The 1972 African Cup of Nations was the eighth edition of the
Africa Cup of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...
, the
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Cameroon, in the cities of
Yaoundé
Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...
and
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...
. Just like in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. The
People's Republic of the Congo
The People's Republic of the Congo (french: République populaire du Congo) was a Marxist–Leninist socialist state that existed in the Republic of the Congo from 1969 to 1992.
The People's Republic of the Congo was founded in December 1969 ...
won its first championship, beating
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
in the final 3−2.
Qualified teams
The 8 qualified teams are:
* (host)
*
*
*
*
*
* (holders)
*
For the first time, Ethiopia did not compete.
Squads
Venues
The competition was played in two venues in
Yaoundé
Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...
and
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...
Ahmed Faras
Ahmed Faras ( ar, أحمد فرس; born 7 December 1946) is a Moroccan former footballer who played as a striker for Chabab Mohammédia at club level and Morocco internationally.
Faras was named African Footballer of the Year in 1975. In 200 ...
Mayanga Maku
Jean Adelard Mayanga Maku (born 31 October 1948) is a Congolese former footballer who played as a forward for Zaire in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He also played for AS Vita Club.
Mayanga scored three goals for Zaire at the 1972 African Cup of ...
François M'Pelé
François M'Pelé (born 13 July 1947) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a forward. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.
Career
M'Pelé played profession ...
Jonathan Niva
Jonathan Niva (16 May 1942 – 12 May 2001) was a Kenyan international footballer who played as a defender. He made 88 appearances for the Kenya national football team, scoring twice. He had a spell as player-manager of the Kenya national footba ...
Moussa Traoré
Moussa Traoré (25 September 1936 – 15 September 2020) was a Malian soldier, politician, and dictator who was President of Mali from 1968 to 1991. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ousting of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he ...
*
Bushara Abdel-Nadief
Sanad Bushara Abdel-Nadief Abdalla (born 1947 in Kassala) is a Sudanese footballer who played as a midfielder. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commo ...
Boujemaa Benkhrif
Boujemaa Benkhrif ( ar, بوجمعة بنخريف; born 1947) is a Moroccan former footballer who played as a defender for the Morocco national team in the 1970 FIFA World Cup.Noël Birindi Minga
*
Mayanga Maku
Jean Adelard Mayanga Maku (born 31 October 1948) is a Congolese former footballer who played as a forward for Zaire in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He also played for AS Vita Club.
Mayanga scored three goals for Zaire at the 1972 African Cup of ...
François M'Pelé
François M'Pelé (born 13 July 1947) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a forward. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.
Career
M'Pelé played profession ...
Nations
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
African Cup Of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...
African Cup Of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...
African Cup Of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...