AFCON (African Cup of Nations)
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations will kick-off on January 17 in Bata, Equatorial Guinea with the opening match between the host nation and Congo at 18.00, but with the absence of the the defending Champion, Nigeria.
Nigeria was shockingly eliminated from the competiton after a 2-2 draw with South Africa, making the Bafana Bafana players a hero. Nigerian’s Super Eagles had been undefeated by South Africa for ten consecutive years.
Bafana Bafana and Ghana have been drawn in what is known as the group of death in Equatorial Guinea. However, the major highlight will see a Group D qualifiers reunion between Didier Drogba’s Cote d’Ivoire and Samuel Eto’o Cameroon who were drawn against each other once again at the tournament. Unfortunately, both legends are no longer available for their national teams.
Following the draw for the group stage of the competition, conducted in Malabo, the teams, times and venues for the tournament has been set.
The group stage will run from January 17 to 28, with two matches (from the same group) per day.
For the first two rounds of the group stage, both matches will be played at the same venue, with kick-off times of 18h00 and 21h00 CAT.
For the last round of group stage matches, the kick-off times will be simultaneous (20h00 CAT) at two separate venues.
A two-day break sees the quarter finals played on January 31 and February 1, while the semi finals are set for February 4 and 5.
The reigning champions Nigeria’s Super Eagles did not qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, despite a dramatic late comeback at home to South Africa, drawing 2-2.
The third-place playoff will take place on February 7, while the final will be played on February 8 in Bata, with kick-off set for 21h00 CAT.
The full schedule are listed below: (Times are CAT – Central Africa Time Zone)
Group A
17 January
Venue: Bata
Equatorial Guinea v Congo, 18h00
Gabon v Burkina Faso, 21h00
21 January
Venue: Bata
Burkina Faso v Equatorial Guinea, 16h00
Congo v Gabon, 21h00
25 January
Venue: Bata
Equatorial Guinea v Gabon, 20h00
Venue: Ebebiyin
Bukina Faso v Congo, 20h00
Group B
18 January
Venue: Ebebiyin
Zambia v DR Congo, 18h00
Tunisia v Cape Verde, 21h00
22 January
Venue: Ebebiyin
Zambia v Tunisia, 18h00
Cape Verde v DR Congo, 21h00
26 January
Venue: Ebebiyin
Cape Verde v Zambia, 20h00
Venue: Bata
DR Congo v Tunisia, 20h00
Group C
19 January
Venue: Mongomo
Ghana v Senegal, 18h00
Algeria v South Africa, 21h00
23 January
Venue: Mongomo
Ghana v Algeria, 18h00
South Africa v Senegal, 21h00
27 January
Venue: Mongomo
South Africa v Ghana, 20h00
Venue: Malabo
Senegal v Algeria, 20h00
Group D
20 January
Venue: Malabo
Ivory Coast v Guinea, 18h00
Mali v Cameroon, 21h00
24 January
Venue: Malabo
Ivory Coast v Mali, 18h00
Cameroon v Guinea, 21h00
28 January
Venue: Malabo
Cameroon v Ivory Coast, 20h00
Venue: Mongomo
Guinea v Mali, 20h00
Quarterfinals
31 January
Venue: Bata
QF1: 1st Group A v 2nd Group B
Venue: Ebebiyin
QF2: 1st Group B v 2nd Group A
1 February
Venue: Mongomo
QF3: 1st Group C v 2nd Group D
Venue: Malabo
QF4: 1st Group D v 2nd Group C
Semifinals
4 February
Venue: Bata
SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF4
5 February
Venue: Malabo
SF2: Winner QF2 v Winner QF3
Third-place playoff
7 February
Venue: Malabo
Loser SF1 v Loser SF2
Finals
8 February Venue: Bata
Winner SF1 v Winner SF2, 21h00