2012 Africa Cup of Nations

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

2012 Africa Cup of Nations
  • Copa Africana de Naciones 2012
  • Campeonato Africano das Nações de 2012
  • Coupe d'Afrique des Nations 2012
  • AFCON 2012
  • CAN 2012
Tournament details
Host countriesGabon
Equatorial Guinea
Dates21 January – 12 February
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Zambia (1st title)
Runners-up Ivory Coast
Third place Mali
Fourth place Ghana
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored76 (2.38 per match)
Attendance456,332 (14,260 per match)
Top scorer(s) Manucho
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Didier Drogba
Cheick Diabaté
Houssine Kharja
Christopher Katongo
Emmanuel Mayuka
(3 goals each)
Best player(s) Christopher Katongo
Fair play award Ivory Coast

The competition took place between 21 January and 12 February 2012 and was co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The bidding process for hosting the tournament ended in September 2006.

The matches were played in four stadiums in four host cities, with the final played at the newly built Stade d'Angondjé in Gabon's largest city, Libreville. Fourteen teams were selected for participation via a continental qualification tournament that began in July 2010.

The 2012 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations took place against the backdrop of political turmoil. Libya and Tunisia qualified for the tournament, even as the Arab Spring brought upheaval and regime change to both nations.[1] Traditional African footballing nations such as reigning champions Egypt (also affected by political events), as well as Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa had failed to qualify. Players from third-placed Mali had pleaded for the insurgency in the north of their country to end.

In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These eight teams advanced to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final. Both host nations, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, were eliminated from the competition at the quarter final stage.

In the final, unfancied Zambia defeated third-time finalists Ivory Coast after a dramatic penalty shootout in the final, despite the fact that Ivory Coast did not concede a single goal during the entire tournament,[2] giving Zambia their first continental title.[3] Manager Hervé Renard dedicated their win to the members of the national team who died in a plane crash near the final's venue in Libreville in 1993.[4]

Host selection

Bids :

  • Angola
  • Gabon / Equatorial Guinea
  • Libya
  • Nigeria

Rejected Bids :

  • Benin / Central African Republic
  • Botswana
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Senegal
  • Zimbabwe

On 4 September 2006, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) approved a compromise between rival countries to host the Africa Cup of Nations after it ruled out Nigeria. CAF agreed to award the next three editions from 2010 to Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Libya respectively. They assigned Angola in 2010, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, which submitted a joint bid in 2012, and Libya for 2014.

This edition was awarded to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea to rotate the hosting of the cup and give hosting chance for first-timer nations.

Two-time former host Nigeria is the reserve host for the 2010, 2012, and 2014 tournaments, in the event that any of the host countries fails to meet the requirements established by CAF.

The 2014 tournament was pushed forward to 2013 and subsequently held in odd-numbered years to avoid year-clash with the FIFA World Cup.[5]

Qualification
Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

The qualification process involved ten groups of four, one of which was reduced to a group of three after the withdrawal of Mauritania, and one group of five. The top team from each group goes through, as well as the second placed team from the group of five. The two best second place teams also qualify. At the end of the qualification process, fourteen teams would have qualified, as well as the two host nations. The first qualifiers were held on 1 July 2010.[6]

