The 34th Africa Cup of Nations begins today with the host national team, the Elephants of Ivory Coast taking on Guinea-Bissau in the opening match.
The AFCON is Africa’s biggest football event and twenty four teams representing the best African football playing nations have already converged on Abidjan and five other designated Ivorian cities for the tournament which runs through February 11.
The first edition of the tournament was held in 1957 with only three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. South Africa was originally scheduled to join, but was disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government at the time. Since 1968, the AFCON has been held every two years, switching to odd-numbered years in 2013.
The tournament has witnessed tremendous growth as the number of participating countries increased from 12 to 16 in 1996, but Nigeria’s withdrawal left the organisers with 15 teams for the tournament in South Africa. In 2017, the Confederation of African Football, Africa’s football governing body decided to increase the number of finalists from 16 to 24.
Among the competing nations, Egypt remains the most successful nation with seven titles. Egypt won an unprecedented three consecutive titles in 2006, 2008, and 2010. Cameroon follows with five titles while Ghana with four titles is placed a distant third. The current champions, Senegal defeated Egypt in the 2022 final in Cameroon after a nail-biting penalty shootout to win the AFCON for the first time.
The Local Organising Committee has declared its readiness to host Africa and showcase the continent’s potentials in organizing big time tournaments.
Beyond sports, the biennial tournament provides a window to showcase African culture and tourism. A lot of excitement awaits thousands of visitors and the near one billion global television audience. The euphoria is sweeping through many cities across Ivory Coast, a sign that the people of the country and the entire African nations have been eagerly awaiting this event.
The AFCON presents talented African youths, who have been lighting up foreign football leagues across the world, the opportunity to exhibit their skill and talent on home soil to the delight of their teeming local fans and the rest of the world.
For CAF, the 2023 AFCON can be regarded as the most lucrative as television networks from across Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia have secured the broadcasting rights to air the matches live. In monetary terms this is a handsome harvest which has reflected in the upward review of the prize money -7 million American Dollars for the winner and other consolation prizes, cascading down the ladder.
***
You can visit us for more news at: thenewsdesk.ng
