AFCON 2021: Group Draws, Kick Off Date And Other Things You Need To Know About

The 2021 edition of the African Cup Of Nation (AFCON 2021) was scheduled to hold for this year but has now been adjourned to 2022. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has announced the draw for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations will take place on August 17 in Cameroon.

AFCON 2021: Group Draws, Kick Off DateThe event which was initially postponed in June due to logistics related to the coronavirus has the draw scheduled for the Yaounde Conference Centre at 18h00 GMT with the 24 qualified countries to be drawn into six groups of four.

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The 2022 Afcon is expected to start on January 9 until February 6 with five host cities confirmed for the biennial tournament. Host nation Cameroon are in Pot 1 alongside Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Nigeria, and Morocco while Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Burkina Faso are in Pot 2. In Pot 3, there is Cape Verde, Gabon, Mauritania, Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone. Sudan, Malawi, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, and Gambia make Pot 4.

AFCON 2021: Kick Off Date And Other Things You Need To Know AboutDuring the presentation, of the AFCON 2021 after a musical intro, the audience was treated to a video tour of the six venues earmarked for the tournament. Yaounde will have two venues, while one each will come from Douala, Limbe-Beua, Bafoussam, and Garoua.

Thereafter, Cameroon legend and tournament ambassador, Roger Milla, will bring the AFCON trophy on stage. CAF President Patrice Motsepe, in his welcome speech, revealed that the major thrust of his administration is how to “make African football one of the best in the world.”

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The 59-year-old South African billionaire assumed the CAF presidency in March 2021 and his focus has been on how to improve the finances of the 54 football federations on the continent.

He added: “The success and growth of football in Africa is inextricably intertwined with the growth of the economies of these nations.” He promised that 2021 AFCON will showcase African football in the best light; “as one of the best, exciting, and competitive in the world.”

AFCON 2021: Group Draws
AFCON 2021: Group Draws

Here is the AFCON Full draw;

GROUP A: CAMEROON, BURKINA FASO, ETHIOPIA CAPE VERDE

GROUP B: SENEGAL, ZIMBABWE, GUINEA, MALAWI.

GROUP C: MOROCCO, GHANA, COMOROS, GABON.

GROUP D: NIGERIA, EGYPT, SUDAN, GUINEA-BISSAU.

GROUP E: ALGERIA, SIERRA LEONE, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, IVORY COAST.

GROUP F: TUNISIA, MALI, MAURITANIA, GAMBIA.

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Here are also some facts you need to know about AFCON;

  1. 2019 was the first time the tournament features 24 teams after CAF decided to expand the tournament in order to enhance competitiveness.
  2. The tournament has been switched to being held in odd-numbered years so as not to clash with the FIFA World Cup. AFCON will also for the first time this year, be held mid-year, away from the traditional January – February window, to alleviate the club-versus-country battles that have marred previous editions.
  3. Three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament’s history. The current trophy was first awarded in 2002, and Egypt won it indefinitely after completing their historic treble of titles in 2010.
  4. The tournament has been switched to being held in odd-numbered years so as not to clash with the FIFA World Cup. AFCON will also for the first time this year, be held mid-year, away from the traditional January – February window, to alleviate the club-versus-country battles that have marred previous editions.
  5.  The most successful country has been Egypt with seven titles.

AFCON 2021: Group Draws

year winner runner-up
*Finals held in even-numbered years 1968–2012; held in odd-numbered years from 2013.
1957 Egypt Ethiopia
1959 Egypt Sudan
1962 Ethiopia Egypt
1963 Ghana Sudan
1965 Ghana Tunisia
1968 Congo (Kinshasa) Ghana
1970 Sudan Ghana
1972 Congo (Brazzaville) Mali
1974 Zaire Zambia
1976 Morocco Guinea
1978 Ghana Uganda
1980 Nigeria Algeria
1982 Ghana Libya
1984 Cameroon Nigeria
1986 Egypt Cameroon
1988 Cameroon Nigeria
1990 Algeria Nigeria
1992 Côte d’Ivoire Ghana
1994 Nigeria Zambia
1996 South Africa Tunisia
1998 Egypt South Africa
2000 Cameroon Nigeria
2002 Cameroon Senegal
2004 Tunisia Morocco
2006 Egypt Côte d’Ivoire
2008 Egypt Cameroon
2010 Egypt Ghana
2012 Zambia Côte d’Ivoire
2013* Nigeria Burkina Faso
2015 Côte d’Ivoire Ghana
2017 Cameroon Egypt
2019 Algeria Senegal

 

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Photo Credit: Getty 

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