The 1972 African Cup of Nations was the eighth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Cameroon, in the cities of

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

and

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...

. Just like in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. The

People's Republic of the Congo The People's Republic of the Congo (french: République populaire du Congo) was a Marxist–Leninist socialist state that existed in the Republic of the Congo from 1969 to 1992. The People's Republic of the Congo was founded in December 1969 ...

won its first championship, beating

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

in the final 3−2.

Qualified teams

The 8 qualified teams are: * (host) * * * * * * (holders) * For the first time, Ethiopia did not compete.

Squads

Venues

The competition was played in two venues in

and

Group stage

Group A

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Group B

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Knockout stage

Semifinals

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Third place match

Final

Goalscorers

;5 goals * Fantamady Keita ;4 goals * Jean-Michel M'Bono ;3 goals *

Ahmed Faras Ahmed Faras ( ar, أحمد فرس; born 7 December 1946) is a Moroccan former footballer who played as a striker for Chabab Mohammédia at club level and Morocco internationally. Faras was named African Footballer of the Year in 1975. In 200 ...

* Edmond Apéti Kaolo * Mayanga Maku * Jean Kalala N'Tumba ;2 goals * Jean-Baptiste N'Doga * Paul-Gaston N'Dongo *

François M'Pelé François M'Pelé (born 13 July 1947) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a forward. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years. Career M'Pelé played profession ...

* Bako Touré * Kakoko Etepé ;1 goal * Jean Paul Akono * Simo Emmanuel Mvé * François N'Doumbe * Joseph Yegba Maya * Philippe Michel Mouthé * Norbert Owona * Jonas Bahamboula * Noël Birindi Minga * Paul Moukila * Daniel Arudhi Nicodémus * Jonathan Niva * Peter "Pelé" Ouma * Adama Traoré * Bakary Traoré * Moussa Diakhité *

Moussa Traoré Moussa Traoré (25 September 1936 – 15 September 2020) was a Malian soldier, politician, and dictator who was President of Mali from 1968 to 1991. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ousting of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he ...

* Bushara Abdel-Nadief * Kamal Abdel Wahab * Hasabu El-Sagheer * Ahmed Bushara Wahba * Covi Adé * Gary Ngassebe

CAF Team of the tournament

Goalkeeper * Allal Ben Kassou Defenders * Abdella "Kaunda" El-Ser * Tshimen Bwanga * Paul Nlend * Boujemaa Benkhrif Midfielders * Noël Birindi Minga * Mayanga Maku * Paul-Gaston N'Dongo * Jean-Pierre Tokoto Forwards * Kakoko Etepé *

External links

Details at RSSSF

{{DEFAULTSORT:1972 African Cup Of Nations

Nations A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by t ...

African Cup Of Nations, 1972 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments Sport in Yaoundé Sport in Douala African Cup Of Nations, 1972 African Cup Of Nations African Cup Of Nations African Cup Of Nations