January 6, 2015
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, is scheduled to be the 30th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the international football championship of Africa. It is organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and held from 17 January to 8 February 2015.
The tournament was initially scheduled to be hosted by Morocco, who previously hosted it in 1988, but Morocco refused to host the tournament at the scheduled dates because of the Ebola Virus Epidemic in West Africa The host country was later changed to Equatorial Guinea.
CAF received 3 bids before 30 September 2010, the deadline, to host either the 2015 or 2017 Africa Cup of Nations from DR Congo, Morocco and South Africa. All three bids were originally put on a short list. However, Morocco was considered to be the most favorite to host the competition because of its highly developed infrastructure and advanced stadiums.[citation needed] CAF then began an inspection procedure, on November and December 2010, intending to visit each bidding country to view stadiums, infrastructure, and football interest. They inspected the DR Congo first. Shortly after the inspection, DR Congo informed CAF that they would be withdrawing their bids for both the 2015 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. Morocco was the next country to be inspected. South Africa was inspected last.
On 29 January, during the 2011 CAF Super Cup, the CAF Board decided that Morocco would host the 2015 African Cup of Nations. The four Morocco host cities which were scheduled to host the tournament were Rabat, Marrakesh, Agadir and Tangier, as announced by the CAF Executive Committee on 23 September 2013.Casablanca would serve as an alternative venue.
Moroccan withdrawal
In October 2014, the government of Morocco requested a postponement of the tournament due to the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. After the matter was discussed at the Executive Committee meeting on 2 November 2014, CAF decided to keep the date of the tournament, while also asking for a clarification from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation of whether they still wish to host the tournament. On 8 November, Morocco failed to meet this deadline to confirm it would host the tournament. Three days later CAF confirmed that Morocco would not host the tournament and a new host would be chosen from a list of countries which have expressed interest. Morocco, who had previously qualified as hosts, were disqualified from participation at the tournament. CAF confirmed legal action against Morocco due to a contract signed in April 2014. Moroccan Sports Minister Mohamed Ouzzine said that CAF had falsely accused his country of “refusing” to host the tournament when it wanted it postponed, and justified the decision by citing that the World Health Organization gives every country the right to protect its citizens.
Egypt, Ghana, South Africa and Sudan all declined to take over as hosts. Angola, the hosts of the 2010 edition, were spoken of as a potential replacement due to existing stadia and infrastructure in the country. However, a member of the Angolan Football Federation stated that it could not be possible as the new government budget did not include any tournaments.
On 14 November 2014, CAF announced that Equatorial Guinea would host the tournament.
Qualification
Qualification for the tournament were made up of four stages, three preliminary rounds and a final group stage. The 21 best-ranked teams were given a bye to the group stage, while the next 26 teams began play in the second preliminary round, and four lowest ranked teams started at the first round. The three preliminary rounds were a series of playoffs, with the winners advancing.
51 teams entered the tournament (excluding initial hosts Morocco). It was the competitive debut of South Sudan. Teams of Djibouti and Somalia declined to enter.
Morocco would have automatically qualified as hosts; however, after their refusal to host, they were expelled from the tournament by the CAF. Equatorial Guinea was chosen as the new host, and despite having played in the qualifiers and been disqualified due to fielding an ineligible player, they now qualify for the tournament automatically.
The defending champions Nigeria failed to qualify for the tournament.
Qualified teams
| Team | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
FIFA ranking at start of event |
| Equatorial Guinea | Hosts | 14 November 2014 | 2nd | 2012 | Quarter-finals (2012) | |
| Cape Verde | Group F winners | 15 October 2014 | 2nd | 2013 | Quarter-finals (2013) | |
| Algeria | Group B winners | 15 October 2014 | 16th | 2013 | Winners (1990) | |
| Tunisia | Group G winners | 14 November 2014 | 17th | 2013 | Winners (2004) | |
| South Africa | Group A winners | 15 November 2014 | 9th | 2013 | Winners (1996) | |
| Zambia | Group F runners-up | 15 November 2014 | 17th | 2013 | Winners (2012) | |
| Cameroon | Group D winners | 15 November 2014 | 17th | 2010 | Winners (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002) | |
| Gabon | Group C winners | 15 November 2014 | 6th | 2012 | Quarter-finals (1996, 2012) | |
| Burkina Faso | Group C runners-up | 15 November 2014 | 10th | 2013 | Runners-up (2013) | |
| Senegal | Group G runners-up | 15 November 2014 | 13th | 2012 | Runners-up (2002) | |
| Ivory Coast | Group D runners-up | 19 November 2014 | 21st | 2013 | Winners (1992) | |
| Ghana | Group E winners | 19 November 2014 | 20th | 2013 | Winners (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982) | |
| Guinea | Group E runners-up | 19 November 2014 | 11th | 2012 | Runners-up (1976) | |
| Mali | Group B runners-up | 19 November 2014 | 9th | 2013 | Runners-up (1972) | |
| Congo | Group A runners-up | 19 November 2014 | 7th | 2000 | Winners (1972) | |
| DR Congo | Best third placed team | 19 November 2014 | 17th | 2013 | Winners (1968, 1974) |
Format
Only the hosts will get an automatic qualification spot, the other 15 teams will qualify through qualification tournament. At the finals, the 16 teams will be drawn into four groups of four teams each. The teams in each group play a single round robin. After group stage, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals. The semifinal losers will play in third place match, while winners will play in final.
