Africa’s most prestigious football event AFCON 2023 is set to kick off in a few hours, with hosts Ivory Coast taking on Guinea-Bissau in the tournament’s opener.
The 34th edition which promises to be a thrilling event, will feature twenty-four (24) teams from across the continent and will be played in six cities across Ivory Coast before concluding with the final showdown on Feb. 11 in Abidjan.
The tournament is set to feature some of the best players from across the continent, and fans can expect to see some thrilling football matches.
As we look forward to AFCON 2024, there is no doubt that the competition will once again capture the imagination of football fans across the continent.
One of the competitive teams of the continent, Ivory Coast, the 1992 and 2015 winners, will play against Guinea-Bissau at Abidjan’s 60,000-capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium.
Teams such as Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia are expected to be among the favorites to win the tournament, but there could also be some surprise packages.
Egypt is the most successful team in the AFCON, lifting seven titles, the last in 2010.
The Pharaohs clinched the AFCON trophy thrice on home soil (1959, 1986, and 2006).
Egypt is the only nation to claim it three times consecutively in 2006, 2008, and 2010.
Cameroon are the second most successful team with five wins, followed by Ghana with four, Nigeria with three, and Ivory Coast, Algeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo with two each.
2023 Africa Cup of Nations groups
Group A: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau
Group B: Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mozambique
Group C: Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, and The Gambia
Group D: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, and Namibia
Group F: Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania
