THE 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations returns this month as 24 teams look to battle it out for the prestigious trophy.
Defending champions Senegal are looking to complete back-to-back wins at next year's tournament.
Ivory Coast will host the AFCON for the second time, previously hosting in 1984.
The competition was meant to be played in 2023, but due to weather concerns the president of CAF, Patrice Motsepe, postponed it to 2024.
Some of football's biggest stars are competing such as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez and many more.
Mirror Football's Premier League team of 2022 as champions dominate
The final is on February 11th and is due to be played in the Stade National de la Cote d'Ivoire stadium.
When is the Africa Cup of Nations?
- The tournament takes place in January 2024 through to the following month, February. The hosts are Ivory Coast.
- The final will be on Sunday, February 11.
- Clashing with the Premier League and other European / Continental competitions will mean clubs will lose some of their top players.
What channel is AFCON 2023 and can it be live streamed?
- Every game at the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 will be live on Sky Sports in the UK.
- You can live stream the action on the Sky Go and NOW TV apps, both of which are available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
- The tournament takes place from January 13 - February 11.
Who is playing in the Africa Cup of Nations?
- Ivory Coast, Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Mali, Tunisia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt and Equatorial Guinea have already qualified for the competition.
- Several other teams still have to qualify, to name a few there is DR Congo, Mauritania, Cameroon, Namibia, Ghana, Angola, Tanzania, Gambia, Mozambique and more.
What is the format of the Africa Cup of Nations?
- The 24 qualified teams were drawn into six groups of 4 teams in a single round-robin.
- The two top teams of each group and the four best third-placed teams advance to the round of 16.
- The winners of the round of 16 matches will advance to the quarter-finals. Winners of the quarter-finals advance to the semi-finals. The losers of the semi-finals play in a third-place play-off match. Then the winners of the semi-finals play in the final game of the tournament to decide who will win the trophy.