Qualified teams
A map of Africa showing the qualified nations, highlighted by stage reached.
Country Qualified as Qualification date Appearance in finals Previous best performance Regional body FIFA ranking1 Continental ranking1
 Angola JWGroup J Winner 048 October 2011 066th 40Quarterfinals (2008, 2010) COSAFA 85 19
 Botswana KWGroup K Winner 0126 March 2011 011st 20none COSAFA 94 21
 Burkina Faso FWGroup F Winner 033 September 2011 088th 50Fourth place (1998) WAFU 66 14
 Ivory Coast HWGroup H Winner 025 June 2011 1919th 80Winner (1992) WAFU 18 1
 Equatorial Guinea AACo-host 0029 July 2007 011st 20none UNIFFAC 151 41
 Gabon AACo-host 0029 July 2007 055th 30Quarterfinals (1996) UNIFFAC 91 20
 Ghana IWGroup I Winner 048 October 2011 1818th 90Winner (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982) WAFU 26 2
 Guinea BWGroup B Winner 048 October 2011 1010th 60Second place (1976) WAFU 79 17
 Libya RU Top Two Runner-Up 048 October 2011 033rd 60Second place (1982) UNAF 63 13
 Mali AWGroup A Winner 048 October 2011 077th 60Second place (1972) WAFU 69 15
 Morocco DWGroup D Winner 059 October 2011 1414th 80Winner (1976) UNAF 61 12
 Niger GWGroup G Winner 048 October 2011 011st 20none WAFU 98 22
 Senegal EWGroup E Winner 033 September 2011 1212th 60Second place (2002) WAFU 43 5
 Sudan RU Top Two Runner-Up 059 October 2011 088th 80Winner (1970) CECAFA 120 30
 Tunisia KXGroup K Runner-up 048 October 2011 1515th 80Winner (2004) UNAF 59 10
 Zambia CWGroup C Winner 048 October 2011 1515th 70Second place (1974, 1994) COSAFA 71 16
1 FIFA World Rankings, release of 18 January 2012.

Controversies

Togo

Togo were initially banned from the 2012 and 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments by CAF after they withdrew from the 2010 tournament following an attack on their team bus.[7] Togo appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with FIFA president Sepp Blatter stepping in to mediate. The ban was subsequently lifted with immediate effect on 14 May 2010, after a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee. Togo were therefore free to play in the 2012 and 2013 qualifiers.[8]

Nigeria

On 30 June 2010, after Nigeria's exit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan punished the team for a poor campaign by imposing a two-year ban from international competition.[9] This would have resulted in the Nigerians missing out on both the 2012 qualifying phase and the 2012 African Cup of Nations. However, on 5 July, the Nigerian government dropped the ban after FIFA threatened to impose harsher international sanctions as a result of the government interference.[10] Nigeria competed in qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations as scheduled but failed to qualify.

Venues

The opening match, one semi-final and the third place match were held in Equatorial Guinea, while the other semi-final and the final were held in Gabon.[11]

Bata, Equatorial Guinea Libreville, Gabon
Estadio de BataStade d'Angondjé
Capacity: 37,500Capacity: 40,000
Malabo, Equatorial GuineaFranceville, Gabon
Nuevo Estadio de MalaboStade de Franceville
Capacity: 15,250Capacity: 22,000

Draw

The draw for the final tournament took place on 29 October 2011 at the Sipopo Conference Palace in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.[12] The draw ceremony was attended by the two presidents from the host countries, President Ali Bongo of Gabon and President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea.[13] The draw saw the 16 qualified teams being pitted into four groups of four teams each. The two top teams from each group will qualify for the quarter finals with the winners progressing to the semi finals and final eventually.

The two hosts were automatically seeded into pot 1. The other 14 qualified teams were ranked based on their performances during the previous three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.[14] For each of the last three African Cup of Nations final tournaments, the following system of points is adopted for the qualified countries:

Classification Points awarded
Winner 7
Runner-up 5
Losing semi-finalists 3
Losing quarter-finalists 2
Eliminated in 1st round 1

Moreover, a weighted coefficient on points was given to each of the last three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations as follows:

The teams were then divided into four pots based on the ranking. Each group contained one team from each pot.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

 Equatorial Guinea (co-hosts; assigned to A1)
 Gabon (co-hosts; assigned to C1)
 Ghana (22 pts)
 Ivory Coast (17 pts)

 Angola (11 pts)
 Tunisia (9 pts)
 Zambia (9 pts)
 Guinea (6 pts)

 Mali (5 pts)
 Senegal (5 pts)
 Morocco (3 pts)
 Burkina Faso (3 pts)

