Top facts about the Africa Cup of Nations, the race of panthers

The CAF Africa Cup of Nations is the continent's main men's association football competition. After its title sponsor, it is sometimes referred to as AFCON or Africa Cup of Nations. The Confederation of African Football sanctioned the tournament for the first time in 1957. (CAF). Since 1968, it has been held every two years, with odd-numbered years starting in 2013.

In 1998, the number of teams competing in the final tournament was increased to 16, and the format remained unchanged until 2017, with the 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams each, with the best two teams from each group moving on to a "knock-out" stage. On July 20, 2017, the Africa Cup of Nations was moved from January to June, with the number of participating countries increasing from 16 to 24.

Egypt is the most successful country in the history of the tournament, having won it seven times.

Here is a weird top fact about

Africa Cup of Nations winners

: Three trophies have been awarded in the event's history, with Ghana and Cameroon taking home the first two after winning the championship three times apiece. For the first time in 2002, the current trophy was awarded. For the first time in 2006, 2008, and 2010, Egypt won three consecutive championships.

In 2013 another top fact of the Africa Cup of Nations occurred which was that the tournament format was revised to be held in odd-numbered years in order to avoid conflicting with the FIFA World Cup.

One of the

, which is the reigning champion, having won the competition in 2019.

A complete collection of top facts about the Africa Cup of Nations, the race of panthers

In this article on the African Cup of Nations with a

, we would go over any top facts available about this amazing tournament and the related events.

We will also explore the reason why this tournament has been postponed. Now without further ado let us get to the article and read about

Africa Cup of Nations 2021

.

Africa Cup of Nations fundamentals

The format of Africa Cup of Nations 2021 has undergone some changes, and we are here to read all about that.

The first African Nations Cup goes back to June 1956, when the recommendation to create the Confederation of African Football was made at FIFA's third congress in Lisbon.

There were early plans for continental competition, and the inaugural Africa Cup of Nations was staged in Khartoum, Sudan, in February 1957. There were no qualifying rounds for this tournament, which included four of the CAF's founding members (Egypt,

, Ethiopia, and South Africa).

The number of the teams in the competition increased to nine teams for the third ANC in Addis Ababa in 1961. For the first time, a qualifying round was performed to determine which four teams would fight for the championship.

Now, let us fast forward to the future to discuss the recent event of Africa Cup of Nations 2021.

A total of 24 teams will compete in the final event. The hosts were the only team to qualify automatically, with the rest 23 teams playing in a qualifying round. For the finals, the 24 teams will be split into six groups of four. A single round-robin competition is held for each group's teams.

After the group stage, the two teams that stood on the top from each group, as well as the four highest-ranked third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16.

The round of 16 winners will proceed to the quarter-finals, while the quarter-final winners will advance to the semi-finals. The semi-finalists who do not advance to the final will participate in a third-place match, while the semi-finalists who do advance to the final will compete in the final.

Africa Cup of Nations trophy

Who do you think is going to fit itself into Africa Cup of Nations winners this time by winning Africa Cup of Nations 2021?

As long as

, three trophies have been awarded to the winners which is quite odd. The silver Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem Trophy was the first one that was named after the first president of CAF.

From 1980 through 2000, the second trophy, known as the "Trophy of African Unity" or "African Unity Cup," was awarded.

The Supreme Council for Sports in Africa presented CAF with a cylindrical object with the Olympic rings around a map of the continent written on it before the 1980 tournament. It stood on a squared base with stylized triangular grips. Cameroon won the Unity Cup permanently after being three-time winners in 2000.

The third and final prize, a gold-plated cup designed and manufactured in Italy, was unveiled in 2001. Egypt acquired the gold-plated cup permanently after being three-time champions in 2010. Unlike previous victors, who were given the trophy and permitted to retain it, Egypt was given a special full-size duplicate that they were allowed to keep.

Africa Cup of Nations hosts and winners

As some may know there had been a change regarding the

2021 Africa Cup of Nations location

.

This list differed from CAF's November 2013 announcement of host nation bids for both the 2019 and 2021 editions of the Cup of Nations, which included the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Zambia. The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations had been bid on by all three recognized bidders.

The selection of the host country was postponed from early 2014 to provide each bidding country with sufficient time to receive the inspection mission.

Following a final decision at the CAF Executive Committee meeting on September 20, 2014, the CAF announced the hosts for the 2019 AFCON tournaments: Cameroon in 2019,

in 2021, and Guinea in 2023.

Cameroon lost its chance of hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations by CAF on November 30, 2018. However, another top fact about the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations location is that Cameroon has committed to hosting the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, according to CAF President Ahmad Ahmad.

After meeting with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on January 30, 2019, the CAF President confirmed the timeline adjustment.

Now let us talk about the previous winners of this tournament as

.

