1996 African Cup of Nations

20th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations August 2026 September 2021 African Cup of Nations 1996 CAN 1996 logo.jpg 150px Official logo South Africa 13 January – 3 February 15 4 4 South Africa 1 Tunisia 1959 Zambia 1964 Ghana 29 78 ZAM 1964 Kalusha Bwalya (5 goals) ZAM 1964 Kalusha Bwalya 1994 1998 The 1996 African Cup of Nations, also known as the Coca-Cola 1996 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 20th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the international football championship run by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It was hosted by South Africa, who replaced original hosts Kenya. The field expanded for the first time to sixteen teams, split into four groups of four; the top two teams in each group advanced to the quarter-finals. However, Nigeria withdrew from the tournament at the final moment under pressure from then-dictator Sani Abacha, reducing the final number of teams to fifteen.https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/nigerian-players-back-boycott-of-finals-1323344.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/nigerian-players-back-boycott-of-finals-1323344.html 1 May 2022 subscription live Nigerian players back boycott of finals The Independent 10 January 1996 Hosts South Africa won a first championship, defeating Tunisia 2–0 in the final.https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60083320 'South Africa's Rugby World Cup win was big – but this was even bigger' BBC Sport 3 February 2022 The tournament was covered in the 2026 documentary series “Class of ‘96: Rise of a Nation”.https://www.etv.co.za/scoop/introducing-class-96-rise-nation 'Introducing Class Of 96: Rise Of A Nation' e.tv 7 January 2026 Qualified teams thumb|300px|Participating nations For full qualification see: 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in tournamentBold indicates champion for that year, Italic indicates host. RSA Hosts 16 0 (debut) NGRNigeria withdrew prior to the start of the finals. Guinea, as the best side to not qualify, was offered Nigeria's spot in the finals, but declined due to a lack of preparation time. Holders 10 April 1994 03 10 (1963, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994) GAB Group 5 winners 4 June 1995 14 1 (1994) ZAI Group 1 winners 4 June 1995 04 9 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1988, 1992, 1994) ZAM 1964 Group 5 runners-up 15 July 1995 04 7 (1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994) ALG Group 4 runners-up 30 July 1995 04 8 (1968, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992) ANG Group 6 winners 30 July 1995 15 0 (debut) BFA Group 7 winners 30 July 1995 14 1 (1978) CMR Group 1 runners-up 30 July 1995 04 8 (1970, 1972, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992) EGY Group 4 winners 30 July 1995 01 14 (1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986,1988, 1990, 1992, 1994) GHA Group 3 winners 30 July 1995 03 10 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1994) CIV Group 7 runners-up 30 July 1995 02 11 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992,1994) LBR Group 2 runners-up 30 July 1995 15 0 (debut) MOZ Group 6 runners-up 30 July 1995 14 1 (1986) SLE Group 3 runners-up 30 July 1995 14 1 (1994) TUN 1959 Group 2 winners 30 July 1995 05 6 (1962, 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982, 1994) Notes Squads 1996 African Cup of Nations squads Venues Johannesburg South Africa right 430 South Africa -26.234797 27.982353 Johannesburg left South Africa -29.829444 31.030278 Durban bottom South Africa -29.1 26.216667 Bloemfontein left South Africa -33.937778 25.598889 Port Elizabeth bottom Durban FNB