Organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the Africa Cup of Nations is the premier international association football tournament in Africa. First held in 1957 with just three teams (Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan), the 24-team tournament takes place every two years in different African nations.
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, held in the Ivory Coast, was postponed until January 2024 due to concerns about extreme heat during the summer months. Below is a look back at the last five winners of the competition.
Here’s a look at the past few previous tournaments and winning teams.
Senegal (2021)
Like the 2023 competition, the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations was delayed due to “meteorological reasons” and played from January 9 to February 6, 2022. Senegal won the tournament for the first time in its history, beating Egypt in the final 4-2 in penalties after a 0-0 draw in full time. Cameroon, which hosted the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 1972, beat Burkina Faso 5-3 in penalties after a 3-3 draw in the third-place play-off game.
Sadio Mane, who led Senegal in scoring with three goals during the tournament, scored the championship-clinching goal in penalties against Egypt to give his country its first title in three tries; Senegal lost in the final in 2019 and 2002. Egypt, the all-time leader with seven Africa Cup of Nations titles, was a runner-up for the second time in three tournaments.
“It’s the best day of my life and the best trophy of my life,” Mane said after the final, speaking to BBC Sport. “I won the Champions League and some [other] trophies but this is the special one for me. This is more important for me.”
Senegal beat Burkina Faso 3-1 in the semi-finals and Equatorial Guinea 3-1 in the quarterfinals. The national team beat Cape Verde 2-0 in the Round of 16 and finished first in Group B with five points and a 1-2-0 record.
Algeria (2019)
Algeria won its second championship and first since 1990 at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, held from June 21 to July 19 in six different venues in Egypt. Algeria finished first in Group C with three victories over Senegal, Kenya, and Tanzania. They beat Guinea 3-0 in the Round of 16, advanced past Ivory Coast 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinals, and beat Nigeria 2-1 in the semi-finals. Baghdad Bounedjah scored the lone goal in the second minute of Algeria’s 1-0 win over Senegal in the final in front of 75,000 fans at Cairo International Stadium.
Nigeria beat Tunisia 1-0 in the third-place play-off. Senegal, meanwhile, advanced to the final with a 1-0 win over Tunisia and had knockout round victories over Benin and Uganda. Three countries—Madagascar, Mauritania, and Burundi—qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2019. Nigeria’s Odion Ighalo led all players in scoring with five goals.
Cameroon (2017)
Cameroon won its fifth Africa Cup of Nations in 2017, breaking a tie for second place all-time with Ghana, which hasn’t won since 1982. Gabon hosted the tournament for the second time after the CAF revoked hosting rights from Libya due to the ongoing civil war. It is also the last tournament to feature just 16 teams. Cameroon beat Egypt 2-1 in the final, while Burkina Faso won its first third-place play-off, beating Ghana 1-0.
Cameroon reached the final via a 2-0 win over Ghana in the semi-finals and 5-4 penalties victory following a 0-0 draw against Senegal in the quarterfinals. Egypt beat Burkina Faso and Morocco in the semi- and quarterfinals, respectively. Congolese striker Junior Kabananga led all players with three goals. Guinea-Bissau made their debut in the tournament and finished fourth in Group A with 1 point and a 0-1-2 record.
Ivory Coast (2015)
Ivory Coast won its second Africa Cup of Nations in 2015. They won their first in 1992 and were runners-up in 2006 and 2012. Coincidentally, Ivory Coast beat Ghana in penalties in the final, which is the same circumstance in which they won their first title. The match was also the fourth Africa Cup of Nations final in the last eight to finish without a goal scored in regular time.
Ivory Coast beat Ghana 9-8 in a wild 11-round shootout. Their first two shooters, Wilfried Bony and Junior Tallo, failed to score, but Ivory Coast’s next nine kickers found the back of the net to secure the country’s second title. The Democratic Republic of Congo won the third-place play-off 4-2 in penalties against Equatorial Guinea, which was hosting and competing in just its second Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria (2013)
A three-time champion at the Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria won its most recent title in 2013, beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final. Mali beat Ghana 3-1 in the third-place play-off. Nigeria played Burkina Faso to a 1-1 draw in the group stage and finished second to them in Group C based on goal differential. Nigeria later beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in the quarter-finals and Mali 4-1 in the semi-finals.