 Sudan (2 pts)
 Libya (1 pt)
 Botswana (0 pts)
 Niger (0 pts)

Match officials

The following referees were chosen for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.[15]

Referees Linesmen

Mohamed Benouza
Djamel Haimoudi
Néant Alioum
Noumandiez Doué
Gehad Grisha
Eric Otogo-Castane
Bakary Gassama
Hamada Nampiandraza
Koman Coulibaly
Ali Lemghaifry
Rajindraparsad Seechurn
Bouchaïb El Ahrach
Badara Diatta
Eddy Maillet
Daniel Bennett
Khalid Abdel Rahman
Slim Jedidi
Janny Sikazwe

Albdelhak Etchiali
Jean-Claude Birumushahu
Evarist Menkouande
Yanoussa Moussa
Richard Bouende-Malonga
Songuifolo Yeo
Angesom Ogbamariam
Theophile Vinga
Aboubacar Doumbouya
Marwa Range
Moffat Champiti
Balla Diarra
Balkrishna Bootun
Redouane Achik
David Shaanika
Peter Edibe
Felicien Kabanda
Djibril Camara
Jason Damoo
Zakhele Siwela
Bechir Hassani

Squads
Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations squads

Each team's squad for the tournament consisted of 23 players; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament. Each participating national association had to submit their squad by 11 January 2012 (midnight CET). Replacement of seriously injured players was permitted until 24 hours before the team in question's first match of the tournament.[16]

Group stage

Groups A and B took place in Equatorial Guinea, while Groups C and D were held in Gabon.[17] Notably, there was not a single goalless draw during the group stage.

Tie-breaking criteria

If two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria:[16]

  1. points earned in the matches between the teams concerned;
  2. goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned;
  3. number of goals scored in the matches between the teams concerned;
  4. goal difference in all group matches;
  5. number of goals scored in all group matches;
  6. fair play points system taking into account the number of yellow and red cards;
  7. drawing of lots by the organising committee.
Key to colours in group tables
Top two placed teams advanced to the quarterfinals

All times are West Africa Time (UTC+1).

Group A
Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group A
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Zambia 3 2 1 0 5 3 +2 7
 Equatorial Guinea 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6
 Libya 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
 Senegal 3 0 0 3 3 6 −3 0
Source:
21 January 2012
Equatorial Guinea 1–0 LibyaEstadio de Bata, Bata
Senegal 1–2 ZambiaEstadio de Bata, Bata
25 January 2012
Libya 2–2 ZambiaEstadio de Bata, Bata
Equatorial Guinea 2–1 SenegalEstadio de Bata, Bata
29 January 2012
Equatorial Guinea 0–1 ZambiaNuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Libya 2–1 SenegalEstadio de Bata, Bata

Group B
Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group B
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Ivory Coast 3 3 0 0 5 0 +5 9
 Sudan 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
 Angola 3 1 1 1 4 5 −1 4
 Burkina Faso 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4 0
Source:
22 January 2012
Ivory Coast 1–0 SudanNuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Burkina Faso 1–2 AngolaNuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
26 January 2012
Sudan 2–2 AngolaNuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
Ivory Coast 2–0 Burkina FasoNuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo
30 January 2012
Sudan 2–1 Burkina FasoEstadio de Bata, Bata
Ivory Coast 2–0 AngolaNuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo

Group C
Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group C
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Gabon 3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 9
 Tunisia 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6
 Morocco 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
 Niger 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0
Source:
23 January 2012
Gabon 2–0 NigerStade d'Angondjé, Libreville
Morocco 1–2 TunisiaStade d'Angondjé, Libreville
27 January 2012
Niger 1–2 TunisiaStade d'Angondjé, Libreville
Gabon 3–2 MoroccoStade d'Angondjé, Libreville
31 January 2012
Gabon 1–0 TunisiaStade de Franceville, Franceville
Niger 0–1 MoroccoStade d'Angondjé, Libreville

