The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) starts on Saturday 13 January 2024, with hosts Ivory Coast taking on Guinea-Bissau.
Just in case you are wondering, the tournament is called AFCON 2023 because it was originally planned to be played in 2023 between June and July.
However, CAF announced in June 2022 that the tournament would be moved to January/February to avoid the tropical rainstorm season in western Africa.
The biennial competition, which first took place in 1957, sees 24 teams battle it out to be crowned Africa’s champions. It was increased from 16 to 24 teams staring in 2019.
At the last AFCON held in Cameroon, Senegal beat Egypt on penalties to win the tournament for the first time in their history.
When does the AFCON 2023 tournament start and where is it?
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations starts on Saturday January 13 with Ivory Coast hosting the finals for the second time. The hosts get things underway when they take on Guinea-Bissau in Abidjan.
The tournament will run from Saturday 13 January to Sunday 11 February 2024.
What are the AFCON 2023 Groups?
There 24 teams, who can name squads of up to 27 players, that have been split into six groups of four. The teams will play each other once and the top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stages, starting from the Round of 16.
They will be joined by the four best third-placed sides, which means only one-third of the teams get eliminated in the group stages.
The rest of the tournament will be knockout ties (Round of 16, Quarter-final, Semifinal, Final) culminating with the final on Sunday, February 11. Here are the full Groups.
CLICK HERE TO PLACE YOUR BET ON ALL AFCON 2023 GAMES ON SPORTPESA
Group A: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau.
Group B: Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Mozambique.
Group C: Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, The Gambia.
Group D: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Angola.
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Namibia.
Group F: Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, Tanzania.
AFCON 2023 favourites and what to watch out for?
Morocco are among the favourites going into the tournament after making history at the 2022 Qatar World Cup by being the first African side to reach the semifinals of a World Cup.
Senegal are the defending champions and are expected not to be pushovers especially with the quality of their squad led by Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Egypt have won the tournament a record seven times, but it has been more than a decade since their last triumph in 2010. They lost the final in 2017 and 2022 and will be hoping to take advantage of an in-form Mohamed Salah to end their drought.
Hosts Ivory Coast will also be keen to make a mark in front of their home fans as they chase a third continental crown after triumphs in 1992 and 2015.
AFCON 2023 venues
Five hosts cities have been chosen with six stadiums used for the tournament. The opening match and the final will be held at the Olympique Alassane Ouattara Stadium, which is named after the country’s president.
- Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (capacity 60,000)
- Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (33,000)
- Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (20,000)
- Stade de la Paix, Bouake (40,000)
- Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (20,000)
- Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (20,000)
CLICK HERE TO PLACE YOUR BET ON ALL AFCON 2023 GAMES ON SPORTPESA
AFCON: Previous winners and runners-up
| Year | Winners | Runners-up |
| 1957 | Egypt | Ethiopia |
| 1959 | Egypt | Sudan |
| 1962 | Ethiopia | Egypt |
| 1963 | Ghana | Sudan |
| 1965 | Ghana | Tunisia |
| 1968 | DR Congo | Ghana |
| 1970 | Sudan | Ghana |
| 1972 | Congo | Mali |
| 1974 | DR Congo | Zambia |
| 1976 | Morocco | Guinea |
| 1978 | Ghana | Uganda |
| 1980 | Nigeria | Algeria |
| 1982 | Ghana | Libya |
| 1984 | Cameroon | Nigeria |
| 1986 | Egypt | Cameroon |
| 1988 | Cameroon | Nigeria |
| 1990 | Algeria | Nigeria |
| 1992 | Ivory Coast | Ghana |
| 1994 | Nigeria | Zambia |
| 1996 | South Africa | Tunisia |
| 1998 | Egypt | South Africa |
| 2000 | Cameroon | Nigeria |
| 2002 | Cameroon | Senegal |
| 2004 | Tunisia | Morocco |
| 2006 | Egypt | Ivory Coast |
| 2008 | Egypt | Cameroon |
| 2010 | Egypt | Ghana |
| 2012 | Zambia | Ivory Coast |
