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1996 African Cup of Nations

20th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations

1996 African Cup of Nations

20th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations

FieldValue
tourney_nameAfrican Cup of Nations
year1996
imageCAN 1996 logo.jpg
size150px
captionAfrican Cup of Nations 1996 official logo
countrySouth Africa
dates13 January – 3 February
num_teams15
venues4
cities4
championSouth Africa
count1
secondTunisia
second-flagvar1959
thirdZambia
third-flagvar1964
fourthGhana
matches29
goals78
attendance
top_scorerZAM Kalusha Bwalya
(5 goals)
playerZAM Kalusha Bwalya
prevseason[1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations)
nextseason[1998](1998-african-cup-of-nations)

| second-flagvar = 1959 | third-flagvar = 1964 (5 goals)

The 1996 African Cup of Nations, also known as the Coca-Cola 1996 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 20th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by South Africa, who replaced original hosts Kenya. The field expanded for the first time to 16 teams, split into four groups of four; the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarterfinals. However, Nigeria withdrew from the tournament at the final moment under pressure from then-dictator Sani Abacha, reducing the field to 15. South Africa won its first championship, beating Tunisia in the final 2–0. The tournament was covered in the 2026 documentary series “Class of ‘96: Rise of a Nation”.

Qualified teams

Participating nations

For full qualification see: 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification

TeamQualified asQualified onPrevious appearances in tournament
Hosts(debut)
Holders([1963](1963-african-cup-of-nations), [1976](1976-african-cup-of-nations), [1978](1978-african-cup-of-nations), ***[1980](1980-african-cup-of-nations)***, [1982](1982-african-cup-of-nations), [1984](1984-african-cup-of-nations), [1988](1988-african-cup-of-nations), [1990](1990-african-cup-of-nations), [1992](1992-african-cup-of-nations), **[1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations)**)
[Group 5](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-5) winners([1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 1](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-1) winners([1965](1965-african-cup-of-nations), **[1968](1968-african-cup-of-nations)**, [1970](1970-african-cup-of-nations), [1972](1972-african-cup-of-nations), **[1974](1974-african-cup-of-nations)**, [1976](1976-african-cup-of-nations), [1988](1988-african-cup-of-nations), [1992](1992-african-cup-of-nations), [1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 5](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-5) runners-up([1974](1974-african-cup-of-nations), [1978](1978-african-cup-of-nations), [1982](1982-african-cup-of-nations), [1986](1986-african-cup-of-nations), [1990](1990-african-cup-of-nations), [1992](1992-african-cup-of-nations), [1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 4](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-4) runners-up([1968](1968-african-cup-of-nations), [1980](1980-african-cup-of-nations), [1982](1982-african-cup-of-nations), [1984](1984-african-cup-of-nations), [1986](1986-african-cup-of-nations), [1988](1988-african-cup-of-nations), ***[1990](1990-african-cup-of-nations)***, [1992](1992-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 6](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-6) winners(debut)
[Group 7](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-7) winners([1978](1978-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 1](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-1) runners-up([1970](1970-african-cup-of-nations), *[1972](1972-african-cup-of-nations)*, [1982](1982-african-cup-of-nations), **[1984](1984-african-cup-of-nations)**, [1986](1986-african-cup-of-nations), **[1988](1988-african-cup-of-nations)**, [1990](1990-african-cup-of-nations), [1992](1992-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 4](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-4) winners(**[1957](1957-african-cup-of-nations)**, ***[1959](1959-african-cup-of-nations)***, [1962](1962-african-cup-of-nations), [1963](1963-african-cup-of-nations), [1970](1970-african-cup-of-nations), *[1974](1974-african-cup-of-nations)*, [1976](1976-african-cup-of-nations), [1980](1980-african-cup-of-nations), [1984](1984-african-cup-of-nations), ***[1986](1986-african-cup-of-nations)***,
[1988](1988-african-cup-of-nations), [1990](1990-african-cup-of-nations), [1992](1992-african-cup-of-nations), [1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 3](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-3) winners(***[1963](1963-african-cup-of-nations)***, **[1965](1965-african-cup-of-nations)**, [1968](1968-african-cup-of-nations), [1970](1970-african-cup-of-nations), ***[1978](1978-african-cup-of-nations)***, [1980](1980-african-cup-of-nations), **[1982](1982-african-cup-of-nations)**, [1984](1984-african-cup-of-nations), [1992](1992-african-cup-of-nations), [1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 7](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-7) runners-up([1965](1965-african-cup-of-nations), [1968](1968-african-cup-of-nations), [1970](1970-african-cup-of-nations), [1974](1974-african-cup-of-nations), [1980](1980-african-cup-of-nations), *[1984](1984-african-cup-of-nations)*, [1986](1986-african-cup-of-nations), [1988](1988-african-cup-of-nations), [1990](1990-african-cup-of-nations), **[1992](1992-african-cup-of-nations)**,
[1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 2](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-2) runners-up(debut)
[Group 6](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-6) runners-up([1986](1986-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 3](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-3) runners-up([1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations))
[Group 2](1996-african-cup-of-nations-qualification-group-2) winners([1962](1962-african-cup-of-nations), [1963](1963-african-cup-of-nations), *[1965](1965-african-cup-of-nations)*, [1978](1978-african-cup-of-nations), [1982](1982-african-cup-of-nations), *[1994](1994-african-cup-of-nations)*)

