The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd 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 biennial international men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

championship of Africa organised by the

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football, or CAF for short (french: link=yes, Confédération Africaine de Football, ar, link=yes, الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم, al-Ittiḥād al-Afrīqī li-Kurat al-Qadam), is the administ ...

(CAF). The tournament was hosted by Cameroon, and took place from 9 January to 6 February 2022. The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in June and July 2021. However, the CAF announced on 15 January 2020 that due to unfavourable climatic conditions during that period, the tournament had been rescheduled to be played between 9 January and 6 February 2021. On 30 June 2020, the CAF moved the tournament's dates for the second time to January 2022 following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the continent, whilst retaining the name 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes. Algeria were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the group stage. The hosts, Cameroon, lost their bid for the title in the semi-finals after losing on penalties to Egypt and eventually finished third. Senegal won the trophy for the first time after beating Egypt on penalties in the final.

Host selection

After the CAF Executive Committee meeting on 24 January 2014, it was announced that there were three official candidates for the 2021 edition: Bids: *Algeria *Guinea *Ivory Coast Rejected bids: *DR Congo *Gabon *Zambia This list was different from the list of the host nation bids for both the 2019 and 2021 edition of the Cup of Nations as announced by CAF in November 2013, with Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Zambia also on the original list. All three official candidates also bid for hosting the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champion ...

. The decision of the host country was postponed from early 2014 to grant each bidding country adequate time to receive the inspection delegation. 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 Ivory Coast, and 2023 to Guinea.

Host change

On 30 November 2018, CAF stripped Cameroon of hosting the

because of delays in the construction of stadiums and other necessary infrastructure; it was relocated to Egypt. CAF President at the time,

Ahmad Ahmad Ahmad Ahmad (born 30 December 1959) is a Malagasy politician and football leader. He was the President of the Confederation of African Football, and vice-president of FIFA from 2017 to 2021. Biography Ahmad Ahmad was born in Madagascar ...

, said that Cameroon had agreed to host the 2021 tournament instead. Consequently, Ivory Coast, original hosts of 2021, will host the

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 association football, football championship of Africa organized by the ...

, and Guinea, original hosts of 2023, will host the

2025 Africa Cup of Nations The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, known for short as the 2025 AFCON or CAN 2025, is scheduled to be the 35th edition of the biennial African international association football tournament organized by CAF. The edition of the tournament will be th ...

. On 30 January 2019, the CAF President confirmed the timetable shift, after a meeting with Ivory Coast President,

Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

The tournament was originally scheduled to take place between 9 January and 6 February 2021. The preliminary round and two matchdays of the

qualifying group stage Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

had already been played between 9 October and 19 November 2019. The third and fourth matchdays of the qualifying group stage, which were initially scheduled to take place from 23 to 31 March and 1 to 9 June 2020 respectively, were postponed and all remaining qualifying matches rescheduled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa. On 19 June 2020, the CAF stated it was undecided about when continental competitions would resume, and were prioritising new schedules for the

2019–20 CAF Champions League The 2019–20 CAF Champions League (officially the 2019–20 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 56th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 24t ...

and the

2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup The 2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup (officially the 2019–20 Total CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 17th edition of Africa's secondary club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), under t ...

semi-finals, the postponed

2020 African Nations Championship The 2020 African Nations Championship, known as the Total African Nations Championship (also referred to as CHAN 2020) was the 6th edition of the African Nations Championship, a biennial football tournament organized by the Confederation of Afr ...

and the

2020 Africa Women Cup of Nations The 2020 Women's Africa Cup of Nations, officially known as the Total Women's Africa Cup Of Nations for sponsorship purposes, was supposed to be the 14th edition of the biennial African international women's association football tournament organi ...

, alongside the 2021 Africa Cup of Nation, as football competitions across the continent had been postponed, cancelled or suspended. On 30 June 2020, however, the CAF announced the rescheduling of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations to January 2022 "''after consultation with stakeholders and taking into consideration the current global situation''" according to a published statement, with new dates to be announced at a later date. Subsequently, other continental competitions and events to be held were rescheduled or cancelled, including new dates for the remaining AFCON qualifiers, which were now to be completed by March 2021. On 31 March 2021, it was confirmed that the final tournament would take place from 9 January to 6 February 2022, exactly one year after its originally scheduled start date.

Qualification

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the tournament.

Format

A total of 24 teams competed in the final tournament. Only the hosts received an automatic qualification spot, with the other 23 teams qualifying through a qualification tournament. For the finals, the 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four teams. The teams in each group played a single round robin, and after the group stage, the top two teams from each group and the four highest ranked third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16. From then on the tournament proceeded with a knockout phase.

Match ball

CAF announced the official match ball named Toghu on 23 November 2021. It was made by English manufacturer Umbro.

Mascot

The mascot, "Mola", was unveiled on 17 May 2021, during a ceremony in Yaoundé. He was a lion and his kit bore resemblance to Cameroon's home colours, with words saying "Cameroon" with "2021" on the top and bottom of the kit.

Match officials

The following referees were chosen for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, with two referees from CONCACAF assigned. The list consists of 24 referees, 31 assistant referees and eight video assistant referees from 36 countries.

Referees

* Mustapha Ghorbal *

Hélder Martins Rodrigues de Carvalho Hélder is a given name in Portuguese. The unrelated German-Jewish surname "Helder" is also given the accent in Portuguese, such as the Portuguese poet Herberto Hélder (1930-). The name is sometimes confused with Heitor (disambiguation), Heitor. P ...