| 2013 | Nigeria | Burkina Faso |
| 2015 | Ivory Coast | Ghana |
| 2017 | Cameroon | Egypt |
| 2019 | Algeria | Senegal |
| 2021 | Senegal | Egypt |
ALSO READ: Teams that will lose key players as AFCON & Asian Cup tournaments come calling
AFCON 2023 Fixtures
Group stage
Saturday January 13
Group A: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau – Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (8pm)
Sunday January 14
Group A: Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea – Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (2pm)
Group B: Egypt vs Mozambique – Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (5pm)
Group B: Ghana vs Cape Verde – Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (8pm)
Monday January 15
Group C: Senegal vs The Gambia – Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (2pm)
Group C: Cameroon vs Guinea – Yamoussoukro (5pm)
Group D: Algeria vs Angola – Stade de la Paix, Bouake (8pm)
ALSO READ: The best strikers in the world
Tuesday January 16
Group D: Burkina Faso vs Mauritania – Bouake (2pm)
Group E: Tunisia vs Namibia – Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (5pm)
Group E: Mali vs South Africa – Korhogo (8pm)
Wednesday January 17
Group F: Morocco vs Tanzania – Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (5pm)
Group F: DR Congo vs Zambia – San Pedro (8pm)
Get all your sports news on SportPesa News
Thursday January 18
Group A: Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau – Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (2pm)
Group A: Ivory Coast vs Nigeria – Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (5pm)
Group B: Egypt vs Ghana – Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (8pm)
Friday January 19
Group B: Cape Verde vs Mozambique – Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (2pm)
Group C: Senegal vs Cameroon – Yamoussoukro (5pm)
Group C: Guinea vs The Gambia – Yamoussoukro (8pm)
Saturday January 20
Group D: Algeria vs Burkina Faso – Bouake (2pm)
Group D: Mauritania vs Angola – Bouake (5pm)
Group E: Tunisia vs Mali – Korhogo (8pm)
Sunday January 21
Group F: Morocco vs DR Congo – San Pedro (2pm)
Group F: Zambia vs Tanzania – San Pedro (5pm)
Group E: South Africa vs Namibia – Korhogo (8pm)
Monday January 22
Group A: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast – Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (5pm)
Group A: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria – Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (5pm)
Group B: Cape Verde vs Egypt – Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (8pm)
Group B: Mozambique vs Ghana – Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (8pm)
Tuesday January 23
Group C: The Gambia vs Cameroon – Bouake (5pm)
Group C: Guinea vs Senegal – Yamoussoukro (5pm)
Group D: Angola vs Burkina Faso – Yamoussoukro (8pm)
Group D: Mauritania vs Algeria – Bouake (8pm)
Wednesday January 24
Group E: Namibia vs Mali – San Pedro (5pm)
Group E: South Africa vs Tunisia – Korhogo (5pm)
Group F: Tanzania vs DR Congo – Korhogo (8pm)
Group F: Zambia vs Morocco – San Pedro (8pm)
Second round
Saturday January 27
SR1: Group D Winner vs 3rd Place Group B/E/F – Bouake (5pm)
SR2: Group A Second Place vs Group C Second Place – Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (8pm)
Sunday January 28
SR3: Group A Winner vs 3rd Place Group C/D/E – Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (5pm)
SR4: Group B Second Place vs Group F Second Place -San Pedro (8pm)
Monday January 29
SR5: Group B Winner vs 3rd Place Group A/C/D -Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (5pm)
SR6: Group C Winner vs 3rd Place Group A/B/F – Yamoussoukro (8pm)
Tuesday January 30
SR7: Group E Winner vs Group D Second Place – Korhogo (5pm)
SR8: Group F Winner vs Group E Second Place – San Pedro (8pm)
Quarter-finals
Friday February 2
QF1: Winner SR2 vs Winner RS1 – Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (5pm)
QF2: Winner SR4 vs Winner SR3 – Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (8pm)
Saturday February 3
QF3: Winner SR7 vs Winner RS6 – Bouake (5pm)
QF4: Winner SR5 vs Winner SR8 – Yamoussoukro (8pm)
Semi-finals
Wednesday February 7
SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4 – Bouake (5pm)
SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2 – Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (8pm)
Third place play-off
Saturday February 10
Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (8pm)
Final
Sunday February 11