Stadium Kings Park Stadium 150px 150px Capacity: 80,000 Capacity: 52,000 Bloemfontein Port Elizabeth Free State Stadium EPRU Stadium 150px 150px Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 33,852 Group stage Group A main WDL Group A complete RSA RSA EGY EGY CMR CMR ANG ANG 2 0 1 4 1 H 2 0 1 4 3 1 1 1 5 7 0 1 2 4 6 Q KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage 13 January 1996 RSA 3–0 CMR Masinga 15 Williams 37 Moshoeu 55 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 75,000 Said Belqola (Morocco) 15 January 1996 EGY 2–1 ANG El-Kass 30 33 Quinzinho 77 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 6,000 Sidi Bekaye Magassa (Mali) 18 January 1996 CMR 2–1 EGY Omam-Biyik 36 pen. Tchami 59 Maher 48 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 4,000 Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius) 20 January 1996 RSA 1–0 ANG Williams 57 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 28,000 Fethi Boucetta (Tunisia) 24 January 1996 RSA 0–1 EGY El-Kass 7 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 20,000 Lucien Bouchardeau (Niger) 24 January 1996 ANG 3–3 CMR Joni 38 pen. Paulão 57 Quinzinho 80 Omam-Biyik 25 Mouyeme 82 Vicente 90 o.g. Kings Park Stadium, Durban 6,000 Mohamed Kouradji (Algeria) Group B main WDL Group B complete ZAM ZAM 1964 ALG ALG SLE SLE BFA BFA 2 1 0 9 1 2 1 0 4 1 1 0 2 2 7 0 0 3 3 9 Q KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage 14 January 1996 ZAM 1964 0–0 ALG Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 9,000 Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates) 15 January 1996 SLE 2–1 BFA Sessay 11 Kallon 89 Ouédraogo 74 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 1,500 Okoampa (Ghana) 18 January 1996 ALG 2–0 SLE Meçabih 41 63 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 1,500 Ian McLeod (South Africa) 20 January 1996 ZAM 1964 5–1 BFA Malitoli 18 K. Bwalya 24 35 Lota 44 J. Bwalya 45 Y. Traoré 53 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 2,000 Masayoshi Okada (Japan) 24 January 1996 ALG 2–1 BFA Lounici 2 Dziri 75 Zongo 83 EPRU Stadium, Port Elizabeth 180 Charles Masembe (Uganda) 24 January 1996 ZAM 1964 4–0 SLE K. Bwalya 2 9 84 Malitoli 87 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 200 Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius) Group C main WDL Group C complete GAB GAB ZAI ZAI LBR LBR 1 0 1 3 2 1 0 1 2 2 1 0 1 2 3 Q KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage 16 January 1996 GAB 1–2 LBR Nzeng 59 Sebwe 5 pen. Sarr 54 Kings Park Stadium, Durban 5,000 Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt) 19 January 1996 GAB 2–0 ZAI Mackaya 21 pen. Bekogo 34 Kings Park Stadium, Durban 4,000 Omer Yengo (Congo) 25 January 1996 ZAI 2–0 LBR Lukaku 5 pen. Essende 72 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 3,000 Said Belqola (Morocco) NGA withdrew, so their three matches were canceled. vs ZAI, 16 January 1996 vs LBR, 19 January 1996 vs GAB, 25 January 1996 Group D main WDL Group D complete GHA GHA TUN TUN 1959 CIV CIV MOZ MOZ 3 0 0 6 1 1 1 1 5 4 1 0 2 2 5 0 1 2 1 4 Q KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage 14 January 1996 GHA 2–0 CIV Yeboah 20 Pele 70 EPRU Stadium, Port Elizabeth 8,000 Masayoshi Okada (Japan) 16 January 1996 TUN 1959 1–1 MOZ Berkhissa 24 Tico-Tico 4 EPRU Stadium, Port Elizabeth 1,000 Charles Masembe (Uganda) 19 January 1996 GHA 2–1 TUN 1959 Pele 50 Akonnor 77 Ben Younes 72 EPRU Stadium, Port Elizabeth 1,000 Petros Mathabela (South Africa) 21 January 1996 CIV 1–0 MOZ Tiéhi 32 EPRU Stadium, Port Elizabeth 500 Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt) 25 January 1996 TUN 1959 3–1 CIV Ben Younes 32 38 Ben Hassen 48 M. Traoré 84 EPRU Stadium, Port