Ahmad Hamisu Gwale- Kano
The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 is set to kick off on January 13 in the Ivory Coast, for a second time in the history that will run from 13 January to 11 February 11th 2024.
The Independent Mirror reports that the football fans are gearing up for a matches as 24 of the best teams on the continent will converge in Ivory Coast for the 34th edition of the event.
Where are the matches held?
The all comprehensive 52 matches will be held at six stadiums across five cities in the capital, city of Abidjan, include Abidjan, Bouake, Korogho, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro all will play host to the event.
While the stadiums will be Olympic Alassane Ouattara, Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny, Charles Konan Stadium Banny, Stade de la Paix, Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly and Stade Laurent Pokou.
Also the stadiums will offers two venues, the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium and the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, which will also host the final.
And Yamoussoukro, Bouake, Korhogo and San Pedro will host the remaining fixtures.
Which teams have qualified?
• Group A – Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau
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• Group B – Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mozambique
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• Group C – Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, and The Gambia
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• Group D – Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola
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• Group E – Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, and Namibia
• Group F – Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania
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When are the opening fixtures?
Ivory Coast face Guinea-Bissau in the opening match at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, on January 13 in Group A.
The host nation will have the focus on the first day, but after that, there will be a minimum of two games per day through the group stage.
Group A
Day 1
13 January, 9pm: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau (Stadium Olympic Alassane Ouattara)
14 January, 3pm: Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea (Olympic Stadium Alassane Ouattara)
Day 2
18 January, 3pm: Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau (Stadium Olympic Alassane Ouattara)
18 January, 6pm: Ivory Coast vs Nigeria (Olympic Stadium Alassane Ouattara)
Day 3
22 January 6pm: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast (Stadium Olympic Alassane Ouattara)
22 January 6pm: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
Group B
Day 1
14 January 6pm: Egypt vs Mozambique (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
14 January 9pm: Ghana vs Cape Verde (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
Day 2
18 January 9pm: Egypt vs Ghana (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
19 January 3pm: Cape Verde vs Mozambique (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
Day 3
22 January 9pm: Mozambique vs Ghana (Alassane Olympic Stadium Ouattara)
22 January 22, 9pm: Cape Verde vs Egypt (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
Group C
Day 1
15 January 3pm: Senegal vs Gambia (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
15 January 6pm: Cameroon vs Guinea (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
Day 2
19 January 6pm: Senegal vs Cameroon (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
19 January 9pm: Guinea vs Gambia (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
Day 3
23 January 6pm: Guinea vs Senegal (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
23 January 6pm: Gambia vs Cameroon (Stade de la Paix)
Group D
Day 1
15 January 9pm: Algeria vs Angola (Stade de la Paix)
16 January 3pm: Burkina Faso vs Mauritania (Stade de la Paix)
Day 2
20 January 3pm: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Stade de la Paix)
20 January 6pm: Mauritania vs Angola (Stade de la Paix)
Day 3
23 January 9pm: Angola vs Burkina Faso (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
23 January 9pm: Mauritania vs Algeria (Stade de la Paix)
Group E
Day 1
16 January 6pm: Tunisia vs Namibia (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
16 January 9pm: Mali vs South Africa (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
Day 2
20 January 9pm: Tunisia vs Mali (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
21 January 9pm: South Africa vs Namibia (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
Day 3
24 January 6pm: South Africa vs Tunisia (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
24 January 6pm: Namibia vs Mali (Stade Laurent Pokou)
Group F
Day 1
17 January 6pm: Morocco vs Tanzania (Stade Laurent Pokou)
17 January 9pm: DRC vs Zambia (Stade Laurent Pokou)
Day 2
21 January 3pm: Morocco vs DRC (Stade Laurent Pokou)
21 January 6pm: Zambia vs Tanzania (Stade Laurent Pokou)
Day 3
24 January 9pm: Tanzania vs DRC (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium)
24 January 9pm: Zambia vs Morocco (Stade Laurent Pokou)
Round of 16
27 January
Match 1 – 6pm: 1st group D vs 3rd B/E or F (Stade de la Paix)
Match 2 – 6pm: 2nd group A vs 2nd group C (Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny)
28 January
Match 3 – 6pm: 1st group A vs 3rd C/D or E (Stadium Olympic Alassane Ouattara)
Match 4 – 9pm: 2nd group B vs 2nd group F (Stade Laurent Pokou)
29 January:
Match 5 – 6pm: 1st Group C vs 3rd group A/B or F (Stadium Charles Konan Banny)
Match 6 – 9pm: 1st group F vs 2nd group E (Stade Laurent Pokou)
30 January 30
Match 7 – 6pm: 1st group E vs 2nd group D (Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly)
Match 8 – 9pm: 1st group B vs 3rd group A/C or D (Stadium Felix Houphouet-Boigny)
Quarter-finals
2 February
6pm: Winners match 4 vs match 3 (A) (Olympic Stadium Alassane Ouattara)
9pm: Winners match 1 vs match 2 (B) (Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny)
3 February
6pm: Winners match 5 vs match 6 (C) (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
9pm: Winners match 7 vs match 8 (D) (Stade de la Paix)
Semi-finals
7 February
6pm: Winners A vs B (Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara)
9pm: Winners C vs D (Stade de la Paix)
Match for 3rd place
10 February
9pm: Third-Place Play-Off (Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny)
Final
11 February
9pm: Final (Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara)
Who are the past winners?
Egypt are the record winners in AFCON’s history with seven titles. They were also runners-up most recently, in 2017 and 2021.
Cameroon are the second most successful team with five wins.
Ghana have lifted the trophy on four occasions but not since 1982. That still, however, will irk their West African rivals, Nigeria, who have claimed the title three times.
Hosts Ivory Coast, Algeria (winners in 2019) and DR Congo have two wins each.
Senegal are defending their only Africa Cup of Nations crown, while Morocco, the highest-ranked nation, have also only been crowned winners once, and that was in 1976. Tunisia, Zambia, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Africa and the Republic of the Congo have also lifted the title on one occasion.
How much is the prize money?
There will be a 40 percent increase in the prize money for the winners of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The winners of the latest edition in Ivory Coast will receive 5.5 million pounds ($7m).
The runners-up will get 3.165 million pounds ($4m), with each of the two semifinalists receiving 1.979 million pounds ($2.5m) and the four quarterfinalists taking 1.029 million pounds ($1.3m) each.
There were a lot of reference by the CAF.
