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AFP takes a journey from the 1957 tournament in Sudan to the 2012 tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, explaining how Egypt won a record seven titles, Cameroon and Ghana four each, and 11 other countries also experienced glory.
1957: South Africa withdrew rather than field a multiracial team, leaving Diab Al Attar to score all the goals as Egypt outclassed Ethiopia 4-0 in the final.
1959: Egypt triumphed at home in another three-team tournament with the format changed to round-robin. The victory margins were similar to two years before with Ethiopia conceding four goals and Sudan suffering a 2-1 loss.
1962: Ethiopia used home advantage and two goals from Menguistu Worku to topple Egypt 4-2 after extra-time in the final of a tournament that attracted Tunisia and Uganda for the first time.
1963: Hosts Ghana conquered Africa at the first attempt with a 3-0 victory over Sudan. The number of contenders rose to six and a 6-3 win by Egypt over Nigeria created a record for the number of goals in a game that still stands.
1965: Another six-nation event and another title for Ghana, who edged hosts Tunisia 3-2 in extra time with Frank Odoi the match-winner. The Black Stars boasted a formidable attack that put five goals past DR Congo and four past Cote d’lvoire.
1968: Ethiopia hosted the first tournament to feature eight teams and semi-finals and although Ghana reached a third consecutive final it was DR Congo who took the honours with a 1-0 win courtesy of a Pierra Kalala goal.
1970: Once again Ghana got to the final and once again they lost 1-0 with Hassabou El Saghir scoring after just 12 minutes for hosts Sudan. Cote d’lvoire hammered Ethiopia 6-1 for a winning margin that has been equalled, but never bettered.
1972: A first and only title for Congo Brazzaville came from a 3-2 win over Mali in a Yaounde final won and lost in seven second-half minutes when the “Red Devils” scored three times with Michel M’Bono bagging a brace. 1974: The only time the final was replayed brought a second triumph for DR Congo, who overcame Zambia 2-0 in Cairo after a 2-2 stalemate two days before.
Mulamba Ndaye was the toast of Kinshasa, scoring twice in both games. 1976: The second and last tournament decided by a mini-league with Morocco ending one point ahead of Guinea after the teams drew 1-1 in the final fixture of a tournament in Ethiopia. — AFP.
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