Côte d'Ivoire is ready to host the latest edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, but who will win the continent's biggest competition?
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00:00 Africa's biggest festival of football is back in January.
00:03 Senegal are the defending champions,
00:05 whilst Morocco are flying high
00:07 after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
00:09 So who will be continental champions in 2024?
00:13 Hello there and welcome to Football Now from Doha.
00:20 It is nearly that time of year again
00:22 where one of the biggest competitions
00:23 in world football begins.
00:25 The 2024 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off
00:27 in just under a couple of months time
00:29 with the Ivory Coast as the hosts.
00:32 On this week's episode of the show,
00:33 we'll take a deep dive into some of the favourites
00:35 who are taking part and some of the stars
00:38 that we can expect to feature,
00:39 as well as understanding just what this competition means
00:42 to the people on the continent.
00:44 But before we do that,
00:45 let's remind ourselves about a tournament
00:47 that first began way back in 1957.
00:50 After the creation of the Confederation of African Football
00:53 in June 1956, there were immediate plans
00:56 for a continental tournament to take place every two years.
01:00 And it was Egypt who were crowned the inaugural champions
01:02 in the first ever Afcon a year later,
01:05 the first of seven occasions they would claim the title.
01:08 By the 1970s, the amount of nations competing
01:10 had been raised to eight,
01:12 and the tournament was thriving
01:14 as six different nations lifted the trophy
01:16 over the span of a decade.
01:18 Sudan, Congo, Zaire,
01:20 now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo,
01:22 Morocco, Ghana, and Nigeria
01:25 all enjoyed success over those years.
01:27 In the modern era, 24 teams now compete,
01:30 and Egypt again have led the way
01:31 in terms of reaching the latter stages.
01:34 They've made five out of the last 10 finals,
01:36 including winning an unprecedented three in a row
01:38 from 2006 to 2010.
01:41 They were also involved in the most recent 2022 final,
01:44 losing on penalties to Senegal,
01:46 who were crowned winners for the first time.
01:48 - Well, I mean, just looking at the scenes
01:51 from the last Afcon,
01:53 how much it just dominated the landscape,
01:55 not just in the host countries,
01:57 but also in all African countries,
02:00 it's such a massive deal.
02:01 And I think that you look at the teams that are on show,
02:05 and it's such a tough one to call.
02:06 There's gonna be some really, really difficult games,
02:08 even in the group stage.
02:10 But I actually think that there's a cluster
02:13 of maybe eight or nine teams
02:15 that have got a serious chance of winning that title,
02:18 which makes it a very, very exciting proposition.
02:21 - Yeah, it's clearly a competition
02:23 that means so much to millions of football fans
02:25 across Africa.
02:26 But what about the teams taking part?
02:28 The draw back in October
02:29 produced six intriguing groups of four for the tournament.
02:32 Host nation Ivory Coast have been placed alongside Nigeria,
02:36 Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau in group A.
02:40 Egypt, who will be looking to avenge
02:42 their final defeat two years ago,
02:43 will begin against Ghana, Cape Verde,
02:46 and Mozambique in group B,
02:48 while Senegal will begin the defense of their trophy
02:50 against five-times winners Cameroon,
02:53 Guinea, and Gambia in group C.
02:55 Algeria, still captained by Riyad Mahrez
02:58 after his departure from Manchester City in the summer,
03:00 will face Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola in group D.
03:05 In group E, Tunisia will be looking to progress
03:07 from a group containing Mali, South Africa, and Namibia.
03:11 And after a World Cup fairy tale in Qatar
03:13 culminating with them becoming the first African side ever
03:16 to reach a semifinal,
03:18 Morocco will come up against Democratic Republic of Congo,
03:20 Zambia, and Tanzania in their first stage of their quest
03:24 to win this tournament for the first time since 1976.
03:28 So then, as you saw there,
03:29 Senegal are the reigning champions
03:30 following Sadio Mane's heroics in Cameroon.
03:33 The first-time winners will be in contention
03:35 once again this year, but they face some tough opposition,
03:38 not least Morocco, who became the first African side
03:41 to reach the semifinals of a FIFA World Cup
03:43 when they did so here in Qatar last year.
03:45 While Idra Greggi's side captured the hearts
03:47 of the footballing world during the tournament,
03:49 with the Atlas Lions set to host the AFCON next time around,
03:52 it really is a golden period for the nation.
03:55 - On paper, they're a very strong side,
03:56 but I think what makes this team spectacular
03:59 is the sort of unity, the cohesion they have,
04:03 not only within the squad,
04:04 but also with the coach, with the supporters.
04:06 They all seem to be really pushing,
04:07 and even at the federation level,
04:09 nobody has better football infrastructure
04:10 than Morocco on the continent.
04:12 They know how they want to play football.
04:14 They know that they wanted, at the World Cup, they sat back,
04:16 they were very compact, very organized,
04:17 and they sort of surprised teams with the counterattack.
04:20 - Now, the Africa Cup, a nation's most successful side,
04:22 is Egypt.
04:23 The pharaohs have won the competition a record seven times,
04:26 including on three consecutive occasions
04:28 between 2006 and 2010.
04:31 Once again, they'll be buoyed by the likely inclusion
04:33 of the continent's biggest star, Mohamed Salah.
04:36 Salah has enjoyed huge success with Liverpool
04:38 since signing for the club back in 2017,
04:40 but Major Silverware with his country has eluded him.
04:43 So could this be his year?
04:45 - I think he carries the burden of Egypt
04:48 firmly on his shoulders, doesn't he?
04:50 Because, you know, with the greatest will in the world,
04:54 he is a cut above a lot of his compatriots
04:58 in terms of the ability that he has.
05:00 He is one of the best players in the world.
05:02 Some would argue he has been the best player in the world
05:05 in certain seasons.
05:06 It's not necessarily down to him
05:07 not being able to maybe do the business,
05:10 but maybe just that his national side
05:13 aren't quite at the same level as the club side
05:16 that he's enjoyed the success with in Liverpool.
05:19 - Well, Egypt's gain will be Liverpool's loss.
05:21 A January tournament means that a number
05:22 of major European sides will be without key players
05:25 for up to five weeks during their domestic league.
05:28 So which stars should we be keeping an eye on
05:30 during the competition?
05:31 - This time around, there's a new generation of players
05:33 that we're also very much looking forward to.
05:35 And I think the main one is Napoli star striker,
05:38 Victor Osserman.
05:39 Also, I think you have Yves Bissouma.
05:41 Yves Bissouma is a player that we've sort of known
05:42 in the primary league.
05:43 And I think with Mali, he's sort of seen as like a number 10
05:46 and he sort of flourishes in that role.
05:47 So I think Yves Bissouma is another one
05:49 that we could very much look out for in the Ivory Coast.
05:51 - Yeah, it's all set to be a brilliant tournament
05:53 with some massive names involved.
05:55 That is all we have time for.
05:56 Do let us know who you think will win it
05:58 using the hashtag #FootballNowAFCon2024.
06:01 And we'll see you at the same time next week.
06:03 Bye for now.
06:04 (upbeat music)
06:06 (upbeat music)