As we count a few hours until the start of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), where Senegal is eyeing to defend the trophy, a number of people from the national teams and fans participating in the AFCON 2024 are already in Ivory Coast awaiting this evening of January 13, 2024, as the host takes on Guinea-Bissau at 23:00 p.m (East African Time).
A line of Premier League players is ready to take part in this year’s AFCON, as they will be missing playing games for their clubs until the AFCON ends. These include Liverpool star and top scorer Mohamed Salah, Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, Tottenham midfielders Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma, West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus, and Fulham’s Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey.
Other players, like Al-Nassr FC star Sadio Mane, will also take part, as his team looks forward to defending the title that they won against Egypt in the finals of Cameroon in 2021. Victor James Osimhen, from Serie A club Napoli, will also be playing for the Nigerian national team, hoping to take them to the finals to win their fourth AFCON since their last in 2013 in South Africa.
Football is just more than a game that brings people together. There is nothing in this world that brings people together more than soccer, and this has always been witnessed in many AFCON tournaments. However, this AFCON is special since Ivory Coast is hosting it for the second time since 1984.
AFCON 2024 groups
The top two teams in each group and the four best third-placed teams will progress to the round of 16.
Group A: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau
Group B: Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mozambique
Group C: Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, and Gambia
Group D: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, and Namibia
Group F: Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, Tanzania
AFCON 2024 venues and their seating capacities.
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (60,000)
Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (33,000)
Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (20,000)
Stade de la Paix-Bouake (40,000)
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (20,000)
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (20,000)
