It is 23 days to the kick-off of the first-ever
co-hosted edition of the African Nations Championship to be held in Kenya,
Uganda and Tanzania.
The field, currently 19 teams is expected to be
enlarged to 24 as CAF is working on possible ‘wild card’ entries following the
withdrawal of some qualified teams.
Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and DR Congo are the notable
withdrawals. With the clock ticking down to the eighth edition and ahead of the
draw ceremony holding next Wednesday in Kenya, a peep into the previous edition
is presented.
Only Morocco and the now absentee DR Congo have
won the championship more than once.
2009 Champions: DR Congo
The Leopards were the first nation to lift the
TotalEnergies CAF CHAN title after overcoming the Black Stars in the final of
the inaugural edition played in Cote d’Ivoire.
Interestingly, the two sides had initially met in the
group stages of the competition where Ghana outclassed DR Congo 3-0 to finish
top of the group ahead of the Leopards.
DR Congo regrouped themselves ahead of their
semi-final fixture against Zambia whom they narrowly edged 2-1 ahead of their
2-0 avenging win over the Black Stars in the final.
Zambia finished as bronze medallists after a 2-1 win
over Senegal.
2011 Champions: Tunisia
The second edition of the competition was played in
Sudan where Tunisia were crowned champions following their 3-0 commanding
victory over Angola in the final.
The Carthage Eagles finished top of a Group D that
included Angola whom they would later meet in the final.
The 2011 champions proceeded to claim a 2-0 win over
South Africa in the quarter-finals before their nail-biting 5-3 penalty win
over Algeria following a 1-1 stalemate in the semi-finals.
The final saw Tunisia outwitting the Sable Antelopes
3-0 to claim the title, while the hosts Sudan finished third.
2014 champions: Libya
The tournament was won by a north African nation
in succession, as Libya lifted the title on South African soil in 2014.
The Libyans laboured to the finish line, showing heart
and determination.
After progressing to the knockout stages, they edged
Gabon 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 quarter-final stalemate ahead of another
penalty shootout victory in the semi-finals against Zimbabwe where they emerged
5-4 victors.
Libya’s lifting of the title came as a result of
another penalty shootout victory after a closely contested goalless stalemate
against Ghana saw them emerge 4-3 winners.
2016 Champions: DR Congo
Following their lifting of the inaugural title, the
Leopards reclaimed their crown in Rwanda.
Drawn in a tough Group B consisting of Cameroon,
Angola and Ethiopia – the Leopards finished second behind the Indomitable Lions
to set up a quarter-final clash with the hosts, whom they edged 2-1 in
extra-time.
A 5-4 victory over Guinea in the semi-finals saw the
Leopards proceed to the final where they would outclass Mali with a 3-0 victory
to reclaim their title.
The third-place finish was secured by Cote d’Ivoire.
2018 Champions: Morocco
Morocco were the first, and remain the only, nation to
win the competition as hosts after staging the 2018 edition.
Headlining a Group A consisting of former hosts Sudan,
Guinea and Mauritania, the north Africans finished top of the group with two
wins and a draw.
They went on to edge Namibia 2-0 in the quarter-finals
before a north African derby between them and former champions Libya saw the
hosts win 3-1 after extra-time.
The final was smooth sailing for the hosts where they
dismantled Nigeria 4-0 to lift the title on home soil.
2020 Champions: Morocco
The Moroccans also became the first nation to win
back-to-back TotalEnergies CAF CHAN titles.
Heading to the Cameroon edition as reigning champions,
Morocco continued from where they left off as they again finished top of their
group that consisted of Rwanda, Togo and Uganda.
The knockout stages saw them brush aside Chipolopolo
3-1 in the quarter-finals before knocking out the hosts 4-0 in the semi-finals
to go on and defend their title with a 2-0 win in the final against Mali.
2022 Champions: Senegal
Algeria played host to the 2022 edition where the
title was lifted by a West African nation for the very first time.
Reigning champions, Senegal were flawless enroute to
the final where they edged the hosts in a nail-biting final.
The Lions of Teranga finished top of a tough Group B
consisting of Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda and former champions DR Congo.
They then continued to edge a plucky Mauritania 1-0 in
the quarter-final before narrowly edging Madagascar by the same scoreline in
the semi-finals.
The final, played at a sold-out Nelson Mandela Stadium
in Algiers against the hosts concluded with the West Africans lifting the
title, after a 5-4 penalty shootout.
-CAF
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