Ghana08: A-Z of the African Cup Of Nations

A is for Africa Cup of Nations (ACN): It is the biggest football fiesta on the African continent. The competition brings together the best sixteen football countries to compete for a prestigious trophy. The CAN was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been staged every two years. The 26th Edition of the ACN will take place in Ghana.

B is for Burkina Faso 98’: The 1998 ACN hosted by Burkina Faso produced the most goals in the history of the competition. The tournament produced 93 goals in 32 games. The competition was won by current champions, Egypt.

C is for Cote d’Ivoire: The West African country holds the record of the longest penalty shootout in the final. Cote d’ Ivoire won the shootout 11-10 against Ghana in the 1992 edition.

D is for Death: For every tournament, there is a group labeled as “the group of Death”. GHANA2008 is no exception. Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mali and Benin find themselves in the group of death.

E is for Egypt: Egypt has won the most titles in the history of ACN. They have 5 titles to show for. The Egyptians won the tournament in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998 and 2006. The Egyptians also have the record of most appearances in the finals. They have participated in 21 ACN competitions. They have the record of scoring 54 goals; the highest in a single tournament.

F is for the fastest goal: The fastest ever goal in the history of the CAN was scored by Ayman Mansour of Egypt. The Egyptian forward scored against Gabon in 1994 CAN (After 23 seconds) in a group match.

G is for Ghana: First of all, the host for the 26th edition of the CAN. Ghana also has the record of the most final appearance in the history of the ACN. Ghana has been in the finals of the CAN 7 times more than any other country on the African continent. Ghana was in the finals in 1963, 1965, 1968,1978,1982,1992.

H is for host and win Nations: Seven Nations have hosted and won the Cup of Nations. Ethiopia in 1962, Ghana hosted and won it 1963, 1972 and 1978, Sudan in 1970, Nigeria in 1980, Egypt hosted and won 1986, 1959 and 2006, Algeria in 1990 and Tunisia hosted and won it in 2004.

I is for Issah Hayatou: He is the longest serving Confederation of African Football (CAF) President. Having served since 1986, Hayatou is still gunning for another four-year term in office.

J is for Jones Attuquayefio: He is one of the only three players to have played in the finals of the CAN for three times. He shares this record with fellow Ghanaian Charles Addo Odametey and Egyptian Ali El Fanageeli. Also known as the ‘Sir’ of Ghana football, Jones appeared in the 1965, 1968 and the 1970 cup finals.

K is for Keeps: Ghana, Cameroon and Egypt are the only three countries to have won the Nations Cup for keeps. Ghana won the cup for keeps in 1978, Cameroon won it in 2000 and current champions Egypt won it in 1986.

L is for Laurent Pokou: The Ivorian holds the record for the most goals scored by an individual in one match in the history of the CAN. He scored 5 goals when Ivory Coast beat Ethiopia 6-1 in the 1970 edition in Sudan. He scored 14 goals in tournaments; 1968 and 1970 making him the player with the most goals in the history of the Cup of Nations.

M is for Mulumba Ndaye: Mulumba Ndaye of Zaire (now DR Congo) scored 9 goals in a single tournament to become the only player to have scored such number of goals in an ACN tournament.

N is for Nwanko Kanu: One of the finest African players never to have scored a goal at a Nations Cup. Kanu has played in four ACN competitions and is still chasing his first ever ACN goal.

O is for Ohene Djan Staduim: The 40,000 all seater Stadium will host the opening and closing matches of the 26th CAN tournament. Formerly known as the Accra Sports Stadium, the Stadium is also referred to as Ghana’s Wembly.

P is for the Participating teams in the 26th edition of the African Cup of Nations: In all, 16 countries have qualified to play at GHANA2008. Ghana as host is joined by Egypt, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa, Zambia, Sudan, Angola, Namibia, Guinea, Mali, Benin and Morocco.

Q is for Qualification for GHANA2008: For the first time in CAF’s history, entrants were divided into 12 groups. All group winners and the best three runners-up from groups with four teams (groups 2-11) qualified for the finals. Host Ghana qualified automatically, while for the first time in the history of the CAN, a defending Champion (Egypt) played in the qualifying series.

R is for Result: The result with the highest margin in the history of the tournament was attained in the 1970 tournament hosted by Sudan. Ivory Coast beat Ethiopia 6-1.

S is for Sudan: Sudan was the first Nation to host the African Cup of Nations. The Sudanese hosted the ACN in 1957.

T is for Tesfaye Gebreyesus (Referee) and Trophy: The Ethiopian referee has had the most performances by a referee in the finals of the Cup of Nations. He has six performances at the finals of the ACN. Three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament’s history.

U is for United Arab Republic: Egypt was known as United Arab Republic when it first won the Nations Cup on its maiden edition. Indeed, that was 1957 when Sudan hosted it. United Arab Republic, now Egypt, won the final match 4-0 against Ethiopia.

V is for Victories: Egypt has the highest victories in the Nations Cup. They have been victorious 5 times (winning the cup) and have also been victorious in 41 matches, making them the country with the most wins in the history of the tournament.

W is for Wins: 13 Countries have won the Nations Cup. Egypt has won it five times, followed by Ghana and Cameroon with four wins each. Congo DR has won it twice. Sudan, Ethiopia, Congo, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia have all won it once.

X is for Xenia: Ghana the host of the 26TH edition of CAN is regarded as one of the most hospitable nations in the World. Noted for its friendliness, Ghana has been tipped by the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) to stage the best ever CAN tournament of the History of CAF.

Y is for the Youngest ever player: Chiva ‘Star’ Nzighou is the youngest player to have ever played in the history of the CAN. Chiva Nzighou was 16 years, two months and 30 days when he played at the Ghana/Nigeria tournament in 2000. The then young prodigy is a native of Gabon.

Z is for Zambia: Zambia brings back one of the saddest if not in the memory of African football when the country almost lost its entire team in 1994, but went on to play in the finals of the 1994 Nations Cup which Tunisia hosted. The Zambians lost to Nigeria in that final match.