The countdown to the African Cups of Nations 202 is well underway. It begins on 13th January and kicks off in the Ivory Coast. AFCON is the most celebrated football competition held in Africa around every two years. When the competition first started it was only against three teams whereas today there are 24 teams who compete against each other. Those who play to victory win $7 million along with the trophy. Since the start of the tournament there have been three different trophies that have been handed out over the years. The first was made of silver and was named after the Egyptian president, Abdelaziz Abdellah Salem. The second was named the African Unity Cup and was first awarded in 1980. The third most recent trophy is gold and originally made in Italy.
The first AFCON tournament was held in Sudan in 1957. Egypt were the winners of that tournament beating the host nations, Sudan, in the final. In the latest African Cup of Nations competition there were a total of 55 goals scored in the 29 games played. The tournament was held in the African country of Cameroon with the final taking place at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde. Senegal were the victors of the 2022 AFCON with Egypt as the runners up. The final, on the 6th of February 2022, finished 0-0 with the game going to penalties to decide the winner. Sadio Mane's Senegal came out on top winning 4-2 on penalties.
When it comes to the fans they all have their favorites going into the competition and those who they think are going to win. For this years competition the teams who are popular to win include: Egypt, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Nigeria.
Egypt are the most frequent competitors in the African Cup of Nations. They have feature in 26 to of the 34 tournaments that have been held. In 1957 Egypt won the first games and close after that always seemed to reach the finals or semi-finals. In addition to this they have been the host the most often, a total of five times. Out of the five that they hosted they won three. In the past AFCON tournaments the country Egypt has a pretty decent form. They came in second place in the last AFCON final and came to victory in the second previous event. When it comes to the players on the pitch, Egypt have some high rated players such as Mohamed Salah who is a star player for premier league team Liverpool.
Senegal are a second favourite team to get all the way through to victory. In the last African Cup of Nations competition they rose to victory beating Egypt on penalties. Across the many years for the AFCON tournaments they have been seen as the poor side when competing. However they reached fourth place twice and most recently became champions. Within their team they also have many star players. For example they have the likes of Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koudibaly and Edouard Mendy. Sadio Mane is currently at Saudi club Al-Nassr FC. Formally he played at premier league club Liverpool alongside Mo Salah. Both Kalidou Koudibaly and Edouard Mendy both formally played for the English club Chelsea FC. However now Koudibaly is at Saudi club Al-Halal and Mendy is at Al-Ahli.
Host nation, Ivory Coast are also a fan favourite to win this years African cup of nations. This is probably due to the fact that they will have a home field advantage as it will be played on their own soil. Ivory Coast have the like of Nicolas Pepe on their side. he has also played for British team Arsenal.
There are many popular teams who want to play until the end and to be in the chance of winning and getting the millions in pounds prize money. When it comes to all teams they all have a chance of progressing through the competition with only one coming away as champions.
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