The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON/ACN/CAN) is the premier national men’s football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Under the current sponsorship deal, it is known as the Total Africa Cup of Nations. The first tournament was held in 1957 while the next edition will be held in January 2024 with Ivory Coast as the hosts.
AFCON is contested every two years by African countries that are members of CAF. They go through a qualification format to determine the teams that will play in the tournament. The tournament is now played by 24 teams since the 2019 edition. Previously, it had been contested by 16 teams since the 1998 edition.
The current defending champions are Senegal who won the last edition after beating Egypt 4-2 on penalties in the final. Cameroon won the 3rd place 5-3 on penalties. The prize money awarded to the 2019 winners was $4.5 million.
The most successful team in African Cup of Nations history is Egypt with 7 titles. They are followed by Cameroon with 5 titles, Ghana 4 titles, and Nigeria 3 titles. In total, North African countries have won the tournament a total of 11 times.
Some of the big-name football stars to grace the Africa Cup of Nations before include; Augustine ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, Nwanko Kanu, Daniel ‘The Bull’ Amokachi (Nigeria), Samuel Eto’o, Patrick Mboma, and Rigobert Song (Cameroon), Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, and Didier Zokora (Ivory Coast), Mohamed Aboutrika, Hosam Hassan (Egypt), and Tony Yeboah, Abedi Pele (Ghana).
Find out the best betting sites in Africa for Africa Cup of Nations 2023 matches and other competitions.
Africa Cup of Nations 2023
The TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023, CAN 2023) is the 34th edition of the continental showpiece in which top African players jostle for the coveted prize. It will be held from January through February 2024.
Also, the next edition of the tournament was initially scheduled for June (Summer). However, CAF postponed it to January and February 2024 on due to how weather conditions might hamper the competition if played during the summer.
This time, it will be played in Ivory Coast in six venues spread across five cities. Six stadia in five cities of Abidjan, Bouake, Korhogo, San-Pedro and the capital Yamoussoukro will play host to the the 24-teams fighting for the topmost prize in African football.
The Stade Olympique d’Ebimpe, a 60,000-capacity stadium located in Abidjan, will host the opening ceremony and usher in the first and final game of the competition.
Currently, the qualifiers for the finals are being played across the continent with the final two rounds of fixtures scheduled for September.
Some of the stars expected at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations include the in-form Victor Osimhen (Nigeria, Napoli)Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool), Riyadh Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City), , Sadio Mane (Senegal, Liverpool), Hakim Ziyech (Morocco, Chelsea)
AFCON 2023 Betting Tips
We will provide free betting tips covering the matches of Africa Cup of Nations 2023. Our AFCON predictions will be generated by a team of experts with extensive knowledge and experience in African football. You can be sure our betting tips will help you boost your winnings when you bet on the tournament matches.
Our African Cup of Nations tips cover a range of common bet types including; 1X2, Double Chance, Over/Under, Draw No Bet, Halftime/Fulltime, Handicap, Goals, Corners, Goalscorers, Bookings etc. We will also have accumulator bets, specials, and long-term bets for those interested.
Our Africa Cup predictions pick the most likely outcomes that will also bring you good returns. We also provide you with explanations and statistics to support our picks such as head-to-head records, recent form, qualification path, team news, player availability, and predicted lineups. All these will help you make the right betting decisions. You can read our betting strategies for more insights on how to place winning bets.
AFCON 2023 Qualification Path
The qualification round for AFCON 2023 are currently being organised by the football governing body CAF with all the 54 member Nations participating. Participating teams were seeded using the FIFA World Ranking from 23rd December 2021. So, teams ranked 1st to 42nd were drawn bye to the qualifying group stage, while the teams ranked 43rd to 54th had to play a preliminary round.
In the preliminary round, the twelve lowest-ranked teams were drawn into six ties which were played in home-and-away two-legged format. The six winners moved on to the group stage where they joined other the 42 drawn into the group stage directly.
For the main group phase, the 48 teams were divided into 12 groups of 4 teams each. The teams in each group played each other on a home-and-away format to determine the top two teams that would qualify for the tournament proper from each group. The draw was done on April 19, 2022 as the 48 national teams were seeded into four pots of twelve based on the FIFA World Rankings released on 31 March 2022.
