The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

, the biennial

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tournament for nations affiliated with the

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...

(CAF). The tournament was staged at four venues around Ghana between 20 January and 10 February 2008. This was the last Africa Cup of Nations to use the old CAF logo.

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

won the tournament, beating

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

1–0 in the final. As winners, they qualified for the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton ...

as the CAF representatives.

Host selection

Bids: *Ghana (selected as hosts) *Libya *South Africa (withdrew) The organization of the 2008

was awarded to Ghana on 8 July 2004 by the

CAF CAF or caf may refer to: Armed forces *Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy *Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force *Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...

Executive Committee members which are 12 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt. Voters had a choice between Ghana and Libya which was disadvantaged by the fact that two countries in the North Africa region had already hosted the last two editions (Tunisia in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, and Egypt in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

). South Africa, also a candidate at the start, eventually withdrew in May 2004 after being nominated for the organization of the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. This was the fourth time that Ghana hosted the African Cup after

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

(jointly with Nigeria).

Qualification

The entrants were divided into 12 groups. All group winners and the best three runners-up from groups with four teams (groups 2-11) qualified for the finals. Host Ghana qualified automatically. Qualifying took place between 2 September 2006 and 13 October 2007.

Teams

* – Host, 16th appearance (4 titles) * – Group 1 winner, 17th appearance (1 title) * – Group 2 winner, 21st appearance (5 titles) * – Group 3 winner, 15th appearance (2 titles) * – Group 4 winner, 7th appearance (1 title) * – Group 5 winner, 15th appearance (4 titles) * – Group 6 winner, 4th appearance * – Group 7 winner, 11th appearance * – Group 8 winner, 9th appearance * – Group 9 winner, 5th appearance * – Group 10 winner, 2nd appearance * – Group 11 winner, 13th appearance * – Group 12 winner, 14th appearance (1 title) * – Group 4 runner-up, 13th appearance (1 title) * – Group 9 runner-up, 2nd appearance * – Group 11 runner-up, 7th appearance (1 title)

Venues

Tournament ball

During the previous editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, the ball used was not a ball especially made for the tournament. As the tournament was held on even years, the same years big tournaments such as the UEFA European Championships or the FIFA World Cup were held, the official ball for the tournament held this year was used for the African Cup of Nations: the Adidas Roteiro in 2004, or the Adidas Teamgeist in 2006. However, for the 2008 tournament, Adidas made a special ball, clearly different from the Adidas Europass going to be used five months later for the Euro. The ball was named Wawa Aba and was designed to include host nation Ghana's red, yellow and green. The ball was later used for the other African competitions. For the

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

culture originating from Western Africa, one of the

Adinkra symbols ''Adinkra'' are symbols from Ghana that represent concepts or aphorisms. ''Adinkra'' are used extensively in fabrics, logos and pottery. They are incorporated into walls and other architectural features. ''Adinkra'' symbols appear on some tradi ...

named ''Wawa Aba'' is a symbol of hardiness, toughness, and perseverance. People there particularly believe in the strength and team spirit of a community. The ''Wawa Aba'' literally means "seed(s) of Wawa tree (''

Triplochiton scleroxylon ''Triplochiton scleroxylon'' is a tree of the genus '' Triplochiton'' of the family ''Malvaceae''. The timber is known by the common names African whitewood, abachi, obeche (in Nigeria), wawa (in Ghana), ayous (in Cameroon) and sambawawa (in Ivor ...

'')”, one of the strongest and most processible woods of Africa and whose seeds are very hard. For the population, the ''Wawa Aba'' mainly has mystical significance. These are people who don't let failure discourage them, who seize all opportunities successfully and who are thus just as strong and adaptable as the ''Wawa Aba''.

Match officials

16 referees and 16 assistant referees were selected for the tournament, including two from Japan and one from South Korea.

Squads

Draw

The draw for the tournament took place on 19 October 2007 in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

. The sixteen teams were divided into four pots according to their performances in past Cup of Nations tournaments. Ghana, as hosts, were automatically seeded as the top team in Group A. Egypt, the defending champions, were seeded as the top team in Group C. Tunisia and Nigeria had the two strongest records and so completed the top seeded Pot 1. Each group consists of four teams, one drawn from each of the pots.

Group stage

Tie-breaking criteria

Where two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria: # points earned in the matches between the teams concerned; # goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned; # number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned; # goal difference in all group matches; # number of goals scored in all group matches; # drawing of lots by the organizing committee. ''All times given as local time (

UTC+0 UTC+00:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +00:00. This time zone is the basis of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and all other time zones are based on it. In ISO 8601, an example of the associated time would be written as 2069-0 ...

)''

Group A

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Group B

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Group C

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Group D

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

---- ---- ----

Semi-finals

----

Third place match

Final

Awards

Player of the tournament

* Hosny Abd Rabo

Top scorer

Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian Association football, football administrator and former Football player, player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation. He is often regarded as one of the ...

