Facts You Should Know About AFCON 2021

By NewsTrack Nigeria
August 18, 2021

The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 is billed to take place from January 9 to February 6, 2022.

Twenty-four qualified teams have been divided into six groups of four following the draw for the final tournament held in Yaoundé on Tuesday, August 17.

The opening match will see tournament host and five-time Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon play against Burkina Faso, runners-up of 2013 AFCON.

Nigeria features in Group D where it is pitched against Egypt.

Fifty-two countries took part in the qualifiers for AFCON 2021 with only 24 places available.

Owing to a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the qualified teams were unveiled after a campaign that started in October 2019 and ended in June 2021.

Five main Cameroon cities have been selected as hosts of the tournament, namely Douala and its Japoma Stadium, Yaoundé and its Ahmadou Ahidjo and Olembé Stadiums, Bafoussam and its Kouekong Stadium, Garoua and its Roumdjié-Adja Stadium and finally the Limbe-Buea venue which houses the Limbe Omnisport Stadium.

List of AFCON groups:

Group A: Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ethiopie, Cape Verde

Group B: Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinee, Malawi

Group C: Morocco, Ghana, Comoros, Gabon

Group D: Nigeria, Egypt, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau

Group E: Algeria, Sierra-Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire

Group F: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Gambia

Road to Final

· Group stage: from January 9 to 20, 2022

· Round of 16: January 23-26, 2022

· Quarter-finals: January 29 and 30, 2022

· Semi-finals: February 2 and 3, 2022