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The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will kick off in the Ivory Coast on January 13, 2024 as Sadio Mane’s Senegal aim to defend their title from two years ago.
The latest AFCON is officially the 2023 edition even though it is taking place this year. The finals were originally slated for the northern hemisphere’s summer, but it was postponed to this month to avoid the rainy season in that region of Africa.
Senegal are among 15 teams to have won this tournament since its inception in 1957, but Ghana, Cameroon and Egypt are the only sides to have managed to retain their title throughout AFCON history.
A total of 24 nations will compete in this year’s finals, with competitors split into six groups of four. Half of them have been African champions at least once in the past; only five have never gone beyond the group stage.
The Sporting News looks at the key stories from AFCON 2024 qualification including who made the final 24-team list and who missed out.
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Which teams have qualified for AFCON 2024?
The majority of teams expected to qualify for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations did secure their place at the tournament with the 16 highest FIFA-ranked African nations qualifying for the competition.
Gabon are the most notable absence (FIFA rank 86), with Tanzania (122) the lowest-ranked side to make it through, but none of the six preliminary-round qualifiers made it past the group stages.
No side won all of their group-stage matches in qualifying, with Ghana, Algeria and Senegal the only teams not to lose a qualifying match.
Teams at Africa Cup of Nations 2023
| Nation | Best performance at AFCON |
| Algeria | Champions (1990, 2019) |
| Angola | Quarterfinals (2008, 2010) |
| Burkina Faso | Runners up (2013) |
| Cameroon | Champions (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017) |
| Cape Verde | Quarterfinals (2013) |
| DR Congo | Champions (1968, 1974) |
| Egypt | Champions (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010) |
| Equatorial Guinea | Semifinals (2015) |
| Gambia | Quarterfinals (2021) |
| Ghana | Champions (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982) |
| Guinea | Runners up (1976) |
| Guinea-Bissau | Group Stage (2017, 2019, 2021) |
| Ivory Coast | Champions (1992, 2015) |
| Mali | Runners up (1972) |
| Mauritania | Group Stage (2019, 2021) |
| Morocco | Champions (1976) |
| Mozambique | Group Stage (1986, 1996, 1998, 2010) |
| Namibia | Group Stage (1998, 2008, 2019) |
| Nigeria | Champions (1980, 1994, 2013) |
| Senegal | Champions (2021) |
| South Africa | Champions (1996) |
| Tanzania | Group Stage (1980, 2019) |
| Tunisia | Champions (2004) |
| Zambia | Champions (2012) |
How does qualifying for AFCON?
Qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations was divided into two sections, with the preliminary round, featuring the lowest-12-ranked African (CAF) nations, followed by the group stages.
Those 12 teams were paired into two-legged playoff matches with the six winners making up the final list of 48 nations competing in the group stages.
Final qualification for the tournament was based on a standard group format (Groups A to L), with the top two teams qualifying for AFCON 2023, and the remaining two sides per group eliminated.
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