– 5 goals

Best Goalkeeper

* Essam El-Hadary

Best XI

The following players were selected as the best in their respective positions, based on their performances throughout the tournament. Their performances were analysed by the tournament's Technical Study Group (TSG), who picked the team. ;Substitutes * Richard Kingson * Hany Said *

Ahmed Fathy Ahmed Fathy Abdelmonem Ahmed Ibrahim (; born 10 November 1984) is an Egyptian former professional association football, footballer who played as a full-back (association football), full-back. Considered by some as one of Africa's best-ever ful ...

Saber Ben Frej Saber Ben Frej (born 3 July 1979) is a retired Tunisian footballer. Club career During the first half of the 2007–08 season, Ben Frej scored nine goals in 13 games for Etoile du Sahel, before moving to Le Mans UC72 Le Mans Football Clu ...

* Stéphane Mbia *

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...

Kader Keïta Kader may refer to: *Kader (film), ''Kader'' (film), a 2006 Turkish drama film *Kader Group, a toy manufacturer of Hong Kong *Kader Factory for Developed Industries, a defence manufacturer of Egypt People with the given name *Kader Abdolah (born ...

Goalscorers

;5 goals *

;4 goals *

Manucho Mateus Alberto Contreiras Gonçalves (born 7 March 1983), commonly known as Manucho, is a former Angolan professional footballer who played as a striker. Manucho moved from Petro Atletico to Manchester United in January 2008. Before playing ...

* Hosny Abd Rabo *

Mohamed Aboutrika Mohamed Mohamed Mohamed Aboutrika (; born 7 November 1978) is an Egyptian retired professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and a forward (association football), forward. He was voted second place in the ...

Amr Zaki Amr Hassan Zaki (; born 1 April 1983) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He has played for numerous different clubs in Egypt, Russia, England, Turkey and Kuwait. Zaki has made 63 appearances and scored 30 goa ...

;3 goals *

Salomon Kalou Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou (born 5 August 1985) is an Ivorian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward or Midfielder#Winger, winger. He started his career with local club AS ...

Boubacar Sanogo Boubacar Sanogo (born 17 December 1982) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Born in Dimbokro in the Ivory Coast, Sanogo started his career in Tunisia and then went to Al-Ain FC in the UAE League, wh ...

Junior Agogo Manuel "Junior" Agogo (1 August 1979 – 22 August 2019) was a Ghanaian professional footballer who played as a striker. He was born in Ghana but spent most of his childhood in the UK. He then moved back to Ghana during his years in secondary sc ...

Sulley Muntari Suleyman Ali "Sulley" Muntari (born 27 August 1984) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in Italy, playing for clubs such as Udinese Calcio, Udinese, Inter Mil ...

* Soufiane Alloudi ;2 goals *

Geremi Geremi Sorele Njitap Fotso (born 20 December 1978), known simply as Geremi, is a Cameroonian former professional footballer. He was a versatile player able to play at right back, right midfield or defensive midfielder, known for his power, p ...

Joseph-Désiré Job Joseph-Désiré Job (born 1 December 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in France, he played for the Cameroon national team. After starting his career in France, Job moved to English team Middlesbrough, wh ...

* Stéphane Mbia *

Mohamed Zidan Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed Zidan (; born 11 December 1981) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Early career Mohamed Zidan was born in Port Said to an Egyptian family. His career started as a s ...

Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian Association football, football coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach at Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland. During his prime he was regarded as on ...

Pascal Feindouno Pascal Feindouno (born 27 February 1981) is a Guinean former professional footballer who played as a winger. In his prime, he was widely recognised as one of the best footballers to come out of Guinea. He scored 30 goals in 85 appearances betwe ...

* Brian Brendell *

Yakubu Yakubu is a male-given Hausa language, Hausa, Yoruba language, Yoruba and some parts of Edo State, Edo. The name is commonly used as a surname in Nigeria and other African countries. The name means "God is merciful.". It is a cognate of Jacob (na ...

Elrio van Heerden Elrio van Heerden (, ; born 11 July 1983) is a South African retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder for the likes of Copenhagen, Club Brugge and Blackburn Rovers, among other clubs. He was previously also been an established ...

Chaouki Ben Saada Chaouki Ben Saada (; born 1 July 1984) is a French-born former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and forward for the Tunisia national team. Club career Born in Bastia, France, Ben Saada made 170 appearances for Bastia, scorin ...

* Francileudo dos Santos * Chris Katongo ;1 goal * Flávio *

Razak Omotoyossi Razak Omotoyossi (born 8 October 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Nigeria, he appeared for the Benin national team at international level. He played in Nigeria, Egypt, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and France f ...

