The Africa Cup of Nations 2023 is actually being held in early 2024, but it's as eagerly anticipated as ever with the top footballing nations from the continent all heading to the Ivory Coast.
The host nation will hope to compete with AFCON heavyweights such as Senegal, Egypt and Ghana, while Morocco are full of hope after a strong showing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Who will walk away with the trophy at the end of it all? We'll find out over the course of a month's engrossing action.
The Sporting News has you covered when it comes to the tournament schedule, bracket and group standings, with results and fixtures updated below after every single game day. It should be a fascinating few weeks.
MORE: AFCON top goal scorers and Golden Boot race for 2024 tournament
AFCON 2023 format and rules
There are 24 teams competing in this iteration of the Africa Cup of Nations, split into six groups of four.
With the knockout stages starting with a Round of 16 — and being one-off straight knockout ties — that means that, as well as the top two from each group, four of the best third-placed teams in the groups will also get a knockout spot.
In the event that two teams are locked on the same points, their placing will be determined on:
- Points in the head-to-head match between the two tied teams
- Goal difference in the group
- Goals scored overall in the group
- Drawing of lots.
In the knockout stages, games will go to 30 minutes of extra time and then penalties if the teams cannot be separated. There will also be a third-place playoff between the two losing semifinalists to determine who gets the bronze medal.
Sadio Mané has scored or assisted 𝟰𝟴% of Senegal’s goals over the last three AFCON tournaments ⚽️🅰️
— 𝙇𝙚𝙞𝙡𝙖 (@Leila_1B) January 15, 2024
The main man 🤩 pic.twitter.com/VdAnYUKJqi
AFCON fixtures, results, schedule and group tables
The qualification process for the tournament, which is known as AFCON 2023 but is taking place in 2024, was finalised by mid-September 2023. Host nation Ivory Coast were automatically placed in Group A, with the final qualifiers being Namibia.
Here's how the groups ended up being drawn, with results and standings updated regularly:
Group A table
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| Ivory Coast | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nigeria | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
Results/fixtures
- Jan 13: Ivory Coast 2-0 Guinea-Bissau
- Jan 14: Nigeria 1-1 Equatorial Guinea
- Jan 18: Equatorial Guinea vs. Guinea-Bissau
- Jan 18: Ivory Coast vs. Nigeria
- Jan 22: Equatorial Guinea vs. Ivory Coast
- Jan 22: Guinea-Bissau vs. Nigeria
Group B
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| Cape Verde | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| Egypt | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mozambique | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ghana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Results/fixtures
- Jan 14: Egypt 2-2 Mozambique
- Jan 14: Ghana 1-2 Cape Verde
- Jan 18: Egypt vs. Ghana
- Jan 19: Cape Verde vs. Mozambique
- Jan 22: Cape Verde vs. Egypt
- Jan 22: Mozambique vs. Ghana
Group C
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| Senegal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 3 |
| Cameroon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Guinea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gambia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 0 |
Results/fixtures
- Jan 15: Senegal 3-0 Gambia
- Jan 15: Cameroon 1-1 Guinea
- Jan 19: Senegal vs. Cameroon
- Jan 19: Guinea vs. Gambia
- Jan 23: Gambia vs. Cameroon
- Jan 23: Guinea vs. Senegal
Group D
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| Burkina Faso | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Algeria | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Angola | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mauritania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Results/fixtures
- Jan 15: Algeria 1-1 Angola
- Jan 16: Burkina Faso 1-0 Mauritania
- Jan 20: Algeria vs. Burkina Faso
- Jan 20: Mauritania vs. Angola
- Jan 23: Angola vs. Burkina Faso
- Jan 23: Mauritania vs. Algeria
Group E
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| Mali | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Namibia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Tunisia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
Results/fixtures
- Jan 16: Tunisia 0-1 Namibia
- Jan 16: Mali 2-0 South Africa
- Jan 20: Tunisia vs. Mali
- Jan 21: South Africa vs. Namibia
- Jan 24: Namibia vs. Mali
- Jan 24: South Africa vs. Tunisia
Group F
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| Morocco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DR Congo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zambia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanzania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Results/fixtures
- Jan 17: Morocco vs. Tanzania
- Jan 17: DR Congo vs. Zambia
- Jan 21: Zambia vs. Tanzania
- Jan 21: Morocco vs. DR Congo
- Jan 24: Tanzania vs. DR Congo
- Jan 24: Zambia vs. Morocco
MORE: Who will win AFCON? Predictions and betting odds for tournament
AFCON knockout stage schedule and fixtures
Round of 16 fixtures
| Date | Match |
| January 27 | Group A runner-up vs. Group C runner-up |
| January 27 | Group D winner vs. third-place finisher |
| January 28 | Group B runner-up vs. Group F runner-up |
| January 28 | Group A winner vs. third-place finisher |
| January 29 | Group B winner vs. third-place finisher |
| January 29 | Group C winner vs. third-place finisher |
| January 30 | Group F winner vs. Group E runner-up |
| January 30 | Group E winner vs. Group D runner-up |
Quarterfinals
| Date | Match |
| February 2 | Round of 16 winner 1 vs. Round of 16 winner 1 |
| February 2 | Round of 16 winner 3 vs. Round of 16 winner 4 |
| February 3 | Round of 16 winner 5 vs. Round of 16 winner 6 |
| February 3 | Round of 16 winner 7 vs. Round of 16 winner 8 |
Semifinals and third-place playoff
The semifinals will take both place on February 7.
The third-place playoff, between the two losing semifinalists, will be held on February 10.
Final
The tournament concludes with the final in Abidjan on February 11.