The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the
Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the
Africa Cup of Nations, the
football championship of Africa organized by the
Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The competition took place between 21 January and 12 February 2012 and was co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The bidding process for hosting the tournament ended in September 2006.
The matches were played in
four stadiums in four host cities, with the final played at the newly built
Stade d'Angondjé
The Stade de l’Amitié sino-gabonaise is a stadium in Angondjé, a suburb of Libreville in Gabon. It is referred to as Stade de l'Amitié. The stadium build was expected to take 20 months and was funded by the Gabonese and Chinese governments.
...
in Gabon's largest city,
Libreville. Fourteen teams were selected for participation via a
continental qualification tournament that began in July 2010.
The 2012 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations took place against the backdrop of political turmoil.
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
and
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
qualified for the tournament, even as the
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...
brought upheaval and
regime change to both nations. Traditional African footballing nations such as reigning champions Egypt (also affected by
political events
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
), as well as Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa had failed to qualify. Players from third-placed Mali had pleaded for the
insurgency in the north of their country to end.
In the
first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in
round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These eight teams advanced to the
knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. Both host nations,
Equatorial Guinea and
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
, were eliminated from the competition at the quarter final stage.
In the final, unfancied
Zambia defeated third-time finalists
Ivory Coast after a dramatic
penalty shootout, despite the fact that Ivory Coast did not concede a single goal during the entire tournament, giving Zambia their first continental title. Manager
Hervé Renard
Hervé Jean-Marie Roger Renard (born 30 September 1968) is a French professional Association football, football coach and former player who is the manager of the Saudi Arabia national football team, Saudi Arabia national team.
Renard has previo ...
dedicated their win to the members of the national team who died
in a plane crash near the final's venue in Libreville in 1993.
Host selection
Bids :
*Angola
*Gabon / Equatorial Guinea
*Libya
*Nigeria
Rejected Bids :
*Benin / Central African Republic
*Botswana
*Mozambique
*Namibia
*Senegal
*Zimbabwe
On 4 September 2006, the
Confederation of African Football (CAF) approved a compromise between rival countries to host the Africa Cup of Nations after it ruled out Nigeria. CAF agreed to award the next three editions from 2010 to Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Libya respectively. They assigned Angola in 2010, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, which submitted a joint bid in 2012, and Libya for 2014.
This edition was awarded to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea to rotate the hosting of the cup and give hosting chance for first-timer nations.
Two-time former host Nigeria was the reserve host for the
2010, 2012 and 2014 tournaments, in the event that any of the host countries failed to meet the requirements established by CAF, although this ended up being unnecessary
The 2014 tournament was pushed forward to
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
and subsequently held in odd-numbered years to avoid clashing with the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
.
Qualification
The qualification process involved ten groups of four, one of which was reduced to a group of three after the withdrawal of
Mauritania, and one group of five. The top team from each group goes through, as well as the second placed team from the group of five. The two best second place teams also qualify. At the end of the qualification process, fourteen teams would have qualified, as well as the two host nations. The first qualifiers were held on 1 July 2010.
Qualified teams
:
Controversies
Togo
Togo were initially banned from the 2012 and
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
Africa Cup of Nations tournaments by
CAF after they withdrew from the
2010 tournament following an
attack on their team bus. Togo appealed to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its ...
, with
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
president
Sepp Blatter stepping in to mediate. The ban was subsequently lifted with immediate effect on 14 May 2010, after a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee.
Togo were therefore free to play in the 2012 and
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
qualifiers.
Nigeria
On 30 June 2010, after
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
's exit from the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, Nigerian President
Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...
punished the team for a poor campaign by imposing a two-year ban from international competition. This would have resulted in the Nigerians missing out on both the 2012 qualifying phase and the 2012 African Cup of Nations. However, on 5 July, the Nigerian government dropped the ban after FIFA threatened to impose harsher international sanctions as a result of the government interference. Nigeria competed in qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations as scheduled but failed to qualify.
Venues
The opening match, one semi-final and the third place match were held in Equatorial Guinea, while the other semi-final and the final were held in Gabon.
Draw
The draw for the final tournament took place on 29 October 2011 at the Sipopo Conference Palace in
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The draw ceremony was attended by the two presidents from the host countries, President
Ali Bongo of Gabon and President
Teodoro Obiang Nguema
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (; born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician and former military officer who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since August 1979. He is the longest-serving president of any country ev ...
of Equatorial Guinea. The draw saw the 16 qualified teams being pitted into four groups of four teams each. The two top teams from each group will qualify for the quarter finals with the winners progressing to the semi finals and final eventually.
