Interested in following Africa’s most prestigious qualifier matches? We can’t blame you, the excitement is enough to attract even the most casual fans. While the Africa Cup of Nations or AFCON tournament matches are pretty simple to keep track of, there are a few things that you’d need to take note of if you’re just entering the sport. Especially since there is a major change that will take place for this year’s competition. Let’s kick off the football action right now!
From an even to odd history
Since the AFCON tournaments started its prestigious history, its highly competitive matches always took place every two years. Historically, AFCON matches have always taken place every even numbered year since 1968. But due to a couple of changes, the Confederation of African Football will switch to a year that ends with an odd number.
And while the tournament will retain the 2023 year in its name, the games will commence during January until February 2024. This switch of dates and schedules was made so that the AFCON matches would not coincide with the Bundesliga in Europe. So if you happen to see something different when checking your 1xBet betslip when placing bets for your favorite teams, take note of these changes!
Switching hemispheres
Apart from creating a way for the Bundesliga, the Confederation of African Football wanted to relocate the tournament to Ivory Coast. This is to ensure that matches take place in optimal weather for football.
Matches for AFCON will take place in these six stadiums in the West African country. These are Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Stade de la Paix, Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Laurent Pokou Stadium, and Charles Konan Banny Stadium.
Collision of stars
Of course, a huge part of the AFCON will be the skilled teams and players that will showcase their talents on the grass. During the almost month-long tournament, 24 teams in stadiums across Ivory Coast will compete in each of their brackets to earn wins that will propel them towards the grand trophy. The teams are drafted into six groups of four and will determine each other’s opponents.
Group A is composed of the host, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissa.
Group B is filled by Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mozambique.
Drafted in Group C is Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, and Gambia.
Group D is Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola.
Group E has Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, and Namibia.
Finally, Group F has Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania.
Once the tournament results are determined, the top 16 teams for these preliminary matches will advance to the knockouts.
Some of the biggest Bundesliga stars will also be gracing the tournament. Names such as Ramy Bensebaini, Odilon Kossounou, Victor Boniface, and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer will lend their talents for football dominance.
Egypt holds the record for most wins in the AFCON at seven wins for the entire tournament’s history. However, Senegal is the current defender of the title.
This is just scratching the surface of all the action to be experienced in AFCON. If you’re a new fan, it is the perfect time to follow the tournament, especially since the changes can be significant. We’re sure that these teams are excited to put on a show.