List of all AFCON winners since start of tournament in 1957
Egypt have won seven out of 34 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) titles, making the North African nation the most successful participant in the competition's 68-year history.
Egypt, fondly known as The Pharaohs, won the inaugural trophy in 1957 and again in 1959, as well as in 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, and 2010.
Cameroon are the competition's second-most successful side, with five trophies in their cabinet. The team, nicknamed The Indomitable Lions, won the editions held in 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, and 2017.
Ghana, alias the Black Stars, have won four AFCON tournament editions. They are the editions of 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982.
Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire tie at fourth place
West African nations Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire have won three AFCON titles each. Nigeria, fondly known as the Super Eagles, emerged victorious in 1980, 1994, and 2013.
On the other hand, Côte d'Ivoire, alias The Elephants, have bagged the AFCON trophies of 1992, 2015, and 2023. They will be defending their title in Morocco during this year's tournament to be held from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026.
Rounding out Africa's five most successful teams in the continental competition are Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with two titles apiece.
Algeria, alias The Desert Foxes, won the competition in 1990 and 2019.
Eight countries have won one AFCON trophy each
On the other hand, DRC, fondly known as The Leopards, won the AFCON trophies of 1968 and 1974.
Eight countries have one AFCON trophy in their cabinet each. They are Ethiopia (1962), Sudan (1970), Congo-Brazzaville (1972), Morocco (1976), South Africa (1996), Tunisia (2004), Zambia (2012), and Senegal (2021).
The AFCON tournament is Africa's most coveted continental football competition, which started in 1957.
Only three teams — Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia — participated in the inaugural tournament, but it was gradually expanded to eight teams in 1968.
Expansion of participants' list
Initially, the continental competition was held in random years, but after 1968, it became a once-in-two-years event.
In 1992, the competition's participants increased to 12, and again to 16 in 1996.
In 2013, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the main organiser of AFCON, switched to holding the competition in odd-numbered years to prevent clashing with the FIFA World Cup in even-numbered years.
AFCON's last three editions — in 2019, 2021, and 2023 — saw 24 teams taking part in the competition.
AFCON 2025 teams
This year (2025), will also see 24 teams taking part in the tournament. They are Morocco (hosts), Mali, Zambia, Comoros (Group A); Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe (Group B); Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania (Group C); Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana (Group D); Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan (Group E); and Côte d'Ivoire (defending champions), Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique (Group F).
In terms of FIFA rankings, updated in December 2025, the top five football nations in Africa in a descending order are Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria.
Others in the top 10 are Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, DRC, and Cameroon.
The winner of the 2025 AFCON tournament will receive a total cash prize of $7 million, while the runner-up will get $4 million, each of the semi-finalists will get $2.5 million, and the quarter-finalists will secure a cash prize of $1.3 million each.
Winners' list
In total, CAF will distribute $32 million to the AFCON 2025 participants.
Below is a full list of AFCON winners since its inception in 1957:
1957 – Egypt (runner-up: Ethiopia)
1959 – Egypt (runner-up: Sudan)
1962 – Ethiopia (runner-up: Egypt)
1963 – Ghana (runner-up: Sudan)
1965 – Ghana (runner-up: Tunisia)
1968 – DR Congo (runner-up: Ghana)
1970 – Sudan (runner-up: Ghana)
1972 – Congo-Brazzaville (Mali)
1974 – DR Congo (runner-up: Zambia)
1976 – Morocco (runner-up: Guinea)
1978 – Ghana (runner-up: Uganda)
1980 – Nigeria (runner-up: Algeria)
1982 - Ghana (runner-up: Libya)
1984 – Cameroon (runner-up: Nigeria)
1986 – Egypt (runner-up: Cameroon)
1988 – Cameroon (runner-up: Nigeria)
1990 – Algeria (runner-up: Nigeria)
1992 – Côte d'Ivoire (runner-up: Ghana)
1994 – Nigeria (runner-up: Zambia)
1996 – South Africa (runner-up: Tunisia)
1998 – Egypt (runner-up: South Africa)
2000 – Cameroon (runner-up: Nigeria)
2002 – Cameroon (runner-up: Senegal)
2004 – Tunisia (runner-up: Morocco)
2006 – Egypt (runner-up: Côte d'Ivoire)
2008 – Egypt (runner-up: Cameroon)
2010 – Egypt (runner-up: Ghana)
2012 – Zambia (runner-up: Côte d'Ivoire)
2013 – Nigeria (runner-up: Burkina Faso)
2015 – Côte d'Ivoire (runner-up: Ghana)
2017 – Cameroon (runner-up: Egypt)
2019 – Algeria (runner-up: Senegal)
2021 – Senegal (runner-up: Egypt)
2023 – Côte d'Ivoire (runner-up: Nigeria)
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