The two hosts were automatically seeded into pot 1. The other 14 qualified teams were ranked based on their performances during the previous three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. For each of the last three African Cup of Nations final tournaments, the following system of points is adopted for the qualified countries:
Moreover, a weighted coefficient on points was given to each of the last three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations as follows:
*
2010 edition: points to be multiplied by 3
*
2008 edition: points to be multiplied by 2
*
2006 edition: points to be multiplied by 1
The teams were then divided into four pots based on the ranking. Each group contained one team from each pot.
Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Squads
Each team's squad for the tournament consisted of 23 players; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament. Each participating national association had to submit their squad by 11 January 2012 (midnight
CET). Replacement of seriously injured players was permitted until 24 hours before the team in question's first match of the tournament.
Group stage
Groups A and B took place in Equatorial Guinea, while Groups C and D were held in Gabon. Notably, there was not a single goalless draw during the group stage.
Tie-breaking criteria
If two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria:
# points earned in the matches between the teams concerned;
# goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned;
# number of goals scored in the matches between the teams concerned;
# goal difference in all group matches;
# number of goals scored in all group matches;
# fair play points system taking into account the number of yellow and red cards;
# drawing of lots by the organising committee.
''All times are
West Africa Time
West Africa Time, or WAT, is a time zone used in west-central Africa. West Africa Time is one hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC+01:00), which aligns it with Central European Time (CET) during winter, and Western European Summer T ...
(
UTC+1).''
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout stage
Quarterfinals
----
----
----
Semifinals
----
Third place match
Final
Awards
* Player of the tournament:
Christopher Katongo
Christopher Katongo (born 31 August 1982) is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he amassed over 100 caps between 2003 and 2016 for the Zambia national team. He is an Africa Cup of Nations ...
* Top goalscorer of the competition:
Emmanuel Mayuka
* Fair Player of the competition:
Jean-Jacques Gosso
* Fair Play award:
Team of the tournament
;Goalkeeper
*
Kennedy Mweene
;Defenders
*
Jean-Jacques Gosso
*
Stophira Sunzu
*
John Mensah
*
Adama Tamboura
Adama Tamboura (born 18 May 1985) is a Malian former professional footballer who played as a left back.
Club career
Born in Bamako, Mali, Tamboura began his career for Djoliba AC and on 22 August 2006, Tamboura signed a loan deal ending on 30 N ...
;Midfielders
*
Emmanuel Mayuka
*
Yaya Touré
Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is an academy coach for Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
Touré aspired to be a striker during his ...
*
Gervinho
*
Seydou Keita
Seydou Keïta (; anglicised to Keita; born 16 January 1980) is a Malian former footballer. A versatile midfielder, he operated as both a central or defensive midfielder.
Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four), ...
;Forwards
*
Christopher Katongo
Christopher Katongo (born 31 August 1982) is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he amassed over 100 caps between 2003 and 2016 for the Zambia national team. He is an Africa Cup of Nations ...
*
Didier Drogba
;Substitutes
*
Boubacar Barry
Boubacar "Copa" Barry (born 30 December 1979) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Having begun his career at ASEC Mimosas, he moved to France in 2001, where he played for Rennes' reserve team. In 2003, he j ...
*
Rui
*
Youssef Msakni
*
Manucho
*
Éric Mouloungui
Éric Mouloungui (born 1 April 1984) is a Gabonese former professional footballer who played as a winger. He spent most of his career in France while representing the Gabon national team at international level.
Club career
Mouloungui was bor ...
*
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
*
Sadio Diallo
*
Cheick Diabaté
*
Houssine Kharja
Houssine Kharja ( ar, حسين خرجة; born 9 November 1982) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
Born in France, he spent most of his career in Italy after starting out his senior career at Spor ...
*
Mudather El Tahir
*
Rainford Kalaba
*
Kwadwo Asamoah
Scorers
;3 goals
*
Manucho
*
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
*
Didier Drogba
*
Cheick Diabaté
*
Houssine Kharja
Houssine Kharja ( ar, حسين خرجة; born 9 November 1982) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
Born in France, he spent most of his career in Italy after starting out his senior career at Spor ...
*
Christopher Katongo
Christopher Katongo (born 31 August 1982) is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he amassed over 100 caps between 2003 and 2016 for the Zambia national team. He is an Africa Cup of Nations ...
