2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt June 21 - July 19,2019

The 32nd edition of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is underway in Egypt.

Cameroon is the defending champion which defeated Egypt 2-1 in the 2017 AFCON held in Gabon where the tournament host Gabon and the then defending champion Ivory Coast were eleiminated in the Group Stage itself as they fail to win any of their 3 matches

In total 24 teams are participating in the tournament for the first time in history, making it the biggest yet, and the first to be played

Competing countries: 

• Group A: Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe

• Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi

• Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania

• Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia

• Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola

• Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau

Prize money

• Champions: $4.5m
• Runners-up: $2.5m
• Semi-finalists: $2.0m
• Quarter-finalists: $800,000
• Groups/third: $575,000
• Groups/fourth: $475,000

Total: $16.4 million

Favourite teams 

• Egypt: Seven-time winners, the Pharaohs could reclaim the trophy they last lifted in 2010. They have the advantage of being the host country plus the talent of African player of the year Mohamed Salah.
  
• Senegal: The team is one of the favourites to win because, like Egypt, they have the talent of a Liverpool attacker, Sadio Mane, who could lead the team to victory. They have never won the tournament before.
  
• Nigeria: The Super Eagles are also a favourite to win - it would be their fifth Africa Cup of Nations victory if they take the title.
  
• Other teams that are expected to perform well and could potentially take the trophy home are Morocco, Algeria and Ghana. 
  

Mascot

AFCON is the main international association football competition in Africa. It was first held in 1957 and since 1968 has been held every two years.