1996 African Cup of Nations
![]() African Cup of Nations 1996 official logo  | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | South Africa | 
| Dates | 13 January – 3 February | 
| Teams | 15 | 
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities) | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 29 | 
| Goals scored | 78 (2.69 per match) | 
| Attendance | 640,880 (22,099 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) | (5 goals)  | 
| Best player(s) | |
← 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 Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by South Africa, who replaced original hosts Kenya. The field expanded for the first time to 16 teams, split into four groups of four; the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarterfinals. However, Nigeria withdrew from the tournament at the final moment under pressure from then-dictator Sani Abacha, reducing the field to 15.[1] South Africa won its first championship, beating Tunisia in the final 2–0.[2]
Qualified teams

For full qualification see: 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[a] | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts | 0 (debut) | ||
| Holders | 10 April 1994 | 10 (1963, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994) | |
| Group 5 winners | 4 June 1995 | 1 (1994) | |
| Group 1 winners | 4 June 1995 | 9 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1988, 1992, 1994) | |
| Group 5 runners-up | 15 July 1995 | 7 (1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994) | |
| Group 4 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 8 (1968, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992) | |
| Group 6 winners | 30 July 1995 | 0 (debut) | |
| Group 7 winners | 30 July 1995 | 1 (1978) | |
| Group 1 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 8 (1970, 1972, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992) | |
| Group 4 winners | 30 July 1995 | 14 (1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994)  | |
| Group 3 winners | 30 July 1995 | 10 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1994) | |
| Group 7 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 11 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994)  | |
| Group 2 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 0 (debut) | |
| Group 6 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 1 (1986) | |
| Group 3 runners-up | 30 July 1995 | 1 (1994) | |
| Group 2 winners | 30 July 1995 | 6 (1962, 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982, 1994) | 
- Notes
 
Squads
Venues
| Johannesburg | Durban | |
|---|---|---|
| FNB Stadium | Kings Park Stadium | |
![]()  |     | |
| Capacity: 80,000 | Capacity: 52,000 | |
| Bloemfontein | Port Elizabeth | |
| Free State Stadium | EPRU Stadium | |
![]()  |     | |
| Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 33,852 | 
First round
Teams highlighted in green progress to the Quarter Finals.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | 
(H) Hosts
| South Africa  | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Masinga  Williams Moshoeu  |  
| South Africa  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Williams  |  
| South Africa  | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| El-Kass  |  
| Angola  | 3–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Joni  Paulão Quinzinho  |  Omam-Biyik  Mouyeme Vicente  |  
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 0 | 
| Sierra Leone  | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sessay  Kallon  |  Ouédraogo  |  
| Algeria  | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Meçabih  |  
| Algeria  | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lounici  Dziri  |  Zongo  |  
| Zambia  | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| K. Bwalya  Malitoli  |  
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | 
 Nigeria withdrew, so their three matches were canceled. 
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 | 
| Ghana  | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Yeboah  Pelé  |  
| Tunisia  | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Berkhissa  |  Tico-Tico  |  
| Ghana  | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pelé  Akonnor  |  Ben Younes  |  
| Ivory Coast  | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tiéhi  |  
| Tunisia  | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Younes  Ben Hassen  |  M. Traoré  |  
| Ghana  | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pelé  Aboagye  |  
Knockout stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 27 January – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
|   | 2 | |||||||||
| 31 January – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
|   | 1 | |||||||||
|   | 3 | |||||||||
| 28 January – Port Elizabeth | ||||||||||
|   | 0 | |||||||||
|   | 1 | |||||||||
| 3 February – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
|   | 0 | |||||||||
|   | 2 | |||||||||
| 27 January – Bloemfontein | ||||||||||
|   | 0 | |||||||||
|   | 3 | |||||||||
| 31 January – Durban | ||||||||||
|   | 1 | |||||||||
|   | 2 | |||||||||
| 28 January – Durban | ||||||||||
|   | 4 | Third place | ||||||||
|   | 1 (1) | |||||||||
| 3 February – Johannesburg | ||||||||||
|   | 1 (4) | |||||||||
|   | 0 | |||||||||
|   | 1 | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
| Gabon  | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Mackaya  |  Report | Baya  |  
| Penalties | ||
| Mackaya  Ngoma Bekogo  |  1–4 | |
Semifinals
| South Africa  | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Moshoeu  Bartlett  |  
Third place match
Final
| South Africa  | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Williams  |  
Goalscorers
There were 78 goals scored in 29 matches, for an average of 2.69 goals per match.
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
 Billel Dziri
 Tarek Lazizi
 Khaled Lounici
 Joni
 Paulão
 Aboubakari Ouédraogo
 Youssouf Traoré
 Boureima Zongo
 Georges Mouyémé
 Alphonse Tchami
 Joël Tiéhi
 Moussa Traoré
 Samir Ibrahim
 Ali Maher
 Aurélien Bekogo
 Guy Nzeng
 Felix Aboagye
 Charles Akonnor
 Kwame Ayew
 Mass Sarr Jr.
 Kelvin Sebwe
 Tico-Tico
 Mohamed Kallon
 Gbassay Sessay
 Shaun Bartlett
 Mark Fish
 Phil Masinga
 Abdelkader Ben Hassen
 Hédi Berkhissa
 Kaies Ghodhbane
 Liombi Essende
 Roger Lukaku
 Elijah Litana
 Hillary Makasa
 Vincent Mutale
1 own goal
 Hélder Vicente (for Cameroon)
CAF Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
References
- ^ "Nigerian players back boycott of finals". Independent.co.uk. 10 January 1996. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
 - ^ "'South Africa's Rugby World Cup win was big – but this was even bigger'". BBC Sport. 3 February 2022.
 





