Equatorial Guinea beat Libya as Zambia’s Chipolopolo stun Senegal as the Africa Nations Cup, 2012 kicks off.

The premier continental football competition is here again. Before we go to details and the groups its’ good to start with some history of this magnificent football showdown.

The Africa Cup of Nations, also known as African Nations Cup, officially CAN (French for Coupe d’Afrique des Nations) which is the main international association football competition in Africa was first held in 1957 sanctioned by CAF (Confederations of African Football). It has been held every two years since 1968.

In 1957, there were only three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Africa Nations Cup Trophy

Since then, the tournament has grown greatly, making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament. The number of participants reached 16 in 1998. Since then, the format has been unchanged with sixteen teams being drawn into four groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group advance to a knock-out stage.

Egypt is the country that is most successful in the cup’s history, having won the tournament a record seven times. Ghana and Cameroon have won four titles each.Three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament’s history, with Ghana and Cameroon winning the first two versions to keep after each of them won a tournament three times. The current trophy was first awarded in 2002 and with Egypt winning it indefinitely after winning their unprecedented third consecutive title in 2010.

As of 2013, the tournament will switch to being held in odd-numbered years so that it does not clash with the FIFA World Cup.

This year’s tournament is an interesting one since most African Football powerhouses are missing in action. These countries didn’t qualify for the competition and this might be an indication of the development of football and how competitive the sport has become on the continent.



The football giants that are missing include: Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria and South Africa.

The tournament is being co-hosted by two countries: Equatorial Guinea and Gabon 

The four groups are as follows:

Group A
ZAMBIA
GUINEA EQ.
LIBYA
SENEGAL

Group B

COTE D’IVOIRE

SUDAN

BURKINA FASO  

ANGOLA

Group C

GABON

NIGER

MOROCCO

TUNISIA

Group D

GHANA

BOTSWANA

MALI

GUINEA

Group A pits tournament co-hosts - and debutants - Equatorial Guinea against surprise qualifiers Libya, Nations Cup regulars Zambia and Senegal, one of the tournament outsiders.
Until the last round of matches, the group will be played in Bata on the Equatorial Guinea mainland.

 

EQ GUINEA FACTFILE

• Nickname: Nzalang Nacional (National Lightning)
• Coach: Gilson Paulo
• Captain: Rodolfo Bodipo
• Nations Cup record: Tournament debutants
• Fifa ranking: 151

LIBYA FACTFILE

• Nickname: Mediterranean Knights
• Coach: Marcos Paqueta
• Captain: Samir Aboud
• Nations Cup record: Making third appearance
• Best Performance: Runners-Up (1982)
• Fifa ranking: 63

ZAMBIA FACTFILE

• Nickname: The Chipolopolo
• Coach: Herve Renard
• Captain: Chris Katongo
• Nations Cup record: Making 15th appearance
• Best Performance: Runners-Up (1974, 1994)
• Fifa ranking: 71

Two group A matches were played in the opening day of the tournament – 21^st January, 2012. The co-hosts Equatorial Guinea played Libya and beat them 1 – 0. In the other match, Zambia played against the much fancied Teranga Lions of Senegal. Zambia produced an impressive performance and they beat Senegal by 2 – 1. Emmanuel Mayuka opened the scoring for Zambia after 12 minutes, with Rainford Kalaba doubling their lead seven minutes later.

Senegal substitute Dame Ndoye pulled one back for Senegal with a beautifully taken strike.
There are more matches slated for today and we will keep you updated and informed.

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Meanwhile, it is super Sunday in the English Premier League, with the city of Manchester facing North London. Tottenham Hotspur visit Etihad stadium to face top of the table Manchester City while Manchester United are at Emirates to face their arch rivals Arsenal who will be looking to revenge their 8 – 2 defeat at Old Trafford early in the season.

Enjoy watching and remember to come back for results and analysis.