Joshua Bondo Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

Pacifique Ndabihawenimana ''Pacifique'' (French for "Pacific") may refer to: * École du Pacifique, a French first language elementary school located in Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada * Pacifique (album), ''Pacifique'' (album), the 4th studio album and soundtrack by th ...

Blaise Yuven Ngwa Blaise is a personal name (from Greek Βλασιος, the name of Saint Blaise) and a place name. It can refer to: People * Blaise (name), including lists of people with the given name or surname ''Blaise'' Places France * Blaise-sous-Arzi ...

Mahmoud El Banna Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 199 ...

Amin Omar Amin Mohamed Omar ( ar, أمين محمد عمر) is an Egyptian football referee. He became a FIFA referee in 2017. Omar made his first appearance as a referee in the Egyptian Premier League in 2013. In 2019, he was selected to officiate at the ...

Bamlak Tessema Weyesa Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (born 30 December 1980) is an Ethiopian football referee. He is also a medical researcher, a clinical coordinator and a sociology graduate (2012) from Addis Ababa University. He started to referee in 2003 and became in ...

Daniel Nii Laryea Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea (born 11 September 1987) is a Ghanaian football referee who is a listed international referee for FIFA since 2014. He is also one of the referees for the Ghana Premier League. In 2021, Laryea was officially selected as a ...

Bakary Gassama Bakary Papa Gassama (born 10 February 1979) is a Gambian football referee. He became a FIFA referee in 2007. He officiated at the 2012 Olympic tournament, in which he was the fourth official for the gold medal match between Mexico and Brazi ...

* Mario Escobar (CONCACAF) *

Peter Waweru Peter Waweru Kamaku (born 27 May 1982) is a Kenyan Association football, football Referee (association football), referee, academic administrator and researcher. He has been a referee in Kenyan Premier League since 2013 and a FIFA listed referee s ...

Boubou Traore Boubou can refer to: *Boubou (clothing), a type of clothing worn in West Africa *Boubou, Burkina Faso, a town *Boubou Macoutes, from "Boubou", the nickname of Premier Robert Bourassa *''Laniarius ''Laniarius'' is a genus of brightly coloured, c ...

* Dahane Beida * Ahmad Imtehaz Heeralall * Rédouane Jiyed *

Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 19 ...

* Salima Mukansanga * Maguette N'Diaye *

Issa Sy Issa or ISSA may refer to: Acronyms and abbreviations *Independent Schools Sports Association, now known as the Sports Association for Adelaide Schools *Information Systems Security Association * Instituto Superior de Secretariado y Administracio ...

Bernard Camille Bernard Camille (born 6 October 1975) is a Seychellois association football referee who is a listed international referee for FIFA since 2011. He was one of the referees for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nation ...

* Victor Gomes *

Sadok Selmi Sadok may refer to: * ''Sadok'', a variant of the name Zadoc * Omrane Sadok, Tunisian boxer * Sadok, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, a village in the administrative district of Gmina Chodecz, within Włocławek County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivode ...

* Janny Sikazwe

Assistant referees

Abdelhak Etchiali ʻAbd al-Ḥaqq (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحقّ) is an Arabic male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥaqq'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the ...

* Mokrane Gourari *

Jerson Emiliano dos Santos Jerson is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jerson Cabral (born 1991), Dutch footballer *Jerson Monteiro (born 1985), professional soccer player *Jerson Ravelo (born 1977), boxer from the Dominican Republic *Jerson Ribeiro Jer ...

Seydou Tiama Seydou is the Francophonic-orthography variant of the Arabic name Sa'id, commonly used in West Africa. Notable people with the name include: *Seydou Bouda (born 1958), Burkinabé politician and US Ambassador *Mohamed Seydou Dera (born 1986), Côte ...

Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

Carine Atezambong Fomo Carine may refer to: Places * Carine, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ** Electoral district of Carine, in the Western Australian parliament * Carine, Nikšić, Montenegro * Carine (Mysia), a town of ancient Mysia, now in Turkey Owl species ...

Issa Yaya Issa or ISSA may refer to: Acronyms and abbreviations *Independent Schools Sports Association, now known as the Sports Association for Adelaide Schools *Information Systems Security Association * Instituto Superior de Secretariado y Administracio ...

* Soulaimane Almadine *

Mahmoud Ahmed Abouelregal Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 199 ...

Ahmed Hossam Taha Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

Sidiki Sidibe Sidiki is an African name that may refer to *Babou Sidiki Barro (born 1990), Ivorian football player *Mamadou Sidiki Diabaté (born 1982), Mandé kora player and jali from Mali *Sidiki Bakaba (born 1949), actor and scenario writer from Côte d'Ivoi ...

Liban Abdourazak Ahmed Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

Gilbert Cheruiyot Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...

* Souru Phatsoane *

Attia Amsaaed Attia may refer to: * Attia (gens), a plebeian family at Rome Given name *Attia Al Nashwy (born 1988), Egyptian footballer *Attia El-Sayed Aly (born 1954), Egyptian volleyball player * Attia Hamouda (1914–1992), Egyptian weightlifter *Attia H ...

Lionel Andrianantenaina __TOC__ Lionel may refer to: Name *Lionel (given name) Places *Lionel, Lewis, a village in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland *Lionel Town, Jamaica, a settlement Brands and enterprises *Lionel, LLC, an American designer and importer of toy trains and mo ...

Mustapha Akarkad Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mou ...

Lahcen Azgaou Lahcen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Mohamed Lahcen (born 1931), Moroccan middle-distance runner * Raouf Lahcen (born 1981), Algerian footballer See also * Lahcen (given name) {{Short pages monitor