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The African Nations Championship (AFCON) is the esteemed football competition on the African continent. Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) oversees the handling of the competition. Participating teams continued increasing from 3 in 1957 to 24 in 2019. CAF introduced qualifying rounds due to the high number of participating teams.

The veteran teams of the AFCON competition are Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. The first trophy of the tournament was named after Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem, the donor and the first CAF president. After winning the title three times, Ghana won the Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem winner’s trophy permanently in 1978.

The first AFCON competition occurred in Khartoum, Sudan (February 1957). Egypt has won the AFCON title seven times, while Cameroon has won it five times. AFCON has 52 countries in the qualifying stage and 24 in the final draw. The competition occurs every two years; the last was in 2021, and Senegal was the winning team.

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South Africa’s Participation in AFCON

In 1996 the South African Bafana Bafana team won the AFCON title after beating Tunisia 2-0. Nelson Mandela, then the president of South Africa, attended the legendary match. Other notable attendees included Pele, the Brazilian soccer legend, and Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini. Bafana Bafana won the title while making their debut entry into the competition.

The South African soccer team has never won the AFCON title again. The list of 2024 AFCON teams was recently released, and the team is in Group E. Other teams in the same group as South Africa include Tunisia, Mali, and Namibia.

AFCON betting odds indicate South Africa and Mali are among the teams likely to qualify from Group E. Soccer betting fans can wager on Bafana Bafana and 10bet during the AFCON qualifying rounds. AFCON 2024 favourites include Senegal, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

Thanks to the 24-team format, only the top two teams in each group will proceed to the knockout. Bafana Bafana hopes to make it to the top in the 34^th edition of the AFCON competition. The team missed out on the 2021 edition of the tournament.

Group E Teams

Tunisia is labelled as a competitive team in the AFCON tournaments, having won the 2004 title. The team also participated in the 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar. But they didn’t qualify for the second round of the competition and were ranked 21^st.

Bafana Bafana has failed to qualify for four of the past seven AFCON competitions. If they progress to the second round, it will show impressive progress for the team. Namibia is also making a comeback into the AFCON competition, determined to make an impression and possibly win the title.

Mali is also a strong contender, having missed the 2022 World Cup tournament after losing to Tunisia. The team is determined to make it to the finals of the AFCON 2024 competition.

Group E fixtures

The AFCON 2024 matches for the teams in Group E will happen on the following dates. The qualifying teams will then proceed to the final draw with other top winners from the other groups.

• Tuesday, the 16^th of January 2024: Tunisia vs Namibia, Mali vs South Africa
• Saturday, the 20^th of January 2024: Tunisia vs Mali
• Sunday, the 21^st of January 2024: South Africa vs Namibia
• Wednesday, the 24^th of January 2024: South Africa vs Tunisia, Namibia vs Mali

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Bafana Bafana Team Line Up

Hugo Bross, the coach of Bafana Bafana, unveiled the squad playing in the AFCON 2024 tournament. The 23-man team also features three players on standby. On the 4th of January 2024, the players will assemble for camp before proceeding to Stellenbosch training camp until the 9^th of January.

The Bafana Bafana AFCON lineup will feature the following players:

• Goal Keepers: Ricardo Goss, Veli Mothwa, and Ronwen Williams
• Defenders: Khuliso Mudau, Mothobi Mvala, Aubrey Modiba, Grant Kekana, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Terrence Mashigo, Siyanda Xulu, and Sydney Mobbie
• Forwards: Evidence Makgopa, Percy Tau, Mihlali Mayambela, Oswin Appollis, Zakhele Lepasa, and Themba Zwane.
• Midfielders: Thapelo Morena, Thapelo Maseko, Jayden Adams, Sphelophelo Sithole, Thabang Monare, and Teboho Mokoena.

Lebo Mothiba (RCS Strasbourg) France-based forward isn’t in the lineup after suffering an injury last week. Lyle Foster, the Burnley forward, is also absent from the list due to mental health issues.

Hugo Bross is optimistic about the team. He’s confident the team will make commendable progress in the tournament despite the past underperformance in the qualifying stages.

Goal!

South Africa holds the 1996 AFCON title and was the runner-up in the 1998 AFCON competition. Bafana Bafana has suffered a streak of bad luck by failing to qualify in four of the seven AFCON truants. The 2024 AFCON competition kicks off from the 13^th of January to the 11^th of February 2024 and will be hosted by Ivory Coast.