The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the premier international football tournament in Africa, kicks off on January 13th in Ivory Coast. This will be the 34th edition of the tournament, which takes place every two years.
Ivory Coast will stage the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time after hosting the 1984 edition of the tournament. Much has changed since Cameroon secured their first AFCON title some 40 years ago with just eight nations participating at the 14th edition of the competition.
Twenty four nations will participate at six stadiums in five Ivorian cities with the host nation kicking off the competition on 13 January as the Elephants face Guinea-Bissau in Abidjan with the final set for 11 February.
At the outset of the competition, current champions Senegal, Cameroon, Egypt and Morocco are the tournament favourites with the spotlight set to fall on greats such as Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mohamed Salah, Victor Osimhen or Riyad Mahrez.
AFCON 2023 Schedule
The top two sides in each of the six groups will advance to the Round of 16 and will be joined by four of the best placed third placed teams.
The competition then follows a direct knock-out format through to the 11 February final where the champion of Africa will be crowned at the 60,000 capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium in the capital, Abidjan.
Group A: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (3pm ET)
Group A: Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (9am)
Group B: Egypt vs Mozambique, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (12pm)
Group B: Ghana vs Cape Verde, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (3pm)
Group C: Senegal vs The Gambia, Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (9am)
Group C: Cameroon vs Guinea, Yamoussoukro (12am)
Group D: Algeria vs Angola, Stade de la Paix, Bouake (3pm)
Group D: Burkina Faso vs Mauritania, Bouake (9am)
Group E: Tunisia vs Namibia, Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (12am)
Group E: Mali vs South Africa, Korhogo (3pm)
Group F: Morocco vs Tanzania, Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (12pm)
Group F: DR Congo vs Zambia, San Pedro (3pm)
Top players absent for their club during AFCON
Mohamed Salah heads the list of mid-season absentees as bosses keep their fingers crossed for their stars’ safe return.
The Egyptian heads off to the Ivory Coast this week to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations – a competition which could see him miss up to SEVEN games for Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s side are currently three points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
If his country is successful, the Premier League’s joint leading scorer won’t return to play for the Reds until an away fixture at Brentford in mid-February as his boss contemplates reaching the Carabao Cup final and progressing in the FA Cup without him. Osimhen will also be absent for Napoli for the AFCON.
The hole left in Liverpool’s frontline may turn out to be not as big if Egypt do not progress beyond the group stages as there are only two more top-flight fixtures for the current league leaders to play this month. The AFCON final is penciled in for February 11.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou will be disappointed that Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma are leaving to play for Senegal and Mali in the AFCON.
Nottingham Forest will be missing the most players – six in total. New manager Nuno Espirito Santo will be without Ibrahim Sangare, Willy Boly and Serge Aurier, who are playing for Ivory Coast.
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil will miss forward Hwang Hee-chan, who has scored 10 goals this season. He’ll also be without defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, who is playing for Algeria.
At Manchester United, manager Erik ten Hag will be without new goalkeeper Andre Onana, who is playing for Cameroon. Sofyan Amrabat will be missing too as he plays for Morocco.
West Ham’s David Moyes will miss midfielder Mohammed Kudus, who is playing for Ghana. Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson may also regret missing out, especially if manager Mauricio Pochettino looks to sign a new striker.
Overall, many top African players will be absent from their clubs while playing in the AFCON tournament. Their managers will hope they can help their country succeed before returning to club duty.