;Notes

Squads

Main article: 1996 African Cup of Nations squads

Venues

JohannesburgDurbanBloemfonteinPort Elizabeth
FNB StadiumKings Park Stadium
[[File:FIFA World Cup 2010 Argentina South Korea.jpg150px]][[File:King's Park Stadium, Durban.jpg150px]]
Capacity: **80,000**Capacity: **52,000**
Free State StadiumEPRU Stadium
[[File:Free State Stadium1.jpg150px]][[File:Boet Erasmus Stadium.jpg150px]]
Capacity: **40,000**Capacity: **33,852**

First round

Teams highlighted in green progress to the Quarter Finals.

Group A

Williams
Moshoeu

Tchami

Paulão
Quinzinho Mouyeme
Vicente

Group B

Kallon

K. Bwalya
Lota
J. Bwalya

Dziri

Malitoli

Group C

Sarr

Bekogo

Essende

withdrew, so their three matches were canceled.

  • vs. , 16 January 1996
  • vs. , 19 January 1996
  • vs. , 25 January 1996

Group D

Pelé

Akonnor

Ben Hassen

Aboagye

Knockout stage

| 27 January – Johannesburg | **** | 2 | | 1 | 28 January – Port Elizabeth | **** | 1 | | 0 | 27 January – Bloemfontein | **** | 3 | | 1 | 28 January – Durban | | 1 (1) | ** ** | 1 (4) | 31 January – Johannesburg | **** | 3 | | 0 | 31 January – Durban | | 2 | **** | 4 | 3 February – Johannesburg | **** | 2 | | 0 | 3 February – Johannesburg | | 0 | **** | 1

Quarterfinals

Moshoeu

Mutale
Lota

Ngoma
Bekogo Fekhi Ben Slimane El Ouaer

Semifinals

Bartlett

Makasa Baya
Ghodhbane

Third place match

Final

Main article: 1996 African Cup of Nations Final

Goalscorers

  • Kalusha Bwalya

  • John Moshoeu

  • Mark Williams

  • Abedi Pele

  • Ahmed El-Kass

  • Imed Ben Younes

  • Dennis Lota

  • Ali Meçabih

  • Quinzinho

  • François Omam-Biyik

  • Brice Mackaya

  • Tony Yeboah

  • Zoubeir Baya

  • Adel Sellimi

  • Johnson Bwalya

  • Kenneth Malitoli

  • Billel Dziri

  • Tarek Lazizi

  • Khaled Lounici

  • Joni

  • Paulão

  • Aboubakari Ouédraogo

  • Youssouf Traoré

  • Boureima Zongo

  • Georges Mouyémé

  • Alphonse Tchami

  • Joël Tiéhi

  • Moussa Traoré

  • Samir Ibrahim

  • Ali Maher

  • Aurélien Bekogo

  • Guy Nzeng

  • Felix Aboagye

  • Charles Akonnor

  • Kwame Ayew

  • Mass Sarr Jr.

  • Kelvin Sebwe

  • Tico-Tico

  • Mohamed Kallon

  • Gbassay Sessay

  • Shaun Bartlett

  • Mark Fish

  • Phil Masinga

  • Abdelkader Ben Hassen

  • Hédi Berkhissa

  • Kaies Ghodhbane

  • Liombi Essende

  • Roger Lukaku

  • Elijah Litana

  • Hillary Makasa

  • Vincent Mutale

  • Hélder Vicente (for Cameroon)

CAF Team of the Tournament

Goalkeeper

  • TUN Chokri El Ouaer

Defenders

  • Egypt Yasser Radwan
  • South Africa Mark Fish
  • ZAM Elijah Litana
  • Ghana Isaac Asare

Midfielders

  • TUN Zoubeir Baya
  • Egypt Hazem Emam
  • Ghana Abedi Pele
  • South Africa Mark Williams

Forwards

  • ZAM Kalusha Bwalya
  • Ghana Tony Yeboah

References

References

  1. (10 January 1996). "Nigerian players back boycott of finals".
  2. (3 February 2022). "'South Africa's Rugby World Cup win was big – but this was even bigger'". BBC Sport.
  3. (7 January 2026). "'Introducing Class Of 96: Rise Of A Nation'". e.tv.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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