Elizabeth 1,000 Sidi Bekaye Magassa (Mali) 25 January 1996 GHA 2–0 MOZ Pele 42 Aboagye 68 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 3,500 Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates) Knockout stage Bracket N8 white-space:nowrap yes high yes 27 January – Johannesburg RSA 2 ALG 1 28 January – Port Elizabeth GHA 1 ZAI 0 27 January – Bloemfontein ZAM 1964 3 EGY 1 28 January – Durban GAB 1 (1) TUN 1959 1 (4) 31 January – Johannesburg RSA 3 GHA 0 31 January – Durban ZAM 1964 2 TUN 1959 4 3 February – Johannesburg RSA 2 TUN 1959 0 3 February – Johannesburg GHA 0 ZAM 1964 1 Quarter-finals 27 January 1996 RSA 2–1 Report ALG Fish 72 Moshoeu 85 Lazizi 84 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 80,000 Ali Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates) 27 January 1996 ZAM 1964 3–1 Report EGY Litana 58 Mutale 65 Lota 76 S. Kamouna 43 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein 8,500 Charles Masembe (Uganda) 28 January 1996 GAB 1–1 yes Report TUN 1959 Mackaya 16 Baya 10 Kings Park Stadium, Durban 4,000 Lim Kee Chong (Mauritius) Mackaya Ngoma Bekogo 1–4 Sellimi Fekhi Ben Slimane El Ouaer 28 January 1996 GHA 1–0 Report ZAI Yeboah 22 EPRU Stadium, Port Elizabeth 8,000 Sidi Bekaye Magassa (Mali) Semi-finals 31 January 1996 RSA 3–0 GHA Moshoeu 22 87 Bartlett 46 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 75,000 Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt) 31 January 1996 ZAM 1964 2–4 TUN 1959 Lota 68 Makasa 90 Sellimi 16 85 pen. Baya 20 Ghodhbane 47 Kings Park Stadium, Durban 5,000 Lucien Bouchardeau (Niger) Third place match 3 February 1996 GHA 0–1 ZAM 1964 J. Bwalya 51 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 80,000 Omer Yengo (Republic of the Congo) Final 1996 African Cup of Nations final 3 February 1996 RSA 2–0 TUN 1959 Williams 73 75 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg 80,000 Charles Masembe (Uganda) Goalscorers 78 29 ZAM 1964 Kalusha Bwalya RSA John Moshoeu RSA Mark Williams GHA Abedi Pele EGY Ahmed El-Kass TUN 1959 Imed Ben Younes ZAM 1964 Dennis Lota ALG Ali Meçabih ANG Quinzinho CMR François Omam-Biyik GAB Brice Mackaya GHA Tony Yeboah TUN 1959 Zoubeir Baya TUN 1959 Adel Sellimi ZAM 1964 Johnson Bwalya ZAM 1964 Kenneth Malitoli ALG Billel Dziri ALG Tarek Lazizi ALG Khaled Lounici ANG Joni ANG Paulão BFA Aboubakari Ouédraogo BFA Youssouf Traoré BFA Boureima Zongo CMR Georges Mouyémé CMR Alphonse Tchami CIV Joël Tiéhi CIV Moussa Traoré EGY Samir Ibrahim EGY Ali Maher GAB Aurélien Bekogo GAB Guy Nzeng GHA Felix Aboagye GHA Charles Akonnor GHA Kwame Ayew LBR Mass Sarr Jr. LBR Kelvin Sebwe MOZ Tico-Tico SLE Mohamed Kallon SLE Gbassay Sessay RSA Shaun Bartlett RSA Mark Fish RSA Phil Masinga TUN 1959 Abdelkader Ben Hassen TUN 1959 Hédi Berkhissa TUN 1959 Kaies Ghodhbane ZAI Liombi Essende ZAI Roger Lukaku ZAM 1964 Elijah Litana ZAM 1964 Hillary Makasa ZAM 1964 Vincent Mutale ANG Hélder Vicente (for Cameroon) Team of the Tournament Goalkeeper TUN 1959 Chokri El Ouaer Defenders Egypt Yasser Radwan South Africa Mark Fish ZAM 1964 Elijah Litana Ghana Isaac Asare Midfielders TUN 1959 Zoubeir Baya Egypt Hazem Emam Ghana Abedi Pele South Africa Mark Williams Forwards ZAM 1964 Kalusha Bwalya Ghana Tony Yeboah References External links Details at RSSSF Details at www.angelfire.com 1996 Cup of Nations Cup of Nations Category:1995–96 in South African soccer Category:Men's international association football competitions hosted by South Africa Category:Sports competitions in Johannesburg Category:Sports competitions in Durban Category:Sports competitions in Gqeberha Category:Sport in Bloemfontein Category:January 1996 sports events in Africa Category:February 1996 sports events in Africa