The Africa Cup of Nations commonly referred to as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, or simply AFCON or CAN, is the main international men’s association football competition in Africa.
It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and was first held in 1957.
However, it is not all nations that have participated that have held the cup.
Here are the top 3 countries with the most AFCON tittles and the total number of tittles they have.
1. Egypt (7 Tittles)
The Pharaohs of Egypt have dominated African football from the first edition of AFCON.
The Egyptians have won the Africa Cup of Nations a record seven times, including three times consecutively in the 2000s.
Egypt won the first two editions of the competition in 1957 and 1959 by defeating Ethiopia and Sudan, respectively.
The Pharaohs won the tournament in 1986 and 1998, too, before their most dominant run in the tournament.
Egypt won the competition thrice consecutively in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
They remain the only side to have won the competition three times in succession since the inception of the tournament.
However, in the tournament currently holding in Ivory Coast, they were sacked by DR Congo in an epic penalty shootout in the round-of-16 match.
2. Cameroon (5 AFCON Tittles)
Cameroon have been a top footballing nation in Africa since the commencement of the AFCON tournament.
The Indomitable Lions have won the trophy five times in their history.
Cameroon won their first three titles in 1984, 1988 and 2000 by beating the same team, Nigeria, in the final each time.
They also won the tournament in 2002 after defeating Senegal.
Following their triumph in 2002, they joined Ghana and Egypt, as the only sides to win the tournament four times since its inception.
The Indomitable Lions claimed another title in 2017 at the expense of Egypt to make it five AFCON titles in total.
Cameroon boast of the highest scorer in the history of the competition in striker Samuel Eto’o.
Also, they could not make it to the quarter-final of the current tournament.
3. Ghana (4 AFCON Tittles)
Ghana’s Black Stars dominated early editions of AFCON.
The West African giants have won the title four times in their history, making them one of the most successful sides in the history of the competition.
Ghana’s first AFCON triumph came in 1963 at the expense of Sudan.
Their second triumph came two years later with Tunisia their victims this time.
Ghana claimed a third title on home soil in 1978 after defeating Uganda in the final.
The national side won their fourth title in 1982 at the expense of Libya.
However, the Black Stars were the first side to win the trophy four times in the history of the tournament.
Despite being one of Africa’s best teams of the 21st century and featuring stars like Michael Essien, Asamoah Gyan and Andre Ayew, Ghana have failed to win AFCON since 1982.
The Black Stars were knocked out of the ongoing edition in the group stage after a 2-1 defeat to Cape Verde.
Read more:Â AFCON 2024: Which Team Could Win The Trophy?
However, the winner of the ongoing AFCON would be known on Sunday, February 11, where the Super Eagles of Nigeria would have a clash with the hosts, Ivory Coast.
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