*
Emmanuel Mayuka
;2 goals
*
André Ayew
*
John Mensah
*
Abdoul Camara
*
Sadio Diallo
*
Ihaab Boussefi
*
Ahmed Saad Osman
Ahmed Saad Suleiman Osman (Arabic أحمد سعد عثمان; born 7 August 1979) is a retired Libyan professional football attacker who last played for Club Africain in the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1. He also played for the Libya nationa ...
*
Mohamed Ahmed Bashir
Mohamed Ahmed Bashir, also known as Muhamed Besha, (born 22 July 1983) is a Sudanese association football, footballer who plays for the Sudanese club Al-hilal Omdurman. He plays as a striker and also a winger. He is a member of the Sudan national f ...
*
Mudather El Tahir
*
Youssef Msakni
;1 goal
*
Mateus
*
Mogakolodi Ngele
*
Dipsy Selolwane
Diphetogo "Dipsy" Selolwane (born 27 January 1978) is a Botswana former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has also played as a striker in Major League Soccer.
Club career
Selolwane first played for Gaborone United in th ...
*
Issiaka Ouédraogo
*
Alain Traoré
Sibiri Alain Traoré (born 31 December 1988) is a Burkinabé footballer who plays as a striker for Arta/Solar7, and the Burkina Faso national team. He started his career with local side Planète Champion, before moving to France as a 17-year- ...
*
Javier Balboa
Javier Ángel Balboa Osa (born 13 May 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a winger, most notably for Real Madrid and Benfica.
After emerging at Real Madrid's youth system, he could never establish himself in its first tea ...
*
Kily
*
Randy
Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...
*
Daniel Cousin
*
Bruno Zita Mbanangoyé
*
Éric Mouloungui
Éric Mouloungui (born 1 April 1984) is a Gabonese former professional footballer who played as a winger. He spent most of his career in France while representing the Gabon national team at international level.
Club career
Mouloungui was bor ...
*
Stéphane N'Guéma
*
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu
*
Asamoah Gyan
*
Mamadou Bah
Mamadou Diouldé Bah (born 25 April 1988) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for US Raon-l'Étape. He represented the Guinea national team from 2008 to 2012.
Club career
Born in Conakry, Bah began his career at ...
*
Naby Soumah
*
Ibrahima Traoré
*
Wilfried Bony
*
Emmanuel Eboué
*
Gervinho
*
Salomon Kalou
*
Yaya Touré
Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is an academy coach for Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
Touré aspired to be a striker during his ...
*
Garra Dembélé
Garra Dembélé (born 21 February 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in France, he represented Mali at international level.
Club career Early career
Born in Gennevilliers, Dembélé began his career in INF ...
*
Seydou Keita
Seydou Keïta (; anglicised to Keita; born 16 January 1980) is a Malian former footballer. A versatile midfielder, he operated as both a central or defensive midfielder.
Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four), ...
*
Bakaye Traoré
*
Younès Belhanda
Younès Belhanda (; born 25 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Turkish Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor and the Morocco national team.
Born in France, he initially represented his native country ...
*
William N'Gounou
*
Deme N'Diaye
*
Dame N'Doye
*
Moussa Sow
*
Issam Jemâa
*
Saber Khelifa
*
Khaled Korbi
*
James Chamanga
James Chamanga (born 2 February 1980) is a Zambian professional football who plays as a striker for Red Arrows.
Club career
Chamanga's goal against Bafana Bafana earned him his first move abroad as the then South African Premier Soccer League ...
*
Rainford Kalaba
*
Stophira Sunzu
;Own goal
*
Bakary Koné
Bakary Koné (, born 27 April 1988) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
Club career
Early career
Koné played on youth side for CFTPK Abidjan and joined in 2004 to Etoile Filante where he began his pro ...
(playing against Ivory Coast)
Team statistics
, -
, colspan=14 , Eliminated in the quarterfinals
, -
, -
, colspan=14 , Eliminated in the group stage
, -
By sub-region
Mascot
The mascot for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations was unveiled on 16 September 2011 at a ceremony in
Libreville, Gabon. The mascot, named
Gaguie, is a gorilla sporting the national team colors of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Match ball
The official match
ball for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, manufactured by
Adidas, was the ''
Comoequa''. The name was inspired by the
Komo River, which runs through the host nations, and the
Equator
The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also ...
, which runs throughout Africa and unites the host nations.
Marketing
Sponsorship
Notes
References
External links
Africa Cup of Nationsat CAFonline.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:2012 African Cup Of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations tournaments
International association football competitions hosted by Gabon
International association football competitions hosted by Equatorial Guinea
Nations
Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations