The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is a prestigious continental competition contested by the member nations of the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF). The inaugural edition was played in 1957 between the three founding nations - Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Egypt - the winners of the first edition - are the most successful team in AFCON history with seven triumphs. In 2010, the Egyptians became the first country to win a hat-trick of Africa Cup of Nations titles (2006, 2008 and 2010) having emerged victorious in three consecutive editions of the tournament.
Cameroon, hosts of AFCON 2021, are the second-most successful team having lifted the title five times. They enjoyed a lot of success in the early 2000s as the Indomitable Lions won back-to-back trophies in 2000 and 2002. Cameroon won their last AFCON title in 2017.
Ghana won their first African Cup of Nations trophy in 1963, and went on to achieve success on another three occasions. Since they were the first team to win three AFCON titles, Ghana were given the permanent right to keep the original trophy - Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem Trophy in 1978.
Nigeria have tasted AFCON success thrice in 1980, 1994 and 2013. Ivory Coast - one of the most well-known African football nations - triumphed first in 1992 and then in 2015 after beating Ghana 9–8 in a penalty shootout.
Algeria, the current holders, ended their 29-year wait for an AFCON trophy with a 1-0 win over Senegal in the last edition of the tournament. In 1990, the Desert Warriors hosted and won the AFCON. Their 1990 triumph aside, Algeria’s best result until the 2019 win was just a fourth-place finish in 2010.
African Cup of Nations winners list: Know them all
1957: Egypt
1959: United Arab Republic
1962: Ethiopia
1963: Ghana
1965: Ghana
1968: DR Congo
1970: Sudan
1972: PR Congo
1974: Zaire
1976: Morocco
1978: Ghana
1980: Nigeria
1982: Ghana
1984: Cameroon
1986: Egypt
1988: Cameroon
1990: Algeria
1992: Ivory Coast
1994: Nigeria
1996: South Africa
1998: Egypt
2000: Cameroon
2002: Cameroon
2004: Tunisia
2006: Egypt
2008: Egypt
2010: Egypt
2012: Zambia
2013: Nigeria
2015: Ivory Coast
2017: Cameroon
2019: Algeria
Author: William Paul
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Featured photo: AFP / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED
