1996 African Cup of Nations

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	South Africa (1st title)
Runners-up	Tunisia
Third place	Zambia
Fourth place	Ghana
Tournament statistics
Matches played	29
Goals scored	78 (2.69 per match)
Attendance	640,880 (22,099 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Kalusha Bwalya ; (5 goals)
Best player(s)	Kalusha Bwalya
	← 1994 1998 →

The 1996 African Cup of Nations 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]

^ "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'" – via www.bbc.co.uk.

[1] "Nigerian players back boycott of finals". Independent.co.uk. 10 January 1996. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.

[2] "'South Africa's Rugby World Cup win was big – but this was even bigger'" – via www.bbc.co.uk.

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