The excitement around the Africa Cup of Nations, or AFCON 2024, has made it one of the most eagerly anticipated sporting events on the African continent.
Football fans are gearing up for a month of high-octane matches as 24 of the best teams on the continent converge in Ivory Coast for the 34th edition of the event that will run from 13 January to 11 February 11th.
Six stadiums across five cities – Abidjan, Bouake, Korogho, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro – will play host to the event.
This year's competition is officially named AFCON 2023 since it was initially scheduled to take place last year but was postponed until January-February 2024.
Here's a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about the 52 matches on offer:
The 24 teams are divided into six groups of four teams each with the top two teams in each group and the four best-ranked third-placed teams advancing to the last 16, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, a match for third place, and the final.
Detailed AFCON 2024 match schedule
(All times in Nigeria time)
Group A
Day 1
- 13 January, 9pm: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau (Stadium Olympic Alassane Ouattara)
- 14 January, 3pm: Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea (Olympic Stadium Alassane Ouattara)
Day 2
- 18 January, 3pm: Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau (Stadium Olympic Alassane Ouattara)
- 18 January, 6pm: Ivory Coast vs Nigeria (Olympic Stadium Alassane Ouattara)
Day 3
- 22 January 6pm: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast (Stadium Olympic Alassane Ouattara)
- 22 January 6pm: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
Group B
Day 1
- 14 January 6pm: Egypt vs Mozambique (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
- 14 January 9pm: Ghana vs Cape Verde (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
Day 2
- 18 January 9pm: Egypt vs Ghana (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
- 19 January 3pm: Cape Verde vs Mozambique (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
Day 3
- 22 January 9pm: Mozambique vs Ghana (Alassane Olympic Stadium Ouattara)
- 22 January 22, 9pm: Cape Verde vs Egypt (Felix Stadium Houphouet-Boigny)
Group C
Day 1
- 15 January 3pm: Senegal vs Gambia (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
- 15 January 6pm: Cameroon vs Guinea (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
Day 2
- 19 January 6pm: Senegal vs Cameroon (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
- 19 January 9pm: Guinea vs Gambia (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
Day 3
- 23 January 6pm: Guinea vs Senegal (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
- 23 January 6pm: Gambia vs Cameroon (Stade de la Paix)
Group D
Day 1
- 15 January 9pm: Algeria vs Angola (Stade de la Paix)
- 16 January 3pm: Burkina Faso vs Mauritania (Stade de la Paix)
Day 2
- 20 January 3pm: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Stade de la Paix)
- 20 January 6pm: Mauritania vs Angola (Stade de la Paix)
Day 3
- 23 January 9pm: Angola vs Burkina Faso (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
- 23 January 9pm: Mauritania vs Algeria (Stade de la Paix)
Group E
Day 1
- 16 January 6pm: Tunisia vs Namibia (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
- 16 January 9pm: Mali vs South Africa (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
Day 2
- 20 January 9pm: Tunisia vs Mali (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
- 21 January 9pm: South Africa vs Namibia (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
Day 3
- 24 January 6pm: South Africa vs Tunisia (Amadou Gon Stadium Coulibaly)
- 24 January 6pm: Namibia vs Mali (Stade Laurent Pokou)
Group F
Day 1
- 17 January 6pm: Morocco vs Tanzania (Stade Laurent Pokou)
- 17 January 9pm: DRC vs Zambia (Stade Laurent Pokou)
Day 2
- 21 January 3pm: Morocco vs DRC (Stade Laurent Pokou)
- 21 January 6pm: Zambia vs Tanzania (Stade Laurent Pokou)
Day 3
- 24 January 9pm: Tanzania vs DRC (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium)
- 24 January 9pm: Zambia vs Morocco (Stade Laurent Pokou)
Round of 16 at AFCON 2024
27 January
- Match 1 – 6pm: 1st group D vs 3rd B/E or F (Stade de la Paix)
- Match 2 – 6pm: 2nd group A vs 2nd group C (Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny)
28 January
- Match 3 – 6pm: 1st group A vs 3rd C/D or E (Stadium Olympic Alassane Ouattara)
- Match 4 – 9pm: 2nd group B vs 2nd group F (Stade Laurent Pokou)
29 January:
- Match 5 – 6pm: 1st Group C vs 3rd group A/B or F (Stadium Charles Konan Banny)
- Match 6 – 9pm: 1st group F vs 2nd group E (Stade Laurent Pokou)
30 January 30
- Match 7 – 6pm: 1st group E vs 2nd group D (Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly)
- Match 8 – 9pm: 1st group B vs 3rd group A/C or D (Stadium Felix Houphouet-Boigny)
Quarter-finals
2 February
- 6pm: Winners match 4 vs match 3 (A) (Olympic Stadium Alassane Ouattara)
- 9pm: Winners match 1 vs match 2 (B) (Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny)
3 February
- 6pm: Winners match 5 vs match 6 (C) (Charles Konan Stadium Banny)
- 9pm: Winners match 7 vs match 8 (D) (Stade de la Paix)
Semi-finals
7 February
- 6pm: Winners A vs B (Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara)
- 9pm: Winners C vs D (Stade de la Paix)
Match for 3rd place
10 February
- 9pm: Third-Place Play-Off (Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny)
Final
11 February
- 9pm: Final (Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara)
