included the construction of 96 villas (5 rooms per villa) in the cities of Bouaké, Korhogo, Yamoussoukro and San Pedro. In addition, bids were to be submitted to build a 3-star hotel of 50 rooms in the city of Korhogo.[15]

2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Ivory Coast)
 Abidjan Bouaké
Alassane Ouattara Stadium Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium Stade de la Paix
Capacity: 60,000 Capacity: 33,000[16] Capacity: 40,000
     
Korhogo San Pédro Yamoussoukro
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium Laurent Pokou Stadium Charles Konan Banny Stadium
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 20,000
     

Match officials Edit

On 12 September 2023 a total of 32 referees,33 assistants,4 video assistant referees(V.A.R) and 6 technical and physical instructors where shortlisted for the preparatory course ahead of the AFCON.[17]

Referees Edit

Assistant referees Edit

Video assistant referees Edit

Technical and Physical Instructors Edit

Draw Edit

The draw will be held in Abidjan on 12 October 2023.[18] The 24 teams will be drawn into six groups of four.[19]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

  Ivory Coast (hosts)
  Morocco
  Senegal
  Tunisia
  Algeria
  Egypt

  Nigeria
  Cameroon
  Mali
  Burkina Faso
  Ghana
  DR Congo

  South Africa
  Cape Verde
  Guinea
  Zambia
  Equatorial Guinea
  Mauritania

  Guinea-Bissau
  Mozambique
  Namibia
  Angola
  Gambia
  Tanzania

Group stage Edit

All times are local, GMT (UTC±0).

Group A Edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Ivory Coast (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 13 January 2024. Source: CAF
(H) Hosts

Group B Edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF


Group C Edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 C1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 C4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF

Group D Edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF

Group E Edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 E1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 E2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 E3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 E4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF


Group F Edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 F1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 F2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 F4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF

Ranking of third-placed teams Edit

Pos Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 B B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 D D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 E E3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 F F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 13 January 2024. Source: CAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Disciplinary points; 5) Drawing of lots.

Knockout stage Edit

Combinations of matches in the Round of 16 Edit

The specific match-ups involving the third-placed teams depended on which four third-placed teams qualified for the round of 16:

  Possible combinations of third-placed teams
Third-placed teams
qualify from groups 		1A
vs 		1B
vs 		1C
vs 		1D
vs
A B C D 3C 3D 3A 3B
A B C E 3C 3A 3B 3E
A B C F 3C 3A 3B 3F
A B D E 3D 3A 3B 3E
A B D F 3D 3A 3B 3F
A B E F 3E 3A 3B 3F
A C D E 3C 3D 3A 3E
A C D F 3C 3D 3A 3F
A C E F 3C 3A 3F 3E
A D E F 3D 3A 3F 3E
B C D E 3C 3D 3B 3E
B C D F 3C 3D 3B 3F
B C E F 3E 3C 3B 3F
B D E F 3E 3D 3B 3F
C D E F 3C 3D 3F 3E

Bracket Edit

 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
 
 
 
Runner-up Group A
 
 
 
Runner-up Group C
 
Winner R2
 
 
 
Winner R1
 
Winner Group D
 
 
 
3rd Group B/E/F
 
Winner QF1
 
 
 
Winner QF4
 
Winner Group B
 
 
 
3rd Group A/C/D
 
Winner R5
 
 
 
Winner R8
 
Winner Group F
 
13 February
 
Runner-up Group E
 
Winner SF1
 
 
 
Winner SF2
 
Runner-up Group B
 
 
 
Runner-up Group F
 
Winner R7
 
 
 
Winner R6
 
Winner Group A
 
 
 
3rd Group C/D/E
 
Winner QF3
 
 
 
Winner QF2Third place play-off
 
Winner Group E
 
  
 
Runner-up Group D
 
Winner R4Loser SF1
 
 
 
Winner R3Loser SF2
 
Winner Group C
 
 
3rd Group A/B/F
 

Round of 16 Edit

Winner Group DR13rd Group B/E/F
Runner-up Group AR2Runner-up Group C
Winner Group AR33rd Group C/D/E
Runner-up Group BR4Runner-up Group F
Winner Group BR53rd Group A/C/D
Winner Group CR63rd Group A/B/F
Winner Group ER7Runner-up Group D
Winner Group FR8Runner-up Group E

Quarter-finals Edit

Winner R2QF1Winner R1
Winner R4QF2Winner R3
Winner R7QF3Winner R6
Winner R5QF4Winner R8

Semi-finals Edit

Winner QF1SF1Winner QF4
Winner QF3SF2Winner QF2

Third place match Edit

Loser SF1vLoser SF2

Final Edit

Winner SF1vWinner SF2

References Edit

  1. ^ "New identity for TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d'Ivoire 2023 revealed". CAFonline.com. Confederation of African Football. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Africa Cup of Nations to switch from January staging to June in 2019". The Guardian. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Africa Cup of Nations: Date switch makes African players more attractive, say agents". BBC Sport. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  4. ^ Imary, Gerald (21 July 2017). "African Cup of Nations finally moved away from mid-season and expanded from 16 to 24 teams". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  5. ^ "FIFA Council makes key decisions for the future of football development". FIFA. 26 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  6. ^ "CAF President Dr Motsepe announces African Super League launch details, AFCON 2023 and Champions League key decisions" (Press release). CAFOnline.com. 3 July 2022. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023. ...the Executive Committee has decided that this edition of the tournament will be postponed to the months of January and February 2024. The postponement is as a direct and sole result of the adverse weather conditions in the country and after also having received further technical opinion from experts on adverse effects of staging the matches in that period, as June and July are rainy seasons in Ivory Coast.
  7. ^ Southby, Ben (3 July 2022). "Africa Cup of Nations 2023 finals have been postponed and moved to January 2024 due to weather concerns in Ivory Coast". Eurosport. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Nations Cup: 2019, 2021 and shock 2023 hosts unveiled by Caf". BBC Sport. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Cameroon stripped of hosting 2019 Africa Cup of Nations". BBC Sport. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Cameroon stripped of FALCON 2019 hosting duties". Deutsche Welle. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  11. ^ "Cameroon stripped of right to host 2019 Africa Cup of Nations". The Guardian. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  12. ^ "CAN 2019: Le pays hate Sera con-nu Le 9 Javier" [CAN 2019: the host country will be known on January 9]. Le Monde (in French). 10 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Cote d'Ivoire agrees CAF timetable shift". CAFOnline.com. 30 January 2019. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  14. ^ Wandji, Arthur (13 August 2017). "CAN 2019: ce que prévoit le nouveau cahier de charges" [CAN 2019: what the new specifications provide]. Camfoot (in French). Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  15. ^ "la Côte d'Ivoire lance un appel d'offres pour la construction d'infrastructures sportives et d'hébergements" [Côte d'Ivoire launches a call for tenders for the construction of sports infrastructure and accommodation]. Abidjan.net (in French). 20 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  16. ^ "La moitié des stades sont prêts". L'Expression: Sports (in French). 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  17. ^ "NIGERIA missing as CAF lists 85 referees". www.premiumtimesng.com. 12 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Five-time African champions Cameroon join star-studded list of Qualified Nations for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d'Ivoire 2023". CAF Online.
  19. ^ "Morocco stays top while Guinea Bissau make improvement in latest FIFA Rankings". CAF Online. 21 September 2023.

External links Edit

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