African football came into light for the first time when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) staged the inaugural African Cup of Nations in February 1957. Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia took part in the first tournament after South Africa were expelled for refusing to send a mixed-race team to Sudan. In the final, Egypt thrashed Sudan 4-0 to become the first ever African champions. Two years later in 1959, Egypt, inspired by Mahmoud El-Gohari, successfully defended their title in Cairo in a tournament featuring the same three sides from 1957. The 1960s were a time of great expansion for CAF, and a decade when the ACN also grew in importance. Ethiopia held the third finals in 1962, with Tunisia and Uganda taking part for the first time. The hosts proved unstoppable in Addis Ababa and came from behind twice to beat Egypt 4-2 after extra-time. Ghana made their debut as they hosted the 1963 edition. Coached by the great Charles Gyamfi, the Black Stars turned on the style to beat Sudan 3-0 in the final in Accra. In 1965, Ghana successfully defended their title in Tunisia, defeating the fancied hosts 3-2 after extra-time. They fielded just two players from their 1963 winning team. Reflecting the growth of the game on the continent, the 1968 finals in Ethiopia featured eight teams after incorporating a full qualifying tournament. Congo- Brazzaville made their ACN debut, but it was Congo- Kinshasa who met Ghana in the final. Pierre Kalala's goal settled the contest in Congo's favour. Meanwhile, the Ivory Coast striker Laurent Pokou helped himself to six goals, two short of the tally he would reach in the first tournament of the new decade. The 1970 tournament in Sudan heralded the introduction of television coverage for the finals. Holders Zaire crashed out in the first round while Ghana reached their fourth straight final. But the Black Stars were undone by Al-Issed's goal which handed Sudan their only ACN triumph to date. Having made their debut in 1970, Cameroon hosted the 1972 finals and reached the semis where they surprisingly lost to Congo. In a final few had predicted, Congo beat Mali 3-2. The 1974 finals, hosted by Egypt, were boosted by the presence of Zaire, who later that year became the first African side to play at the World Cup finals. Pierre Ndiaye scored a record nine goals as he inspired the Leopards to the final, where Zambia featured for the first time. For the first and only time, the final went to a replay with the scores level at 2-2 after extra time. Ndiaye netted twice in the replay to wrap up a 2-0 victory. Afterwards, President Mobutu Sese Seko ferried the Leopards home aboard his presidential jet. Ethiopia hosted the 1976 competition which was held on a round-robin format, with Morocco seeing off the challenge of Egypt, Nigeria and Guinea. Ghana hosted the 1978 finals and beat Uganda 2-0 to become the first country to win the tournament three times, and thus retire the Abdelaziz Salem trophy. Nigeria hosted the 1980 finals still searching for their first African Cup of Nations title. Their duck was broken when Segun Odegbami inspired the Green Eagles to a thumping 3-0 win over Algeria in the final. In 1982, the tournament was played on Libya's artificial pitches and, as was becoming customary, the hosts profited from home advantage to reach the final. But the Libyans lost 7-6 on penalties to Ghana as the Black Stars collected their fourth and last title. After holders Ghana had made an early exit from the 1984 tournament in the Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Nigeria met in the final, with the Indomitable Lions scoring two late goals to lift the trophy for the first time. Egypt held the 15th event in 1986 and recovered from a shock 1-0 defeat to Senegal in their opening game to face a showdown against Cameroon. The match was settled by penalties, with Egypt holding their nerve to prevail 5-4 and take the trophy back to Cairo for the first time in almost 30 years. Moroccan fans were expectant of victory as they hosted the 1988 edition, and the Atlas Lions responded by reaching the semi-finals. It took the drawing of lots in a downtown hotel for Algeria to join them in the last four, but it was Nigeria and Cameroon who won through to the final. Emmanuel Kunde's penalty gave Cameroon their second title. The first tournament of the 1990 s, hosted by Algeria, saw the Desert Foxes being crowned African champions for the first and only time after a 1-0 victory over Nigeria in the final. In 1992, Senegal played host to an expanded 12-team tournament which the Ivory Coast won 11-10 after a heart- stopping penalty shoot-out against Ghana. The 1994 tournament turned out to be a disaster for hosts Tunisia, who made a humiliating exit after the group stage. Zambia surprised many by reaching the final where they lost 2-1 to Nigeria. After Nigeria's withdrawal from the 1996 finals in South Africa for political reasons, Neil Tovey became the first white player to raise the Cup of Nations trophy aloft following Bafana Bafana's 2-0 victory over Tunisia in the final. The final of the 1998 edition in Burkina Faso featured the tournament's top scorers in Egypt's Hossam Hassan and South Africa's Benni McCarthy. Neither could add to their tally of seven as Ahmed Hassan and Mustafa scored the goals that handed Egypt a record fourth championship, and made Mahmoud El-Gohari the first man to win the competition as both a player and coach. Cameroon made it a hat-trick of victories in 2000. By now they were seen as one of the strongest footballing nations in the world, just 10 years after they surprised many with their efforts in Italia '90. But they had to fend off fierce competition from joint hosts Nigeria in the final. Cameroon appeared to be cruising after Samuel Eto'o and Patrick M'Boma gave their side a 2-0 lead. But the Super Eagles hit back with two quick goals from Raphael Chukwu and Jay-Jay Okocha. The match went to penalties. After misses from Nigeria's Nwanko Kanu and Victor Ikpeba, it was left to Rigobert Song to slot home the winning kick. The 2002 final between Cameroon and Senegal, held in Mali, also went to penalties. But unlike the 2000 finale, this was a dour match. Three missed spot-kicks cost Senegal dear as Cameroon's Patrick Suffo, Etame Mayer and Geremi Njitap ensured their country retained the cup. An error from Morocco keeper Khalid Fouhami gifted the host nation Tunisia their first-ever African Cup of Nations title in 2004. Striker Ziad Jaziri poked home the winner six minutes after the break when Morocco's Fouhami fumbled Jose Clayton's low cross into the penalty area. Defeat for Morocco was hard on an unfancied side, whose young attack, which included Youssef Mokhtari, Youssef Hadji and Marouane Chamakh dazzled defences during the three weeks of competition. The home team celebrated their unprecedented victory as they held the trophy amidst more than 50,000 spectators at the Stade de Rades.