Winners

Ghana really made big their debut appearance in the tournament in 1963, hosting it and winning the championship after defeating Sudan in the final. They did it again two years later in Tunisia, equaling Egypt as the only two-time champions, with a roster that only included two returning members from the 1963 side.

In 1968, the Democratic Republic of Congo became the first African country to win a FIFA World Cup, defeating Ghana in the final. Sudan, Congo-Brazzaville, Zaire, Morocco, Ghana, and Nigeria were the winners between 1970 and 1980.

After defeating Zambia in the final, Zaire earned its second championship in the 1974 edition. The match had to be repeated for the first time in the competition's history after the original meeting between the two sides finished in a 2–2 tie after extra time.

Cameroon really did achieve some amazing trophies in this tournament and reached the final of the Africa Cup three times in a row between 1980 and 1990, winning the championship twice in 1984 and 1988 and losing once on penalties to Egypt in 1986 edition.

Algeria has always been in the top teams of the tournament, reaching the semi-finals of every edition from 1980, with the exception of the 1986 cup, until they won the championship in 1990. Ghana won its fourth continental title in 1982 when they defeated host Libya in the final.

Ivory Coast was the winner of the 1992 tournament. The event was won by Nigeria, who had recently qualified for the World Cup for the first time in their history.

In 1996, Bafana Bafana won their first championship on home soil as they defeated Tunisia in the final. Two years later, in Burkina Faso, the South Africans reached the final again but were unable to retain their championship, losing to Egypt, who won their fourth cup.

Ghana and

, which had replaced Zimbabwe as the initial host country, hosted the 2000 edition jointly. Cameroon beat Nigeria on penalty kicks following a 2–2 tie after extra time in the final. Cameroon's Indomitable Lions won their second title in a row in 2002.

Egypt, the hosts, won the 2006 event for the fifth time in a row, a continental record.

The 2008 tournament was held by Ghana, and Egypt won the trophy for the sixth time.

created a new milestone in the 2010 tournament (hosted by Angola) by becoming the first African country to win three straight titles after defeating Ghana 1–0 in the final.

Previous Africa Cup of Nations champions such as Egypt, Zambia, and Ivory Coast were unable to compete in the FIFA Confederations Cup because it was changed from a biennial to a quadrennial tournament and the Africa Cup of Nations was switched from even to odd-numbered years. Zambia defeated Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout in the 2012 final.

Algeria was the 2019 champion after defeating Senegal.

Africa Cup of Nations postponed

Let us explore the reason why the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 got postponed. The event was supposed to take place between January 9 and February 6 in 2021.

The preliminary round and two matchdays of the qualifying group stage were completed between October 9 and November 19, 2019.

The 3rd and 4th matchdays of the qualifying group stage, which were initially planned to take place from 23 to 31 March and 1 to 9 June 2020, accordingly, have been delayed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, and all remaining qualification matches have been rescheduled.

The CAF stated on June 19, 2020, that it was unsure when continental competitions would resume and that it was prioritizing new schedules for the 2019–20 CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals, the postponed 2020 African Nations Championship, and the 2020 Africa Women Cup of Nations, as well as the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

The CAF, on the other hand, announced on June 30, 2020, that the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations will be delayed to January 2022 "after consultation with stakeholders and taking into consideration the current global climate," with new dates to be announced later.

Other continental competitions and events were either postponed or canceled, including new dates for the remaining AFCON qualifications, which were to be completed by March 2021.

On March 31, 2021, it was revealed that the competition's final event will take place from January 9 to February 6, 2022, exactly one year after it began.

For the next section we would talk about the location of

Africa Cup of Nations 2021

.

Africa Cup of Nations stadiums

We have already talked about the stadiums in which this tournament of Africa Cup of Nations 2021 will take place. Feel free to check out

However, just to make the article complete let us talk about the stadiums and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations location once more. At least six stadiums are anticipated to be used throughout five Cameroonian towns as the Africa Cup of Nations expands from 16 to 24 teams.

The Olembe Stadium and Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé's capital, Douala's Japoma Stadium, Limbe's Limbe Stadium, Bafoussam's Kouekong Stadium, and Garoua's Roumde Adjia Stadium have all been picked to host matches. The tournament's first match and final will be held at Yaounde's Olembe Stadium, which has a capacity of 60,000 spectators.

It is Cameroon's largest stadium and Africa's ninth-largest. In 2021, the 33rd African Cup of Nations will be held in the Olembe Stadium, which will host both the opening and closing ceremonies. This stadium is also known as the Paul Biya Stadium consists of various facilities including a five-star hotel with 70 rooms, a retail mall, a museum, and a cinema.

Thank you for reading our article. Feel free to let us know who the champion of

Africa Cup of Nations 2021

will be.

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