9 Records That Were Broken at 2023 AFCON

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) hosted by Cote d’Ivoire ended on Sunday, February 11, 2024, with the host nation winning the competition after defeating its West African neighbours, Nigeria, 2-1.

During the tournament, nine records were shattered, with André Ayew (Ghana) tying Rigobert Song (Cameroon) for the most matches played at 36 each, according to data compiled by Bettors.co.za.

Also, both Youssef Msakni (Tunisia) and André Ayew tied the record for the most appearances with this being their 8th appearance.

Egypt extended their record as the nation with the most appearances at AFCON with 26, while Nigeria extended their record for the most medals won (16 in total).

Lastly, Ivory Coast ended the “record” for the longest streak of host countries not winning AFCON, which has lasted since 2006!

Below are the records

Players

    Youssef Msakni (Tunisia) and André Ayew (Ghana) tied the record for the most appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations with this being their 8th appearance, joining Rigobert Song (Cameroon) and Ahmed Hassan (Egypt).

    André Ayew (Ghana) tied Rigobert Song (Cameroon) for the most matches played at the Africa Cup of Nations – 36.

    Oumar Diakité (Ivory Coast) joined Brighton Sinyangwe (Zambia) and Jaouad Zairri (Morocco) and now jointly holds the record for the latest goal scored – he scored in the 120th minute in a match against Mali.

Ivory Coast

    Ivory Coast ended the record for the longest streak of host countries not winning the African Cup Of Nations, which has lasted since 2006 – Egypt was the last hosting country that won.

Nigeria

    After placing 2nd, Nigeria extended their record as the nation with the most amount of medals (gold, bronze and silver) – they have now won 16 medals in total, with Egypt (13 medals) and Ghana (10 medals) in second and third place, respectively.

    After ending up second, Nigeria also tied Ghana as the nation with the most amount of silver medals since it was their 5th.

Egypt

    Egypt extended its record for the most overall appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations since this was their 26th appearance.

Tunisia

    Tunisia extended its record for most consecutive appearances – this was their 16th consecutive appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations.