Africa Cup growth: From three nations in Sudan to 24 in Egypt

The African Cup of Nations will be contested by a record 24 teams in Egypt this month, compared to just three when the tournament debuted 62 years ago.

There were supposed to be four nations in the inaugural 1957 championship in Sudan, but South Africa refused to form a multiracial team and was disqualified.

Egypt became the first African champion after winning only two games: to win in 2019, a team must play seven games.

The former African footballer of the year and Mali forward Frederic Kanoute has mixed opinions on a 33 percent increase in the number of contenders for the title.

"On the one hand, it is good that more nations participate and have the opportunity to show their skills to Africa and the world," he told reporters during a recent visit to Zambia.

"But the level of competition could decrease a bit with the participation of almost half of the football nations in Africa, we have to see how it goes."

Here, AFP Sport follows the growth of the Nations Cup in a tournament that attracted little interest, even in Africa, to a television audience from around the world.

1957 Egypt defeated host Sudan narrowly in a semifinal and Ethiopia convincingly in the final of a two-match competition that lasted only six days.

1962 After a second edition of three teams in 1959, the number of finalists increased to four with hosts and champions Ethiopia, Tunisia and Uganda competing for the first time.

1963 Western Africa was the host for the first time and host Ghana won a tournament that featured six teams, including Nigeria's debutants.

1968 Another expansion brought the number of finalists to eight for a championship won by Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Ethiopia.

1992 After 24 years as a competition of eight nations, the number of finalists increased to 12, was divided into four groups and Côte d'Ivoire became champion for the first time.

1996 Political differences with South Africa led the defending champions to withdraw from Nigeria, converting what were supposed to be the first finals of 16 nations in a matter of 15 teams won by the hosts.

1998 The Nations Cup became a final tournament of 16 teams in Burkina Faso with notable absences suspended from Nigeria when Egypt lifted the trophy for the fourth time.

Africa 2019 will follow Europe and Asia and will organize a continental championship of 24 nations, introducing a round of 16 and expanding the number of matches from 32 to 52.