The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations kicks-off in Ivory Coast on 13 January as 24 nations eye the biggest prize in African football.
Ivory Coast will stage the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time after hosting the 1984 edition of the tournament. Much has changed since Cameroon secured their first AFCON title some 40 years ago with just eight nations participating at the 14th edition of the competition.
Fast forward to 2024 and twenty four nations will participate at six stadiums in five Ivorian cities with the host nation kick starting the competition on 13 January as the Elephants face Guinea-Bissau in Abidjan with the final set for 11 February.
At the outset of the competition, current champions Senegal, Cameroon, Egypt and Morocco are the tournament favourites with the spotlight set to fall on greats such as Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mohamed Salah, Victor Osimhen or Riyad Mahrez.
The top two sides in each of the six groups will advance to the Round of 16 and will be joined by four of the best placed third placed teams. The competition then follows a direct knock-out format through to the 11 February final where the champion of Africa will be crowned at the 60,000 capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium in the capital, Abidjan.
AFCON 2023: groups
Group A: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau.
Group B: Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Mozambique.
Group C: Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, The Gambia.
Group D: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Angola.
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Namibia.
Group F: Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, Tanzania.
Africa Cup of Nations 2023 fixtures (times in ET)
Saturday 13 January
Group A: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (3pm ET)
Sunday 14 January
Group A: Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (9am)
Group B: Egypt vs Mozambique, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (12pm)
Group B: Ghana vs Cape Verde, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (3pm)
Monday 15 January
Group C: Senegal vs The Gambia, Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (9am)
Group C: Cameroon vs Guinea, Yamoussoukro (12am)
Group D: Algeria vs Angola, Stade de la Paix, Bouake (3pm)
Tuesday 16 January
Group D: Burkina Faso vs Mauritania, Bouake (9am)
Group E: Tunisia vs Namibia, Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (12am)
Group E: Mali vs South Africa, Korhogo (3pm)
Wednesday 17 January
Group F: Morocco vs Tanzania, Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (12pm)
Group F: DR Congo vs Zambia, San Pedro (3pm)
Thursday 18 January
Group A: Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (9am)
Group A: Ivory Coast vs Nigeria, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (12pm)
Group B: Egypt vs Ghana, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (3pm)
Friday 19 January
Group B: Cape Verde vs Mozambique, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (9am)
Group C: Senegal vs Cameroon, Yamoussoukro (12pm)
Group C: Guinea vs The Gambia, Yamoussoukro (3pm)
Saturday 20 January
Group D: Algeria vs Burkina Faso, Bouake (9am)
Group D: Mauritania vs Angola, Bouake (12pm)
Group E: Tunisia vs Mali, Korhogo (3pm)
Sunday 21 January
Group E: South Africa vs Namibia, Korhogo (3pm)
Group F: Morocco vs DR Congo, San Pedro (9am)
Group F: Zambia vs Tanzania, San Pedro (12pm)
Monday 22 January
Group A: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (9am)
Group A: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (9am)
Group B: Cape Verde vs Egypt, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (3pm)
Group B: Mozambique vs Ghana, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (3pm)
Tuesday 23 January
Group C: The Gambia vs Cameroon, Bouake (12pm)
Group C: Guinea vs Senegal, Yamoussoukro (12pm)
Group D: Angola vs Burkina Faso, Yamoussoukro (3pm)
Group D: Mauritania vs Algeria, Bouake (3pm)
Wednesday 24 January
Group E: Namibia vs Mali, San Pedro (12pm)
Group E: South Africa vs Tunisia, Korhogo (12pm)
Group F: Tanzania vs DR Congo, Korhogo (3pm)
Group F: Zambia vs Morocco, San Pedro (3pm)
