African Cup of Nations 2023: Dates, Host & Location! AFCON Teams, Groups & Qualifying Schedule
African Cup of Nations 2023 Qualifying Schedule? What is the African Cup of Nations 2023 Qualifying Schedule? Have you ever wanted to find out about the African Cup of Nations 2023 Qualifying Schedule? Well, if you have then worry not because we have prepared an article on the African Cup of Nations 2023 Qualifying Schedule.
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2023 or CAN 2023) is scheduled to be the 34rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men’s football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) which is the main organizing body behind the AFCON.
The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by Ivory Coast for the second time. The competition will be held from 13th January to 11th February 2024.
The Africa Cup of Nations is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is held by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and was first held in 1957.
Since 1968, it has been held every two years. The titleholders at the time of a FIFA Confederations Cup automatically qualify for the competition.
African Cup of Nations 2023 Qualifying Schedule!
CAF has released the official match schedule for the tournament. The 2023 edition of the tournament is scheduled to take place in Cameroon.
The competition consisted of 24 teams battling it out to be crowned the ultimate continental champions. The final match is set to be played at the new Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé in Yaounde.
Africa Cup of Nations 2023 schedule!
Here is the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations Schedule which will be hosted by 2017 AFCON Champions Cameroon who gained an automatic qualification in September 2019.
| Beginning and Ending Date | 13 January – 11 February 2024 |
| Qualifying Round | 15 Nov 2020 – 15 June 2023 |
| Hosting Country | Ivory Coast |
| Participants | 24 teams |
| Hosting venue | Ivory Coast |
As mentioned before, the tournament will be played from 13th January to 11th February 2024. The first few weeks will be for the group stages. There are six groups, with four teams in each group. The qualifiers will play in the knockout stages and try to reach the finals in July.
Most of the matches will be played at 20:00 hours while some will be played earlier at 17:00 hours.
The final is expected to be played at 21:00 hours on the 6th of February in the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé in Yaounde.
Qualified teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament. The Greens outpowered Senegal in the final of the 2023 AFCON to claim their second AFCON title and both teams are playing it once again.
AFCON 2023 Qualifier Draw & Group seeds
A: Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Cape Verde
B: Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Malawi
C: Morocco, Ghana, Comoros, Gabon
D: Nigeria, Egypt, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau
E: Algeria, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast
F: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Gambia
| Team | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals app |
Last app | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | Hosts / Group H winners or runners-up | 30 January 2019 | 25th | 2021 | Winners (1992, 2015) |
| Morocco | Group K winners or runners-up | 24 March 2023 | 19th | 2021 | Winners (1976) |
| Algeria | Group F winners | 27 March 2023 | 20th | 2021 | Winners (1990, 2019) |
| South Africa | Group K winners or runners-up | 28 March 2023 | 11th | 2019 | Winners (1996) |
| Senegal | Group L winners | 28 March 2023 | 17th | 2021 | Winners (2021) |
| Burkina Faso | Group B winners or runners-up | 28 March 2023 | 13th | 2021 | Runners-up (2013) |
| Tunisia | Group J winners or runners-up | 28 March 2023 | 21st | 2021 | Winners (2004) |
Hosts
Tournament favourites Cameroon are the hosts this time of the tournament. Being the hosts nation, they can be expected to get the home support they need to win the AFCON.
On 30 November 2018, CAF stripped Cameroon from hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. However, CAF President Ahmad Ahmad said that Cameroon had agreed to host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Consequently, Ivory Coast, original hosts of 2023, will host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, and Guinea, original hosts of 2023, will host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
On 30 January 2019, the CAF President confirmed the timetable shift, after a meeting with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Venues
Africa Cup of Nations have expanded from 16 to 24 teams and at least six venues are expected to be used across five Cameroonian cities.
The six stadiums that will eventually host the matches are the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé and Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in the capital Abidjan, the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam , the Limbe Stadium in Limbe, the Japoma Stadium in Doualaand the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua.
The opening ceremony as well as the opening match of the tournament and the final are set to take place at the newly built 60,000 seaters Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé in Abidjan.
| Abidjan | Bouaké | |
|---|---|---|
| Stade National de la Côte d’Ivoire | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny | Stade Bouaké |
| Capacity: 60,000 | Capacity: 33,000 | Capacity: 40,000 |
| Korhogo | San Pédro | Yamoussoukro |
| Stade de Korhogo | Stade de San Pédro | Stade de Yamoussoukro |
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 20,000 |
Players to watch: African Cup of Nations
The AFCON is one of the most exciting international tournaments played. The standard is high as many players who play in this competition play in Europe in various leagues, The players from Italy, England, Germany and Spain’s top leagues will participate in this AFCON 2023.
So who all do we know?
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (ARSENAL)
He played for Borussia Dortmund in Germany and currently plays for Arsenal in England. He is an attacking forward who is known for his pace and goal scoring exploits. He plays for Gabon and will want to impress in his national team after winning the Golden Boot for the Premier League earlier this season.
Sadio Mane (LIVERPOOL)
He is a star player for the Reds and also won the Golden Boot award in the Premier League along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He was crucial for the Reds this season. He scored important goals and was a potent threat for Liverpool from the wings throughout the season. He won the final in the Champions League final last month which saw the Reds go on to win the match.
He will want to help his national team now win the AFCON as well.
Mo Salah (LIVERPOOL)
The biggest star of the AFCON, Salah will have no dearth of fan following this season. The tournament is being played in Egypt and Salah will have all the support to help his team to the AFCON trophy. Egypt fell short in the final last time in 2017 and they will want to correct their last step this time.
Salah has been in glorious form for the last two seasons. Along with Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, he also won the Golden Boot this time in the Premier League. He also won the Golden Boot last season, alone after having a brilliant first season at Liverpool. He is now one of the best players in the world and Egypt will really benefit from having him.
Other players: Naby Keita, Wilfred Ndidi
Have a look at:
- Africa Cup of Nations 2023 Squads – all qualified teams & players!
- African Cup of Nations winners list
- African Footballer of The Year winners list
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