AFCON 2021, also known as Africa Cup of Nations 2021, begins this month as 24 teams try to become the kings of Africa.
KAMPALA | LIFESTYLE UGANDA — AFCON 2021, or the Africa Cup of Nations 2021, begins this month with 24 teams competing for the honour of being kings of Africa.
This page includes all the information you need about the AFCON 2021, including the full fixture list and information about star players like Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye, and Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.
How is the Africa Cup of Nations organized?
The Africa Cup of Nations is an international football tournament held every two years in Africa in which the national teams of Africa participate. This tournament is organized on an annual basis by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
What is the date of AFCON 2021?
On Sunday, January 9 2022, the latest edition of the African Cup of Nations will begin. On February 6 2022, the final will take place.
- Advertisement -
CAF postponed the original dates of June-July 2021 due to what the CAF described as “unfavourable climatic conditions” before they rearranged a slot earlier in January-February 2021 and the pandemic forced them to postpone it again.
AFCON 2021 will be held where?
This year’s African Cup of Nations is being held in Cameroon. The hosts are four-time champions with their most recent title coming in 2017.
Who will play in the AFCON 2021?
Six groups of four teams are competing at the African Cup of Nations (Afcon), this year’s event consists of 24 teams. Below are the groups.
The countries in Group A are Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, and the countries in Group B are Senegal, Zimbabwe, Guinea, and Malawi.
The countries in Group C are Morocco, Ghana, Gabon, and Comoros, while those in Group D are Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan, and Guinea-Bissau.
- Advertisement -
Group E includes Algeria, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and Equatorial Guinea, and Group F includes Tunisia, Mali, Gambia, and Mauritania.
The top two teams from each group at this year’s tournament will advance to the last 16 of the tournament along with the best four third-placed teams.
AFCON 2021 star players: who are they?
There will be many world-class players competing in Cameroon at Afcon 2021, including Ajax’s Andre Onana in goal and Napoli’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa in midfield. Group A rivals Burkina Faso will be led by Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore in the attack.
- Advertisement -
Several European-based players are included in Senegal’s squad in Group B, such as Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye, and Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.
Morocco is the Group C top seeds, with their captain being the Wolves’ Romain Saiss; Ghana’s players are the Ayew brothers Andre and Jordan, and Gabon’s players are led by exiled Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s star player, aims to lead his nation to an eighth Afcon title in Group D, however, they face a powerful Nigeria side with the likes of Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfried Ndidi.
In Group E, Algeria, the defending champions, have Manchester City forward Riyad Mahrez, Lyon striker Islam Slimani, AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer, and Galatasaray winger Sofiane Feghouli on hand.
There will be some tough tests for Algeria as their group includes a stacked Ivory Coast squad, including Manchester United’s Eric Bailly, Milan’s Franck Kessie, Burnley’s Maxwell Cornet, Ajax’s Sébastien Haller, Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, and Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe.
With Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri, Tunisia boasts one of the most exciting young prospects in the tournament. He will take on Mali’s RB Leipzig midfielder Amadou Haidara in Group E.
Africa Cup of Nations 2021: What’s the schedule?
An overview of the Afcon 2021 group schedule follows, along with the kickoff times in UAE (+4 GMT).
Group stage round 1
| Sunday, January 9 | 8 pm: Cameroon v Burkina Faso 11 pm: Ethiopia v Cape Verde |
| Monday, January 10 | 5 pm: Senegal v Zimbabwe 8 pm: Guinea v Malawi 8 pm: Morocco v Ghana 11pm: Comoros v Gabon |
| Tuesday, January 11 | 5pm: Alergia v Sierra Leone 8 pm: Egypt v Nigeria 11 pm: Sudan v Guinea-Bissau |
| Wednesday, January 12 | 5 pm: Tunisia v Mali 8pm: Mauritania v Gambia 11 pm: Equatorial Guinea v Ivory Coast |
Group stage round 2
| Thursday, January 13 | 8 pm: Cameroon v Ethiopia 11pm: Cape Verde v Burkina Faso |
| Friday, January 14 | 5 pm: Senegal v Guinea 8 pm: Malawi v Zimbabwe 8pm: Morocco v Comoros 11 pm: Gabon v Ghana |
| Saturday, January 15 | 8 pm: Nigeria v Sudan 11 pm: Guinea-Bissau v Egypt |
| Saturday, January 16 | 5 pm: Gambia v Mali 8pm: Tunisia v Mauritania 8 pm: Ivory Coast v Sierra Leone 11pm: Algeria v Equatorial Guinea |
Group stage round 3
| Friday, January 17 | 8 pm: Burkina Faso v Ethiopia 8 pm: Cameroon v Cape Verde |
| Saturday, January 18 | 8 pm: Malawi v Senegal 8 pm: Zimbabwe v Guinea 11pm: Gabon v Morocco 11 pm: Ghana v Comoros |
| Sunday, January 19 | 11 pm: Guinea-Bissau v Nigeria 11 pm: Egypt v Sudan |
| Monday, January 20 | 8pm: Sierra Leone v Equatorial Guinea 8 pm: Ivory Coast v Algeria 11 pm: Gambia v Tunisia 11 pm: Mali v Mauritania |
Round of 16
| January 23-26 | To be communicated |
Quarter-finals
| January 29-30 | To be communicated |
Semi-finals
| February 2-3 | To be communicated |
Third-place playoff
| February 6 | To be communicated |
Final
| February 6 | To be communicated |
How can I watch Afcon 2021?
On beIN Sports HD, matches of the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 will be aired live.
AFCON 2021 players from the Premier League
| Arsenal | Thomas Partey (Ghana) Mohamed Elneny (Egypt) Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast) Omar Rekik (Tunisia) |
| Aston Villa | Mahmoud Trezeguet (Egypt) Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) |
| Brentford | Julian Jeanvier (Guinea) Frank Onyeka (Nigeria) Tariqe Fosu-Henry (Ghana) |
| Brighton | Yves Bissouma (Mali) |
| Burnley | Maxwell Cornet (Ivory Coast) |
| Chelsea | Edouard Mendy (Senegal) |
| Crystal Palace | Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal) Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana) Jordan Ayew (Ghana) Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast) |
| Everton | Alex Iwobi (Nigeria) |
| Leicester City | Daniel Amartey (Ghana) Nampalys Mendy (Senegal) Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria) Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria) |
| Liverpool | Mohamed Salah (Egypt) Naby Keita (Guinea) Sadio Mane (Senegal) |
| Manchester City | Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) |
| Manchester United | Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast) Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia) |
| Watford | William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria) Imran Louza (Morocco) Adam Masina (Morocco) Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) |
| West Ham | Said Benrahma (Algeria) |
| Wolves | Willy Boly (Ivory Coast) Romain Saiss (Morocco) |
| Southampton | Moussa Djenepo (Mali) |