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AFCON 2023 Qualification Groups
The 48 teams were drawn into these qualification groups:
Group A
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Nigeria
|
15 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 4 | 18 |
|
2
|
Guinea-Bissau
|
13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 6 |
|
3
|
Sierra Leone
|
5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | -1 |
|
4
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 26 | -23 |
- Qualifiers
Group B
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Burkina Faso
|
11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
|
2
|
Cape Verde
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
|
3
|
Togo
|
8 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
|
4
|
Swaziland
|
3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -5 |
- Qualifiers
Group C
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Cameroon
|
7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
|
2
|
Namibia
|
5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
|
3
|
Burundi
|
4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 |
|
4
|
Kenya
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Qualifiers
Group D
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Egypt
|
15 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 7 |
|
2
|
Guinea
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
|
3
|
Malawi
|
5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -6 |
|
4
|
Ethiopia
|
4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | -3 |
- Qualifiers
Group E
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Ghana
|
12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
|
2
|
Angola
|
9 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
|
3
|
Central African Republic
|
7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
|
4
|
Madagascar
|
3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | -8 |
- Qualifiers
Group F
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Algeria
|
16 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 7 |
|
2
|
Tanzania
|
8 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
|
3
|
Uganda
|
7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | -1 |
|
4
|
Niger
|
2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -5 |
- Qualifiers
Group G
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Mali
|
15 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 13 |
|
2
|
Gambia
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
|
3
|
Congo
|
7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 |
|
4
|
South Sudan
|
3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 13 | -8 |
- Qualifiers
Group H
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Zambia
|
13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
|
2
|
Cote d'Ivoire
|
13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 |
|
3
|
Comoros
|
7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | -2 |
|
4
|
Lesotho
|
1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 | -8 |
- Qualifiers
Group I
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
DR Congo
|
12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 8 |
|
2
|
Mauritania
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
|
3
|
Gabon
|
7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
|
4
|
Sudan
|
6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 10 | -7 |
- Qualifiers
Group J
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Tunisia
|
13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 10 |
|
2
|
Equatorial Guinea
|
13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
|
3
|
Botswana
|
4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | -6 |
|
4
|
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
|
4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | -6 |
- Qualifiers
Group K
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Morocco
|
9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
|
2
|
South Africa
|
7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
|
3
|
Liberia
|
1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | -6 |
|
4
|
Zimbabwe
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Qualifiers
Group L
| POS | TEAM | PTS | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Senegal
|
14 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 8 |
|
2
|
Mozambique
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 9 | -1 |
|
3
|
Benin
|
5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 |
|
4
|
Rwanda
|
3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | -6 |
- Qualifiers
AFCON 2023 Tournament Rules
In each group, each team will play the other three once. The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). After the group matches, the top two teams from each group and the best four third-placed teams qualify for the Round of 16.
If two or more teams are tied on points, the tiebreaker is the head-to-head matches, followed by goal difference, and goals scored among the tied teams. If the teams are tied after all these tiebreakers, there will be drawing of lots to determine which team(s) proceed.
For the Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, 3rd-place playoff, and final, there will be extra-time and even penalties to determine the winner if the teams are tied after regular time.
The Best AFCON Tips Bookmakers
Paripesa
As the preparation for next year’s premier football competition moves into top gear, top bookmakers across Africa are rejigging their platform to suit the needs of punters on the continent. One of them, Paripesa, has loads of offers and features to make your betting adventure during the tournament a smooth one.
On Paripesa, you can enjoy the best AFCON odds with Accumulator bonus. This way, If your Accumulator of the Day wins, Paripesa will increase the odds by 10%.
Don’t forget to take advantage of the Paripesa welcome bonus
Melbet
With presence in multiple countries across Africa, Melbet knows how highly placed the AFCON is among players on the continent. To satisfy their needs, it has designed such offers as the Bonus for 100 Bets.
In this case, when you place 100 bets in 30 days, you would get a bonus equal to the average stake of the 100 bets you placed. So, you can give this offer a try before or during the AFCON tournament.
In case you are a newly registered user, the exclusive Melbet Welcome Bonus is available
1xbet
1xbet has a dedicated offer for any CAF organized tournament. Tagged ”This Time For Africa, you can win a variety of prizes such Apple phones, AirPods, Smart watches and many more.
To be eligible, go to your 1xbet account, wager on any CAF event including the AFCON, with odd of 1.60 or higher. Once your bet is placed, you would earn a ticket to the prize draw. In this case, the more tickets you have, the higher your chances of winning.
Meanwhile, new users can unlock the 1xbet deposit bonus
