AFCON · History

Egypt has won the Africa Cup of Nations seven times, more than any other country: in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010. Cameroon follows with five titles and Ghana with four, while Nigeria and Ivory Coast have three each. The tournament is the senior men's national-team championship of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and it was first played in Sudan in February 1957. Fifteen countries have lifted the trophy across its editions.

Origins in Khartoum, 1957

The first edition was meant for four teams, the founding members of CAF. South Africa was excluded because its federation would only field a team selected under apartheid rules, which left Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. Ethiopia went straight to the final by walkover, and Egypt beat Sudan in the only semi-final. On 16 February 1957, at the Municipal Stadium in Khartoum, Egypt beat Ethiopia 4-0. Ad-Diba scored all four goals and finished as the tournament's top scorer with five. Two years later Egypt, playing as the United Arab Republic, retained the title at home in 1959.

Expansion and new champions, 1962-1990

Ethiopia won the third edition on home soil in 1962. Ghana then took back-to-back titles in 1963 and 1965, the first country to do so. From 1968 the tournament settled into even-numbered years, with an eight-team final tournament that lasted until 1990. The title moved around the continent in that period: DR Congo won in 1968 and, as Zaire, again in 1974; Sudan won in 1970, Congo in 1972 and Morocco in 1976. Ghana's third title, in 1978, allowed it to keep the original silver trophy, the Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem Trophy, permanently. Nigeria won its first title as hosts in 1980, Ghana a fourth in 1982, and Cameroon claimed titles in 1984 and 1988. Egypt ended a long gap with its third title at home in 1986, and Algeria won as hosts in 1990.

Twelve, sixteen and twenty-four teams

The finals grew to 12 teams in 1992 and 1994. Ivory Coast won its first title in 1992, and Nigeria its second in 1994. A 16-team format was planned for 1996, but Nigeria's withdrawal left 15 teams in South Africa, where the hosts won on their first appearance after readmission. The 16-team format held from 1998 to 2017. Cameroon's titles in 2000 and 2002 gave it a third win with the second trophy, the African Unity Cup, which it kept; the gold-plated trophy that replaced it was first presented in 2002. Tunisia won at home in 2004. In 2013 the tournament switched to odd-numbered years to avoid clashing with the FIFA World Cup. In 2017 CAF approved moving it from January and February to the northern-hemisphere summer, and the 2019 edition in Egypt was the first with 24 teams.

Egypt's run and the penalty finals

Under coach Hassan Shehata, Egypt won three consecutive titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010, the only hat-trick of titles in the tournament's history. The 2006 final against Ivory Coast went to penalties, and the 2010 final ended 1-0 against Ghana. Several later finals were decided from the spot. In 2012 Zambia drew 0-0 with Ivory Coast after extra time and won 8-7 on penalties. Ivory Coast won its second title in 2015 by beating Ghana 9-8 on penalties after another goalless final. Nigeria won a third title in 2013, Cameroon a fifth in 2017, and Algeria a second in 2019 with a 1-0 win over Senegal. In the 2021 edition, held in Cameroon, Senegal drew 0-0 with Egypt and won 4-2 on penalties for its first title.

Records

Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon is the competition's all-time top scorer with 18 goals in 29 matches across six tournaments between 2000 and 2010. He won the title in 2000 and 2002 and was the tournament's top scorer in 2006 and 2008. The previous record, 14 goals, belonged to Laurent Pokou of Ivory Coast, and it stood until 2008.

The 2023 and 2025 editions

The 2023 edition was hosted by Ivory Coast and played from January 2024. The hosts beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final to win a third title, with Emerse Faé as coach, and Equatorial Guinea's Emilio Nsue finished as top scorer. The 35th edition was staged in Morocco between December 2025 and January 2026. Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final in Rabat on 18 January 2026, in a match interrupted when the Senegal players left the pitch before play resumed. On 17 March 2026 the CAF Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the final and awarded Morocco a 3-0 win. The Senegalese Football Federation appealed, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport registered the appeal on 25 March 2026 and heard the parties in Lausanne on 8 October 2026.