* Achille Emana * Alain N'Kong * Aruna Dindane *

Bakari Koné Bakari Koné (born 17 September 1981) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a winger. Club career Early career Koné was born in Abidjan. Like many other Ivorian stars, he began his career at the famed youth academy at A ...

Yaya Touré Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently an assistant coach for the Saudi Arabia national team. Touré aspired to be a striker during h ...

Marco Zoro Marc-André "Marco" Zoro Kpolo (born 27 December 1983) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Born in Anyama, Zoro started his career in Italy, first with U.S. Salernitana 1919, without howeve ...

* Haminu Dramani *

Asamoah Gyan Asamoah Gyan ( ; born 22 November 1985) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is a former Captain (association football), captain of the Ghana national foo ...

* Quincy Owusu-Abeyie *

Ismaël Bangoura Ismaël Bangoura (born 2 January 1985) is a Guinean former footballer who played as a forward. Although his primary position is striker, Bangoura has also played as a winger and attacking midfielder. Club career Early career Bangoura bega ...

* Oumar Kalabane *

Souleymane Youla Souleymane Youla (born 29 November 1981) is a Guinean football player. He has Turkish citizenship with the name Süleyman Yula. Career Club Youla's professional career started in Belgium in 1999, when Lokeren signed him to replace the departed ...

Frédéric Kanouté Frédéric Oumar Kanouté (born 2 September 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker for several top-tier clubs in Europe, enjoying his greatest success with La Liga side Sevilla. Kanouté was named the 2007 African Foot ...

Hicham Aboucherouane Hicham Aboucherouane (; born 2 April 1981) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a winger. He began his career 1997 with Najm El Aounat, 1999 was transferred to Raja Casablanca. He was loaned out from Raja Casablanca in Jul ...

Abdeslam Ouaddou Abdeslam Ouaddou (; born 1 November 1978) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. He also holds the French nationality. Club career Ouaddou was born in Alnif, Morocco. He started his fo ...

Tarik Sektioui Tarik Sektioui (; born 13 May 1977) is a Moroccan professional football coach and former player who currently manages the Morocco national under-23 team. He spent most of his professional career in the Netherlands and Portugal, amassing Erediv ...

Monsef Zerka Monsef Zerka (, born 30 August 1981) is a former professional footballer. He originally played as a striker, but throughout his career he has also played as a fullback and as a midfielder. Born in France, he represented Morocco at international ...

Mikel John Obi Mikel John Obi (born John Michael Nchekwube Obinna; 22 April 1987), also known as John Obi Mikel, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Mikel began his career with local club Plateau United, before ...

Moustapha Bayal Sall Moustapha Bayal Sall (born 30 November 1985) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Jordanian club Al Faisaly SC. At international level, he has represented Senegal, earning 29 caps and scoring one goal. Playing ...

Henri Camara Henri Camara (born 10 May 1977) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a striker. Starting his career in the late 1990s, he went on to play professionally in France, Switzerland, Scotland, England, and Greece before retiri ...

* Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye *

Diomansy Kamara Diomansy Mehdi Moustapha Kamara (born 8 November 1980) is a former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Born in Paris, France, he played internationally for Senegal national footba ...

Katlego Mphela Katlego Abel Mphela (born 29 November 1984) is a South African retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Mphela, a product of Jomo Cosmos, played in France for RC Strasbourg Alsace and Stade de Reims, both with limi ...

* Yassine Chikhaoui *

Issam Jemâa Issam Jemâa (; born 28 January 1984 in Gabès) is a Tunisian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He started his footballing career for Espérance Sportive de Tunis, and was later signed by French side Lens. A Tunisia interna ...

Mejdi Traoui Mejdi Traoui (born December 13, 1983, in Sousse) is a Tunisian footballer. Career On May 1, 2008, Traoui signed a contract at Red Bull Salzburg until summer 2011. He made two substitute appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga for Red Bull Salzbu ...

James Chamanga James Chamanga (born 2 February 1980) is a Zambian professional association football, football who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Red Arrows F.C., Red Arrows. Club career Chamanga's goal against the South Africa national ...

* Felix Katongo * Jacob Mulenga ;Own goals * Mohammed Ali El Khider (playing against Cameroon)

Tournament rankings

, - , colspan="11", Eliminated in the quarter-finals , - , - , colspan="11", Eliminated in the group stage , -

References

External links

2008 African Cup of Nations at CAFonline.com

Africa Cup of Nations on BBC 1Xtra

African Cup of Nations 2008 coverage on Reuters.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Africa Cup Of Nations Africa Cup of Nations tournaments International association football competitions hosted by Ghana 2007–08 in Ghanaian football Africa Cup of Nations 2008

Nations A nation is a type of social organization where a collective identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, territory, or societ ...

January 2008 sports events in Africa February 2008 sports events in Africa