2021 AFCON Kick-starts Tomorrow
AFCON 2021 begins tomorrow January 9 when hosts Cameron face Burkina Faso in Group A at 4pm; all 52 games throughout the competition will be shown live across Sky Sports; tournament concludes with the final on Sunday February 6
Dates, kick-off times and host cities – here’s the full schedule for AFCON 2021.
The tournament, originally scheduled to be played in June and July 2021, will be played in Cameroon between January 9 and February 6, 2022, with Sky Sports showing all 52 games live.
Twenty-four teams will take part, kicking off on January 9 as hosts Cameroon host Burkina Faso in Yaounde, before culminating in the final on February 6 in the capital.
Sunday at AFCON
The Africa Cup of Nations finally start in Cameroon on Sunday, three years later than planned and after two delays, with the hosts kicking off the tournament against Burkina Faso in the opening game.
The first postponement was a result of the host country’s own faulty preparations, and the other because of a global pandemic that organisers and everyone else had hoped would be in retreat by now.
Instead, the virus is surging again because of the Omicron variant, leaving the continent’s showpiece event in the same place it was 12 months ago, with the talents of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and many others at risk of being eclipsed by infections and outbreaks in a region that has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the world.
Amid some calls to postpone again, organisers will forge ahead with the 24-team, 52-game championship, culminating in the final taking place at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, the capital city.
Following Cameroon’s curtain-raiser against Burkina Faso at 4pm, Ethiopia take on Cape Verde at 7pm
AFCON 2021 groups
Group A: Cameroon (hosts), Burkina Faso, Cape Verde Islands, Ethiopia
Group B: Guinea, Malawi, Senegal, Zimbabwe
Group C: Comoros Islands, Gabon, Ghana, Morocco
Group D: Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Sudan
Group E: Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone
Group F: Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Tunisia
AFCON 2021 group-stage fixtures and results
Sunday January 9
Group A: Cameron vs Burkina Faso, 4pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Group A: Ethiopia vs Cape Verde, 7pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Monday January 10
Group B: Senegal vs Zimbabwe, 1pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group B: Guinea vs Malawi, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group C: Morocco vs Ghana, 4pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Group C: Comoros vs Gabon, 7pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Tuesday January 11
Group E: Algeria vs Sierra Leone, 1pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Group D: Nigeria vs Egypt, 4pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Group D: Sudan vs Guinea-Bissau, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Wednesday January 12
Group F: Tunisia vs Mali, 1pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group F: Mauritania vs Gambia, 4pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Thursday January 13
Group A: Cameroon vs Ethiopia, 4pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Group A: Cape Verde vs Burkina Faso, 7pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Friday January 14
Group B: Senegal vs Guinea, 1pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group B: Malawi vs Zimbabwe, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group C: Morocco vs Comoros, 4pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Group C: Gabon vs Ghana, 7pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Saturday January 15
Group D: Nigeria vs Sudan, 4pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Group D: Guinea-Bissau vs Egypt, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Sunday January 16
Group F: Gambia vs Mali, 1pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group E: Ivory Coast vs Sierra Leone, 4pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala) –
Group F: Tunisia vs Mauritania, 4pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group E: Algeria vs Equatorial Guinea, 7pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Monday January 17
Group A: Burkina Faso vs Ethiopia, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group A: Cape Verde vs Cameroon, 4pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Tuesday January 18
Group B: Malawi vs Senegal, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Group B: Zimbabwe vs Guinea, 4pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Group C: Gabon vs Morocco, 7pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Group C: Ghana vs Comoros, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Wednesday January 19
Group D: Egypt vs Sudan, 7pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Group D: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Thursday January 20
Group E: Ivory Coast vs Algeria, 4pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Group E: Sierra Leone vs Equatorial Guinea, 4pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group F: Gambia vs Tunisia, 7pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Group F: Mali vs Mauritania, 7pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
AFCON 2021 round-of-16 fixtures and results
Sunday January 23
Game 1: Group A runner-up vs Group C runner-up, 4pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
Game 2: Group D winner vs Group B/E/F third-place, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Monday January 24
Game 3: Group B runner-up vs Group F runner-up, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam)
Game 4: Group A winner vs Group C/D/E third-place, 7pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Tuesday January 25
Game 5: Group B winner vs Group A/C/D third-place, 4pm (Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam) –
Game 6: Group C winner vs Group A/B/F third-place, 7pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
Wednesday January 26
Game 7: Group E winner vs Group D runner-up, 4pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Game 8: Group F winner vs Group E runner-up, 7pm (Limbe Stadium, Limbe)
AFCON 2021 quarter-final fixtures and results
Saturday January 29
Quarter-final 1: Round-of-16 game 4 winner vs Round-of-16 game 3 winner, 4pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Quarter-final 2: Round-of-16 game 1 winner vs Round-of-16 game 2 winner, 7pm (Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua)
Sunday January 30
Quarter-final 3: Round-of-16 game 7 winner vs Round-of-16 game 6 winner, 4pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
Quarter-final 4: Round-of-16 game 5 winner vs Round-of-16 game 8 winner, 7pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
AFCON 2021 semi-final fixtures and results
Wednesday February 2
Semi-final 1: Quarter-final 1 winner vs Quarter-final 4 winner, 7pm (Japoma Stadium, Douala)
Thursday February 3
Semi-final 2: Quarter-final 2 winner vs Quarter-final 3 winner, 7pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
AFCON 2021 third-place match
Sunday February 6
Semi-final 1 loser vs Semi-final 2 loser, 4pm (Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaounde)
AFCON 2021 final
Sunday February 6
Semi-final 1 winner vs Semi-final 2 winner, 7pm (Olembe Stadium, Yaounde)
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