AFRICA CUP 2019
21. Juni - 19. July 2019
2019 Champions: Algeria
2017 Champions: Cameroon
History
Founded: 1957
Region: Africa (CAF)
Number of teams: 24
Current Champion 2019: Algeria
Most successful team: Egypt (7x titles)
Next African Cup of Nations 2021: Cameroon
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF).
The tournament was hosted by Gabon.
The Africa Cup of Nations is also referred to as the African Nations Cup (ANC) is the main international association football competition in Africa.
It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and was first held in 1957.
Since 1968, it has been held every two years.
The titleholders at the time of a FIFA Confederations Cup qualify for that competition.
In 1957 there were only three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. South Africa was to compete but was disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government then in power.
Since then, the tournament has grown, making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament.
The number of participants in the final tournament reached 16 in 1998 (16 teams were to compete in 1996 but Nigeria withdrew, reducing the field to 15).
The number of participants in the final tournament reached 16 in 1998. In July 2017, two changes were proposed: switching the timing of the competition from January to the Northern Hemisphere summer and expanding from 16 to 24 teams (effective from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations). On 20 July 2017, the CAF Executive Commission approved the propositions at a meeting in Rabat, Morocco.
Three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament's history, with Ghana and Cameroon winning the first two versions to keep after each of them won a tournament three times. The current trophy was first awarded in 2002.