Group D
Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group D
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Ghana 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7
 Mali 3 2 0 1 3 3 0 6
 Guinea 3 1 1 1 7 3 +4 4
 Botswana 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7 0
Source:
24 January 2012
Ghana 1–0 BotswanaStade de Franceville, Franceville
Mali 1–0 GuineaStade de Franceville, Franceville
28 January 2012
Botswana 1–6 GuineaStade de Franceville, Franceville
Ghana 2–0 MaliStade de Franceville, Franceville
1 February 2012
Botswana 1–2 MaliStade d'Angondjé, Libreville
Ghana 1–1 GuineaStade de Franceville, Franceville

Knockout stage
Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations knockout stage
 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
4 February – Bata
 
 
 Zambia3
 
8 February – Bata
 
 Sudan0
 
 Zambia1
 
5 February – Franceville
 
 Ghana0
 
 Ghana (aet)2
 
12 February – Libreville
 
 Tunisia1
 
 Zambia (p)0 (8)
 
5 February – Libreville
 
 Ivory Coast0 (7)
 
 Gabon1 (4)
 
8 February – Libreville
 
 Mali (p)1 (5)
 
 Mali0
 
4 February – Malabo
 
 Ivory Coast1 Third place
 
 Ivory Coast3
 
11 February – Malabo
 
 Equatorial Guinea0
 
 Ghana0
 
 
 Mali2
 

Quarterfinals
Zambia 3–0 Sudan
Sunzu  15'
C. Katongo  66'
Chamanga  86'		 Report
Attendance: 200[18]
Ivory Coast 3–0 Equatorial Guinea
Drogba  35', 69'
Y. Touré  81'		 Report
Attendance: 12,500[18]
Gabon 1–1 (a.e.t.) Mali
Mouloungui  54' Report Diabaté  85'
Penalties
Poko
Mbanangoyé
Mouloungui
Aubameyang
Manga 		4–5 Diabaté
Yatabaré
Kanté
B. Traoré
Se. Keita
Attendance: 30,000[18]
Ghana 2–1 (a.e.t.) Tunisia
John Mensah  9'
A. Ayew  100'		 Report Khelifa  41'
Attendance: 8,000[18]

Semifinals
Zambia 1–0 Ghana
Mayuka  78' Report
Attendance: 12,000[18]
Mali 0–1 Ivory Coast
Report Gervinho  45'
Attendance: 32,000[18]

Third place match
Ghana 0–2 Mali
Report Diabaté  23', 80'
Attendance: 15,000[18]
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)

Final
Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Final
Zambia 0–0 (a.e.t.) Ivory Coast
Report
Penalties
C. Katongo
Mayuka
Chansa
F. Katongo
Mweene
Sinkala
Chisamba
Kalaba
Sunzu 		8–7 Tioté
Bony
Bamba
Gradel
Drogba
Tiéné
Ya Konan
K. Touré
Gervinho
Attendance: 40,000

Awards

Team of the tournament

Scorers
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal

Team statistics
Pos. Team Pld W D L Pts GF GA GD
1  Zambia 6 4 2 0 14 9 3 +6
2  Ivory Coast 6 5 1 0 16 9 0 +9
3  Mali 6 3 1 2 10 6 5 +1
4  Ghana 6 3 1 2 10 6 5 +1
Eliminated in the quarterfinals
5  Gabon 4 3 1 0 10 7 3 +4
6  Tunisia 4 2 0 2 6 5 5 0
7  Equatorial Guinea 4 2 0 2 6 3 5 -2
8  Sudan 4 1 1 2 4 4 7 -3
Eliminated in the group stage
9  Guinea 3 1 1 1 4 7 3 +4
10  Libya 3 1 1 1 4 4 4 0
11  Angola 3 1 1 1 4 4 5 -1
12  Morocco 3 1 0 2 3 4 5 -1
13  Senegal 3 0 0 3 0 3 6 -3
14  Burkina Faso 3 0 0 3 0 2 6 -4
15  Niger 3 0 0 3 0 1 5 -4
16  Botswana 3 0 0 3 0 2 9 -7
Total 32(1) 27 5(2) 27 91 76 76 0

Updated to games played on 12 February 2012. Team(s) rendered in italics represent(s) the host nation(s). The competition's winning team is rendered in bold.
(1) – Total games lost not counted in total games played (total games lost = total games won)
(2) – Total number of games drawn (tied) for all teams = Total number of games drawn (tied) ÷ 2 (both teams involved)
(3) – As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

By sub-region
Sub-region T Pld W D L Pts APts Pts/T
Central Africa28512162.008.00
East Africa1411241.004.00
North Africa310415131.304.33
Southern Africa312534181.506.00
West Africa73012414401.335.71
Total 16 32(1) 27 5(2) 27 91 1.42 5.69

Updated to games played on 12 February 2012. Host nation(s) are situated in the region(s) rendered in italics.
(1) – Total games lost not counted in total games played (total games lost = total games won)
(2) – Total number of games drawn (tied) for all teams = Total number of games drawn (tied) ÷ 2 (both teams involved)
(3) – As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

Mascot

The mascot for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations was unveiled on 16 September 2011 at a ceremony in Libreville, Gabon. The mascot, named Gaguie, is a gorilla sporting the national team colors of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.[22]

Match ball

The official match ball for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, manufactured by Adidas, was the Comoequa. The name was inspired by the Komo River, which runs through the host nations, and the Equator, which runs throughout Africa and unites the host nations.[23]

Marketing

Notes
  1. Original kick-off at 20:00 but CAF announced on 9 February 2012 that the final would be delayed by half an hour due to "technical and logistical reasons".[19]

References
  1. "The Arab Spring, Libya and the African Cup of Nations: The effect of revolution has been to inspire, unite and embolden". Sporting Intelligence. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. "Zambia win dramatic shoot-out". BBC Sport. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  3. "Zambia Takes a Modest and Emotional Path to Victory". The New York Times. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  4. "Zambia coach dedicates Africa Cup of Nations win to crash dead". BBC Sport. 13 February 2002. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  5. "Africa Cup of Nations Cup to move to odd-numbered years". BBC Sport. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  6. "African International Competitions". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  7. "Togo officially disqualified from Africa Cup of Nations". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  8. "Togo's African Cup ban is lifted". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  9. "Nigeria's President Suspends Soccer Team". CBC Sports. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 June 2010. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  10. "Nigeria backs down on soccer ban". ESPN Soccernet. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  11. "Gabon : Libreville et Malabo s'accordent pour la CAN 2012" [Gabon: Libreville and Malabo agree for the 2012 ACN]. Gaboneco (in French). 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  12. "Official Draw for the Orange CAN 2012 fixed for October 29, 2011". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
  13. "2012 Africa Cup of Nations draw conducted". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 29 October 2011. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011.
  14. "Orange CAN 2012 Official Draw 29 Oct 2011 – Procedures" (PDF). CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 12 October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2013.
  15. "Referees". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  16. "Regulations of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Gabon-Equatorial Guinea 2012" (PDF). CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  17. "Fixtures of the 28th Orange -Africa Cup of Nations, CAN 2012 Equatorial Guinea –Gabon" (PDF). CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 29 October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2011.
  18. "2012 African Nations Cup Fixtures and Results". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  19. "Africa Cup of Nations final kick-off delayed". BBC. 9 February 2012.
  20. "Orange CAN 2012 Awards Orange CAN 2012 Awards". cafonline.com. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  21. "Orange CAN 2012 Best XI". cafonline.com. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  22. "Orange CAN 2012 mascot Gaguie unveiled". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  23. "CAF and Adidas present the official match ball for the African Cup of Nations". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 3 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
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