The Africa Cup of Nations AFCON 2023, which will commence on Saturday, January 13, 2024, is the 34th edition of Africa’s biggest football tournament. The competition is hosted by Cote d’Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast, for the second time, in six different venues.
The competition, which was supposed to be held in 2023, was postponed in July 2022 due to the weather conditions in Ivory Coast that might affect the competition during the summer period in the country. A total of 24 countries were selected after a series of qualifiers, which consisted of over 50 countries.
Twenty-four countries, in over 40 fixtures, will battle to become the champions of Africa and also receive a huge cash prize of 7 million dollars.
AFCON 2023 groupings
Group AIvory CoastNigeriaEquatorial GuineaGuinea-Bissau. | Group BEgyptGhanaCape VerdeMozambique. | Group CSenegalCameroonGuineaThe Gambia |
Group DAlgeriaBurkina FasoMauritaniaAngola. | Group ETunisiaMaliSouth AfricaNamibia. | Group FMoroccoDR CongoZambiaTanzania. |
See Each Country's squad for the tournament for AFCON 2023
Group Stage Overview
The 24 teams have been divided into six groups of four. The top two teams from each group, along with the four best-ranked third-placed teams, will advance to the last 16.
Advancing Teams
Morocco and 15 other countries have already secured spots in the knockout stages of the tournament. Morocco, ranked 13th globally, made history by reaching the World Cup semi-final in Qatar 2022 but haven't claimed a Nations Cup since 1976.
Ivory Coast's Hopes
Ivory Coast, currently with three points, is in contention for advancement. Their fate depends on the outcomes of the final matches in Groups E and F.
AFCON 2023 Venues: Where it's Happening
Six stadiums across five host cities are hosting the tournament, including two in Abidjan:
- 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
All stadiums are either new or renovated, with a government investment of one billion US dollars in nationwide infrastructure projects for Afcon 2023.
AFCON 2023 Schedule and Kick-off Times
The group stages featured games at 15:00, 18:00, and 21:00 (all times WAT). In the final round of group matches and the knockout stages starting on Saturday, January 27, 2024, kick-off times shift to 18:00 and 21:00.
Exciting last-16 matchups include Nigeria vs. Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea facing Guinea for a quarter-final spot. Mauritania aims for their first-ever quarter-final against Cape Verde.
Quarter-finals are set for February 2 and 3, 2024, with both semi-finals scheduled on Wednesday, February 7. The final in Abidjan will take place on February 11, a day after the third-placed play-off.
Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 fixtures
Saturday 13 January
Group A: Ivory Coast 2-0 Guinea-Bissau, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Sunday 14 January
Group A: Nigeria 1-1 Equatorial Guinea, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Group B: Egypt 2-2 Mozambique, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Group B: Ghana 1-2 Cape Verde, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Monday 15 January
Group C: Senegal 3-0 The Gambia, Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro
Group C: Cameroon 1-1 Guinea, Yamoussoukro
Group D: Algeria 1-1 Angola, Stade de la Paix, Bouake
Tuesday 16 January
Group D: Burkina Faso 1-0 Mauritania, Bouake
Group E: Tunisia 0-1 Namibia, Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo
Group E: Mali 2-0 South Africa, Korhogo
Wednesday 17 January
Group F: Morocco 3-0 Tanzania, Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro
Group F: DR Congo 1-1 Zambia, San Pedro
Thursday 18 January
Group A: Equatorial Guinea 4-2 Guinea-Bissau, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Group A: Ivory Coast 0-1 Nigeria, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Group B: Egypt 2-2 Ghana, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Friday 19 January
Group B: Cape Verde 3-0 Mozambique, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Group C: Senegal 3-1 Cameroon, Yamoussoukro
Group C: Guinea 1-0 The Gambia, Yamoussoukro
Saturday 20 January
Group D: Algeria 2-2 Burkina Faso, Bouake
Group D: Mauritania 2-3 Angola, Bouake
Group E: Tunisia 1-1 Mali, Korhogo
Sunday 21 January
Group E: South Africa 4-0 Namibia, Korhogo
Group F: Morocco 1-1 DR Congo, San Pedro
Group F: Zambia 1-1 Tanzania, San Pedro
Monday 22 January
Group A: Equatorial Guinea 4-0 Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Group A: Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Nigeria, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Group B: Cape Verde 2-2 Egypt, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Group B: Mozambique 2-2 Ghana, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Tuesday 23 January
Group C: The Gambia 2-3 Cameroon, Bouake
Group C: Guinea 0-2 Senegal, Yamoussoukro
Group D: Angola 2-0 Burkina Faso, Yamoussoukro
Group D: Mauritania 1-0 Algeria, Bouake
Wednesday 24 January
Group E: Namibia 0-0 Mali, San Pedro
Group E: South Africa 0-0 Tunisia, Korhogo
Group F: Tanzania vs DR Congo, Korhogo (21:00)
Group F: Zambia vs Morocco, San Pedro (21:00)
Keep up with who the AFCON 2023 highest goal scorer is
See the AFCON 2023 Round of 16 fixtures and predictions
