2023 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2023 or CAN 2023) is scheduled to be the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by Ivory Coast, the second time the country would host the competition. The Confederation of African Football changed the dates of the tournament to June and July rather than the usual January, which will come into play as of the 2019 tournament.[1][2] It will allow the tournament to not conflict with other major tournaments, as well as allowing big name players to play for their nations in the tournament without missing games for their European club side.[3][4]
| Coupe d'Afrique des Nations 2023 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Ivory Coast |
| Dates | 23 June – 23 July |
| Teams | 24 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 6 (in 5 host cities) |
Senegal are the defending champions.
Host selection
Bids:
- Egypt
- Guinea
- Zambia
- Ivory Coast
- Algeria
- Morocco
- Tunisia
Rejected Bids:
- Uganda
- Sudan
- Senegal
- Cameroon
After the final vote at the CAF Executive Committee meeting, on 20 September 2014, the CAF announced the hosts for the 2019, 2021 and 2023 AFCON tournaments: 2019 to Cameroon, 2021 to the Ivory Coast, and 2023 to Guinea.[5]
The announcement of the 2023 hosts was unscheduled. Guinea was one of the bidders for the 2019 and 2021 tournaments, whose host countries were scheduled to be announced on that day. A CAF spokesperson told the BBC that, on the basis of Guinea's presentation "and commitment", the committee "decided to exercise its power to make an immediate decision."[5]
Host change
On 30 November 2018, CAF stripped Cameroon from hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[6] However, former CAF President Ahmad Ahmad told Cameroon accepted to host the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Consequently, Ivory Coast, original hosts of 2021, would host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, and Guinea, original hosts of 2023, would host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[7]
On 30 January 2019, CAF President confirmed the timetable shift, after a meeting with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.[8]
Qualification
Qualified teams
The following teams have qualified for the tournament.
| Team | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
FIFA ranking at start of event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ivory Coast | Hosts | 8 January 2019 | 25th | 2021 | Winners (1992, 2015) |
Venues
With the Africa Cup of Nations expanded to 24 teams, six venues are expected to be used. The CAF has established the following requirements for stadiums:[9]
| Number of Stadiums | Capacity (Minimum) |
|---|---|
| 2 Stadiums | 40,000 |
| 2 Stadiums | 20,000 |
| 2 Stadiums | 15,000 |
In September 2017, the Ivory Coast government launched a public tender for the venues of the competition. This includes public tender requested bids for renovating and expanding the existing Stade Félix-Houphouët Boigny and Stade de la Paix (Peace Stadium) of Bouaké, and building new stadiums in the cities of Korhogo, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro. The three new stadiums were to have a capacity of 20,000 each.
In addition to the renovation or construction of stadiums, the tender included the renovation or construction of training facilities in the host cities: 8 in Abidjan, and 4 in Bouaké, Korhogo, Yamoussoukro and San Pedro. It also included the construction of 96 villas (5 rooms per villa) in the cities of Bouaké, Korhogo, Yamoussoukro and San Pedro. In addition, bids were to be submitted to build a 3-star hotel of 50 rooms in the city of Korhogo.[10]
| Abidjan | Bouaké | |
|---|---|---|
| Stade National de la Côte d’Ivoire | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny | Stade Bouaké |
| Capacity: 60,000 | Capacity: 45,000 | Capacity: 40,000 |
 |
 |
 |
2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Ivory Coast) | ||
| Korhogo | San Pédro | Yamoussoukro |
| Stade de Korhogo | Stade de San Pédro | Stade de Yamoussoukro |
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 20,000 |
References
- "Africa Cup of Nations to switch from January staging to June in 2019". The Guardian. 21 July 2017.
- "Africa Cup of Nations: Date switch makes African players more attractive, say agents". BBC. 21 July 2017.
- "African Cup of Nations finally moved away from mid-season and expanded from 16 to 24 teams". The Independent. 21 July 2017.
- "FIFA Council makes key decisions for the future of football development". FIFA. 26 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- "Nations Cup: 2019, 2021 and shock 2023 hosts unveiled by Caf". BBC Sport. 20 September 2014.
- "Cameroon stripped of hosting 2019 Africa Cup of Nations". BBC. 30 November 2018.
- "CAN 2019 : le pays hôte sera connu le 9 janvier". Le Monde (in French). 10 December 2018.
- "COTE D'IVOIRE AGREES CAF TIMETABLE SHIFT". CAF. 30 January 2019.
- "CAN 2019 : ce que prévoit le nouveau cahier de charges" (in French). Camfoot. 13 August 2017.
- "la Côte d'Ivoire lance un appel d'offres pour la construction d'infrastructures sportives et d'hébergements" [Côte d'Ivoire launches a call for tenders for the construction of sports infrastructure and accommodation]. Abidjan.net (in French). 20 September 2017.