The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is a biennial football tournament for the men’s national teams of countries in Africa. It is the premier international men’s football tournament in Africa just like the UEFA EURO is for the European continent.
All our articles about AFCON 2022
The tournament started in 1957 and since 1962 has been played every 2 years till date. The event was switched to odd years in the year 2013 to stop clashing with the FIFA World Cup.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the organizer of the tournament. This tournament is different from the women’s Africa Cup of Nations. This too is held biennially and organised by CAF but for the women national teams.
AFCON 2022 was originally planned to be played in June and July 2021. But due to the adverse climate conditions in Cameroon during that period, it has been shifted to January and February 2022.
The reigning king of African football is Algeria after defeating Senegal 1-0 in the 2019 edition in Egypt.
When Will the Africa Cup of Nations Start?
The African Cup of Nations (AFCON 2022) will start from 9 January 2022 to 6 February 2022. Cameroon is the host of the 33rd edition of the tournament.
What Are the Afcon Qualifiers?
The Afcon qualifiers are the matches played to determine the 24 countries that will qualify for the tournament. The host country in this case Cameroon gets an automatic qualification, while the other teams battle for the other 23 spots. The qualifiers for AFCON 2022 has already been concluded and the teams in the table below are playing in the finals.
| Afcon 2022 – Qualified teams | ||
|---|---|---|
 Algeria |  Mali |  Burkina Faso |
 Cameroon |  Senegal |  Tunisia |
 Guinea |  Comoros |  Gabon |
 Gambia |  Egypt |  Ghana |
 Equatorial Guinea |  Zimbabwe |  Ivory Coast |
 Morocco |  Nigeria |  Sudan |
 Malawi |  Ethiopia |  Mauritania |
 Guinea-Bissau |  Cape Verde |  Sierra Leone |
How Do Teams Qualify for Afcon?
52 teams entered the qualifying draw including the host country Cameroon. Even though the hosts in Cameroon have an automatic qualification, they played in the group stage to determine the qualification for the other teams in their group.
There are 5 different pots of teams. The Pots 1 to 4 contained 44 teams and were seeded based on their 2019 FIFA world ranking. While the 8 teams in Pot 5 had to play a preliminary round of home and away matches. The 4 winning teams advanced to join the other 44 teams in the group stage.
In the group stage, the 48 teams were drawn into 12 groups to battle it out for qualification.
To qualify, each team played with the other 3 teams in the group once and were ranked according to points. 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 for a loss. The first in the group and the runner up qualified for the final tournament, bringing it to a total of 24 teams.
How Many African Cups of Nation Has Nigeria Won?
Nigeria, the proclaimed giant of Africa has won the African Cup of Nations 3 times. The country with the most AFCON titles is Egypt with 7 titles.
Nigeria won it last in 2013 defeating Burkina Faso in the finals. Nigeria won the 2013 title under the captainship of Joseph Yobo and Stephen Keshi as the coach.
The first time they won it was in 1980 and were the host countries. They had Christian Chukwu as the captain and Otto Gloria as the coach.
The second title came in 1994, the glory days of Nigeria football, as they also won gold in the Olympics in Atlanta in 1986. Augustine Eguavoen was the team captain with Clemens Westerhof as the coach.
They will be vying to add the 4th cup to their trophy cabinet in the next African Cup of Nations (AFCON 2022).
AFCON – The Nigerian Football Team
The Nigerian national football team represents Nigeria in international men’s football tournaments.
Popularly known as the Super Eagles, this team has a great history, having won the African Cup of Nations 3 times. They have excelled on the World stage too, winning the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta in 1996 defeating Argentina in the Finals. Also winning the Silver medal in 2008 in Beijing losing to Argentina in the Finals.
The team is currently 32nd in the FIFA world ranking.
The Nigerian team has several of its players plying their trade in European leagues. Players such as Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi are both in Leicester City Football Club of the EPL, Alex Iwobi in Everton, Victor Osimhen in Napoli. Ahmed Musa is the captain of the team playing with Fatih Karagümrük in the Turkish Super Ligue.
Gernot Rohr is the current coach and has been on the job since 2016.
AFCON 2022 will be their 20th appearance at the tournament, and they will compete in hopes to claim their 4th title. The Super Eagles and the host country Cameroon have had a long history of the rivalry. Cameroon has defeated Nigeria in 3 Africa Cup of Nations finals, hopefully, Nigeria will overcome this time.
Where Can I Bet on The African Cup of Nations 2022?
You can enjoy the African Cup of Nations by watching it on TV or travelling to Cameroon to watch it live in the stadium. But you can also be part of the excitement by betting on the games. We have compiled a list of betting sites that have the best odds and features for you to consider. By betting, you will not only enjoy the emotional thrill of the competition, but you can also win big. You can find odds for the games at different bookmakers as the tournament gets closer.
Another benefit is that you can watch the tournament on the Live TVs offered by some bookmakers.
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Frequently Asked Questions about AFCON
The 33rd Edition of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON 2022) will start from 9 January 2022 to 6 February 2022. The first match will be played on 9th January while the finals will be played on 6 February.
Currently, the number of participating teams in the African Cup of Nations is 24, an increase from 16 participating teams. This change was made after the 2019 tournament and is being implemented in the next AFCON in Cameroon.
The African Cup of Nations has taken place every two years since 1962. It has always taken place on even years until it was changed in 2013 to prevent clashes with the FIFA World Cup.
Several sports channels around the world will broadcast the games of the Africa Cup of Nations. In Nigeria, it will be aired on the Supersports channels on DSTV.
Originally scheduled to be played in 2021, the next African Cup of Nations will take place in Cameroon from 9 January to 6 February. These matches will be played in 5 host cities in 6 stadiums.
The Desert Foxes of Algeria won the African Cup of Nation 2019 held in Egypt. The runner-up was Senegal who lost 1-0 with the lone goal of the game coming from Baghdad Bounedjah of Algeria.
The kings of African football happen to be the Pharaohs of Egypt with 7 titles won. They won it in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, and their unparalleled treble in 2006, 2008, and 2010.
The current kings of African football are the Desert Foxes of Algeria. The team won the 2019 African Cup of Nations hosted by Egypt with a 1- 0 win over Senegal.
AFCON stands for African Cup of Nations. The first words of the term “AFrican Cup Of Nations” form this acronym.
Conclusion
Football is a cherished sport in Africa. So it is always a spectacle to watch different countries battle it out for glory in AFCON every 2 years. Even though there are favourites like Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, and the rest each year. There is always room for an underdog to come from behind to win it. Cameroon is the host for this year’s edition. You can watch it on TV as well as on the Live TVs of several bookies.
