26th Africa Cup of Nations

The 26th Africa Cup of Nations is being held in Ghana from January 20 - February 10 (2008). This is Africa's biggest sporting event (think Superbowl with a lot more fans) and it's held every 2 years. Sixteen national teams have made it through the preliminary stages. If you're traveling in Africa during the Cup, you'll know when the matches are being played because countries literally come to a standstill to watch or listen to the games.

Find out what teams are playing, fixtures, schedules, results and more fun facts about Africa's passion -- football.

Who's In The Africa Cup of Nations (2008)?

Sixteen teams play in four groups. The first ten days of the tournament (Jan 20 - Jan 31) sees every team in each group play one another. The two top teams from each group go on to the quarter finals. Check back here regularly to see results.

Every African National Team has a nickname which I've added here. It's one of my favorite features of African Football.

Group A
Ghana -- The Black Stars
Morocco -- The Atlas Lions
Guinea -- Syli Nationale (the National Elephants)
Namibia -- The Brave Warriors

Group B
Nigeria -- The Super Eagles
Ivory Coast --The Elephants
Mali -- Les Aigles (The Eagles)
Benin -- Les Ecureuils (The Squirrels)

Group C
Egypt -- The Pharaohs
Cameroon -- The Indomitable Lions
Zambia -- Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets)
Sudan -- Sokoor Al-Jediane (Desert Hawks)

Group D
Tunisia -- Les Aigles de Carthage (The Eagles of Carthage)
Senegal -- Les Lions de la Teranga (Lions of Teranga)
South Africa -- Bafana Bafana (young boys)
Angola -- Palancas Negras (black antelope)

The Schedule (Fixtures) and Results

Group A
1/20 Ghana (2) V Guinea (1) (Accra)
1/21 Namibia (1) V Morocco (5) (Accra)
1/24 Guinea (3) V Morocco (2) (Accra)
1/24 Ghana (1) V Namibia (0) (Accra)
1/28 Ghana (2) V Morocco (0) (Accra)
1/28 Guinea (1) V Namibia (1) (Sekondi)

Ghana and Guinea make it through to the Quarter Finals

Group B
1/21 Nigeria (0) V Ivory Coast (1) (Sekondi)
1/21 Mali (1) V Benin (0) (Sekondi)
1/25 Ivory Coast (4) V Benin (1) (Sekondi)
1/25 Nigeria (0) V Mali (0) (Sekondi)
1/29 Nigeria (2) V Benin (0) (Sekondi)
1/29 Ivory Coast (3) V Mali (0) (Accra)

Ivory Coast and Nigeria make it through to the Quarter Finals

Group C
1/22 Egypt (4) V Cameroon (2) (Kumasi)
1/22 Sudan (0) V Zambia (3) (Kumasi)
1/26 Cameroon (5) V Zambia (1) (Kumasi)
1/26 Egypt (3) V Sudan (0) (Kumasi)
1/30 Egypt (1) V Zambia (1) (Kumasi)
1/30 Cameroon (3) V Sudan (0) (Tamale)

Egypt and Cameroon make it through to the Quarter Finals

Group D
1/23 Tunisia (2) V Senegal (2) (Tamale)
1/23 South Africa (1) V Angola (1) (Tamale)
1/27 Senegal (1) V Angola (3) (Tamale)
1/27 Tunisia (3) V South Africa (1) (Tamale)
1/31 Tunisia (0) V Angola (0) (Tamale)
1/31 Senegal (1) V South Africa (1) (Kumasi)

Tunisia and Angola make it through to the Quarter Finals

Quarter Finals - February 3-4 (2008)

2/3 Ghana (2) V Nigeria (1)
2/3 Ivory Coast (5) V Guinea (0)

Ghana and Ivory Coast make it through to the Semi-Finals

2/4 Egypt (2) V Angola (1)
2/4 Tunisia (2) V Cameroon (3)

Egypt and Cameroon make it through to the Semi-Finals

Semi Finals - February 7 (2008)

2/7 Ghana (0) V Cameroon (1)
2/7 Ivory Coast (1) V Egypt (4)

Egypt and Cameroon make it through to Finals

Finals - February 10 (2008)

2/10 Egypt (1) V Cameroon (0)

Teams to Watch

Egypt won the cup in 2006 and they are still considered a threat but the real talent this year comes from West Africa. FIFA's top African teams in the Africa Cup of Nations rank as follows -- Nigeria (top), Cameroon, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal.

Players to Watch

Mali (The Eagles) has two of Africa's top players on its national team, and they should be fun to watch -- Frederic Kanoute and Mahamadou Diarra. Didier Drogba is one of the best players the game has ever seen and he'll be wearing his national shirt for The Elephants (Côte d’Ivoire). Michael Essien is a superstar for Chelsea and he'll hopefully make the home team proud, as will Asamoah Gyan (both will play for Ghana. Samuel Eto'o is a fantastic player but has been injured a lot this past year, he should be fit for the Cup though and he'll be leading the The Indomitable Lions (Cameroon).

As with most of Africa's best soccer players, these guys all play for European based teams. It's a struggle for them to get the time off and play for their home country. So far, it looks like they will all make it. But the lack of practice with their country team mates' means they don't always perform as well as they're expected to.

How Can I Watch the Matches?

If you're in Europe you should be able to see most of the matches on a major TV network; the BBC has complete coverage of all the matches.

In the US and Canada there are some TV channels that offer coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations. 3A Telesud, TV5 and Jump.TV. Check out the details of the programming on Live SoccerTV. They also have a good forum which should answer your questions if you're having difficulty finding coverage.

For live streaming coverage of the Cup on your personal computer check out oleolefootball.com. It's easier than installing a new satellite dish, and much cheaper too.

Planning to go to Ghana?

If you've planned your trip to Ghana already, make sure you are fully reserved at your hotels because they'll be filled to capacity. While the main action will center on the stadium in Accra, the first few rounds of matches will be played at several venues throughout the country (Sekundi, Tamale and Kumasi). So don't think you can escape soccer mania by heading out of the capital!

If you had planned to travel to Ghana during the Africa Cup of Nations, and you have not yet booked accommodation or flights -- try to postpone your trip until after the event (February 10 (2008)).

More information about Planning a Trip to Ghana ...

Sources and more Information about the ACN

• Importance of Football (soccer) in Africa
• ThinkGhana.com - Excellent coverage of Ghana 2008
• BBC Coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations
• Ghana CAN 2008 -- Official tournament website
• History of the African Nations Cup