Africa Cup of Nations: Dates, host venues and teams

The Africa Cup of Nations, or AFCON as it is commonly known, is the premier men's international football competition in Africa.

Steeped in history, AFCON was first held in 1957 and the tournament has grown exponentially since then.

The growth of African football as a whole over the last half a century means some of the world's best players can be seen competing at AFCON, with the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o having lit up the tournament in recent years.

What is AFCON?

The Africa Cup Of Nations is an international men's football tournament which takes place every two years.

Only three teams - Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt - competed at the first finals in 1957, with the latter emerging triumphant, but these days as many as 52 nations attempt to qualify for the tournament, with 24 making it through to the finals.

AFCON format

AFCON was extended from a 16-team tournament to 24 ahead of the 2019 finals in Egypt and the format has remained unchanged since then, with the finalists being split into six groups of four.

The top two in each group automatically qualify for the knockout stages and they are joined by the four best third-placed sides, meaning only eight of the 24 teams go home after the groups.

From there, the tournament operates in a straight knockout format, similar to the World Cup and Euros.

The eventual champions have to negotiate their way through a total of seven matches before they can lift the trophy.

2027 AFCON Dates

The 2027 AFCON, unlike most other editions, will be played in the summer months, with the tournament scheduled to be played across June and July.

2027 AFCON host venues

The 2027 AFCON will be held in the across multiple countries for the first time in the tournaments history, with Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania each sharing the fixtures.

2027 AFCON qualified teams

Other than the three host countires, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, along with reigning champions Senegal, no teams have yet qualified for the 2027 AFCON.

AFCON number of tournaments

The 2027 finals will be the 36th edition of AFCON, with the first tournament having been staged in Sudan in 1957.

The tournament has primarily been held every two years, with the most recent edition taking place in 2024, although COVID and other factors such as weather conditions have caused some discrepancies in that schedule.

AFCON current champions

Senegal are the defending AFCON champions after prevailing over hosts Morocco in a dramatic and controversial final in 2025.

AFCON most titles

Despite losing the 2021 final, Egypt are the most successful team in AFCON history, as they have lifted the trophy a record seven times, with the most recent of those successes coming in 2010.

Cameroon are next on the list with five titles, including their victory over Egypt in the 2017 final, while Ghana have four triumphs to their name and both Nigeria and Ivory Coast have three.

The only other nations to have been crowned AFCON champions more than once are Senegal, Algeria and DR Congo, who have all lifted the trophy twice.