The eagerly awaited African Cup of Nations 2023, organized by the Confederation of African Football, is scheduled to commence on January 13 in the Ivory Coast. 

The tournament promises to showcase the continent’s standout talents, who have garnered attention with noteworthy performances both at their club level and during the Qatar World Cup 2022.

Notably, five African teams from the Qatar 2022 World Cup are participating, with Morocco, the semifinalists at the global showcase, emerging as the frontrunners to secure the African championship.

 

AFCON 2023 hosts

Ivory coast will host the AFCON for a second time

 

AFCON 2023 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

 

How does the group stage work?

The last 16 stage will feature the top two teams from each group, along with the four third-placed teams with the highest rankings.

Conversely, the tournament will bid farewell to the bottom teams and the two third-placed teams with the least favorable rankings in each group.

 

How does the knockout stage work?

Following a three-day break starting on January 24, the last-16 fixtures will commence.

 

AFCON 2023 last 16 stage overview

Group D winners vs third place Group B/E/F

Group A runners-up vs Group C runners-up

Group A winners vs third place Group C/D/E

Group B second place vs Group F runners-up

Group B winners vs third place Group A/C/D

Group C winners vs third Place Group A/B/F

Group E winners vs Group D runners-up

Group F winners vs Group E runners-up

 

AFCON 2023 stadiums and capacity

Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (capacity 60,000)

Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (capacity 33,000)

Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (capacity 20,000)

Stade de la Paix, Bouake (capacity 40,000)

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (capacity 20,000)

Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (capacity 20,000)

 

AFCON 2023 fixtures:

Saturday 13 January

Group A: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

 

Sunday 14 January

Group A: Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (14:00)

Group B: Egypt vs Mozambique, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (17:00)

Group B: Ghana vs Cape Verde, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

 

Monday 15 January

Group C: Senegal vs The Gambia, Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (14:00)

Group C: Cameroon vs Guinea, Yamoussoukro (17:00)

Group D: Algeria vs Angola, Stade de la Paix, Bouake (20:00)

 

Tuesday 16 January

Group D: Burkina Faso vs Mauritania, Bouake (14:00)

Group E: Tunisia vs Namibia, Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (17:00)

Group E: Mali vs South Africa, Korhogo (20:00)

 

Wednesday 17 January

Group F: Morocco vs Tanzania, Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (17:00)

Group F: DR Congo vs Zambia, San Pedro (20:00)

 

Thursday 18 January

Group A: Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (14:00)

Group A: Ivory Coast vs Nigeria, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (17:00)

Group B: Egypt vs Ghana, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

 

Friday 19 January

Group B: Cape Verde vs Mozambique, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (14:00)

Group C: Senegal vs Cameroon, Yamoussoukro (17:00)

Group C: Guinea vs The Gambia, Yamoussoukro (20:00)

 

Saturday 20 January

Group D: Algeria vs Burkina Faso, Bouake (14:00)

Group D: Mauritania vs Angola, Bouake (17:00)

Group E: Tunisia vs Mali, Korhogo (20:00)

 

Sunday 21 January

Group E: South Africa vs Namibia, Korhogo (20:00)

Group F: Morocco vs DR Congo, San Pedro (14:00)

Group F: Zambia vs Tanzania, San Pedro (17:00)

 

Monday 22 January

Group A: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (17:00)

Group A: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (17:00)

Group B: Cape Verde vs Egypt, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

Group B: Mozambique vs Ghana, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

 

Tuesday 23 January

Group C: The Gambia vs Cameroon, Bouake (17:00)

Group C: Guinea vs Senegal, Yamoussoukro (17:00)

Group D: Angola vs Burkina Faso, Yamoussoukro (20:00)

Group D: Mauritania vs Algeria, Bouake (20:00)

 

Wednesday 24 January

Group E: Namibia vs Mali, San Pedro (17:00)

Group E: South Africa vs Tunisia, Korhogo (17:00)

Group F: Tanzania vs DR Congo, Korhogo (20:00)

Group F: Zambia vs Morocco, San Pedro (20:00)

 

AFCON 2023 second round fixtures

Saturday 27 January

SR1: Group D Winner vs 3rd Place Group B/E/F, Bouake (17:00)

SR2: Group A Second Place vs Group C Second Place, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

 

Sunday 28 January

SR3: Group A Winner vs 3rd Place Group C/D/E, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (17:00)

SR4: Group B Second Place vs Group F Second Place, San Pedro (20:00)

 

Monday 29 January

SR5: Group B Winner vs 3rd Place Group A/C/D, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (17:00)

SR6: Group C Winner vs 3rd Place Group A/B/F, Yamoussoukro (20:00)

 

Tuesday 30 January

SR7: Group E Winner vs Group D Second Place, Korhogo (17:00)

SR8: Group F Winner vs Group E Second Place, San Pedro (20:00)

 

AFCON 2023 Quater finals

Friday 2 February

QF1: Winner SR2 vs Winner RS1, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (17:00)

QF2: Winner SR4 vs Winner SR3, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

 

Saturday 3 February

QF3: Winner SR7 vs Winner RS6, Bouake (17:00)

QF4: Winner SR5 vs Winner SR8, Yamoussoukro (20:00)

 

AFCON 2023 Semi-finals

Wednesday 7 February

SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4, Bouake (17:00)

SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

 

AFCON 2023 Third place play-off

Saturday 10 February

SF1 vs SF2 losers, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

 

AFCON 2023 Final

Sunday 11 February

SF1 vs SF2 winners, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)

 

AFCON past winners

Egypt holds the record as the most successful team in AFCON history, securing seven titles. They were the runners-up in the most recent tournaments, in 2017 and 2021.

Cameroon follows as the second most successful team with five victories, while Ghana has clinched the trophy four times, the last being in 1982. This fact may still be a source of rivalry with West African counterparts Nigeria, who boast three AFCON titles.

Hosts Ivory Coast, Algeria (2019 winners), and DR Congo have each claimed the title twice.

Senegal is currently defending their sole Africa Cup of Nations crown, while Morocco, the highest-ranked nation, has secured the title only once in 1976. Tunisia, Zambia, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Africa, and the Republic of the Congo have also been crowned champions on one occasion each.

 

AFCON 2023 prize money

The prize money for the champions of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will see a significant 40 percent increase. The winner will be awarded $7m. 

The runners-up will receive $4m, while each of the two semi-finalists will take home $2.5m. Additionally, the four quarterfinalists will be awarded $1.3m each.