Draw
The finals draw was held on 3 December 2014 in Malabo. It was initially to be held on 26 November 2014 in Rabat before the change of host country.[1][30]
The 16 teams were divided into four pots based on the CAF Ranking, with the hosts Equatorial Guinea placed in Pot 1 automatically.[31] The ranking is computed using the teams’ results in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers (weighted by 2), 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 3) and qualifiers, the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals (weighted by 2) and qualifiers (weighted by 0.5), and the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| Equatorial Guinea (host; assigned to A1) Ghana (48 pts) Ivory Coast (44 pts) Zambia (41 pts) |
Burkina Faso (40 pts) Mali (38 pts) Tunisia (32.5 pts) Algeria (28 pts) |
Cape Verde (26.5 pts) South Africa (23.5 pts) Cameroon (23.5 pts) Gabon (22 pts) |
Guinea (19 pts) Senegal (19 pts) DR Congo (18 pts) Congo (13 pts) |
Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Referees
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Assistant referees
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Squads
Each team can register a squad of 23 players.
Group stage
The group winners and runners-up advance to the quarter-finals.
Tiebreakers
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[28]
- Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference in games between the teams concerned;
- Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
- If, after applying criteria 1 to 3 to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 7 apply;
- Goal difference in all games;
- Goals scored in all games;
- Drawing of lots
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Equatorial Guinea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Burkina Faso | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Gabon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Congo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played on 17 January 2015. Source: CAF
| 17 January 2015 | |||
| Equatorial Guinea | Match 1 | Congo | Estadio de Bata, Bata |
| Burkina Faso | Match 2 | Gabon | Estadio de Bata, Bata |
| 21 January 2015 | |||
| Equatorial Guinea | Match 9 | Burkina Faso | Estadio de Bata, Bata |
| Gabon | Match 10 | Congo | Estadio de Bata, Bata |
| 25 January 2015 | |||
| Gabon | Match 17 | Equatorial Guinea | Estadio de Bata, Bata |
| Congo | Match 18 | Burkina Faso | Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Zambia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Tunisia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Cape Verde | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | DR Congo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played on 18 January 2015. Source: CAF
| 18 January 2015 | |||
| Zambia | Match 3 | DR Congo | Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín |
| Tunisia | Match 4 | Cape Verde | Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín |
| 22 January 2015 | |||
| Zambia | Match 11 | Tunisia | Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín |
| Cape Verde | Match 12 | DR Congo | Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín |
| 26 January 2015 | |||
| Cape Verde | Match 19 | Zambia | Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín |
| DR Congo | Match 20 | Tunisia | Estadio de Bata, Bata |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ghana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Algeria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | South Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Senegal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played on 19 January 2015. Source: CAF
| 19 January 2015 | |||
| Ghana | Match 5 | Senegal | Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo |
| Algeria | Match 6 | South Africa | Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo |
| 23 January 2015 | |||
| Ghana | Match 13 | Algeria | Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo |
| South Africa | Match 14 | Senegal | Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo |
| 27 January 2015 | |||
| South Africa | Match 21 | Ghana | Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo |
| Senegal | Match 22 | Algeria | Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ivory Coast | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Mali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Cameroon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Guinea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played on 20 January 2015. Source: CAF
| 20 January 2015 | |||
| Ivory Coast | Match 7 | Guinea | Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo |
| Mali | Match 8 | Cameroon | Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo |
| 24 January 2015 | |||
| Ivory Coast | Match 15 | Mali | Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo |
| Cameroon | Match 16 | Guinea | Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo |
| 28 January 2015 | |||
| Cameroon | Match 23 | Ivory Coast | Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo |
| Guinea | Match 24 | Mali | Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo |
Knockout stage
| In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time shall be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by kicks from the penalty mark to determine the winner, except for the play-off for third place where no extra time shall be played. |
All times local (UTC+01:00).
Quarter-finals
| 31 January 2015 17:00 |
| Winner Group A | Match 25 | Runner-up Group B |
| Estadio de Bata, Bata Referee: () |
| 31 January 2015 20:00 |
| Winner Group B | Match 26 | Runner-up Group A |
| Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín, Ebebiyín Referee: () |
| 1 February 2015 17:00 |
| Winner Group C | Match 27 | Runner-up Group D |
| Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo Referee: () |
| 1 February 2015 20:00 |
| Winner Group D | Match 28 | Runner-up Group C |
| Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo Referee: () |
Semi-finals
| 4 February 2015 20:00 |
| Winner Match 25 | Match 29 | Winner Match 28 |
| Estadio de Bata, Bata Referee: () |
| 5 February 2015 20:00 |
| Winner Match 27 | Match 30 | Winner Match 26 |
| Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo Referee: () |
Third place play-off
| 7 February 2015 17:00 |
| Loser Match 29 | Match 31 | Loser Match 30 |
| Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo Referee: () |
Final
Main article: 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Final
| 8 February 2015 20:00 |
| Winner Match 29 | Match 32 | Winner Match 30 |
| Estadio de Bata, Bata Referee: () |
Media
Broadcasting
| Territory | Channel | Ref |
| Australia | beIN Sports | |
| Europe | Eurosport | |
| South Africa | SABC | |
| Arab world | beIN Sports | |
| Senegal | RTS | |
| Mali | ORTM | |
| France | Canal+ Group | |
| Ghana | GTV | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | SuperSport | |
| United Kingdom | British Eurosport | |
| United States | beIN Sports | |
| Japan | NHK | |
| Colombia | Senal Colombia, Win Sports | |
| New Zealand | SKY Sports | |
| Brazil | SporTV | |
| Asia | Fox International Channels | |
| India | Sony SIX |
Match Ball
The new Adidas Africa Cup Ball is called Adidas Marhaba (that means Welcome) – The Africa Cup 2015 Ball was unveiled today following the controversy about the host situation for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
