Post by Taxigirl on Jan 23, 2004 17:44:11 GMT
Cameroon will be going for their third straight African Cup of Nations when the tournament kicks off on Saturday.
The 24th biennial tournament is being held in Tunisia for the third time and includes the top 16 teams in the continent.
The tournament gets under way with a colourful opening ceremony at 1300 GMT.
The first game sees the host nation take on newcomers Rwanda in the Rades stadium on the outskirts of the capital Tunis at 1830 GMT.
The final will also be held in Rades on 14 February.
All five World Cup 2002 representatives - Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and South Africa - will be in Tunisia.
As well as Rwanda, Benin and Zimbabwe also make their debuts in the tournament.
The only big names missing are four-times winners Ghana, who failed to qualify from the group stages.
Cameroon and Egypt are looking to claim a record-breaking fifth title.
Cameroon's Indomitable Lions have claimed the last two titles on penalties.
In 2000 they triumphed in a tournament jointly held by Ghana a Nigeria by beating Nigeria 4-3 on spot-kicks after a 2-2 draw in the final.
They were again crowned champions in 2002 when they defeated Senegal 3-2 in a shoot-out after a goalless draw in Mali.
Tunisia, who last hosted the tournament in 1994, will be looking to put on a good show.
They are bidding to host the 2010 World Cup and will be using the tournament as a demonstration of its ability to stage such an event.
African Cup of Nations winners
The African Cup of Nations, which is organised every two years, has established itself as the premier competition on the continent.
The first edition was staged in 1957 in Khartoum, with only Ethiopia and winners Egypt joining hosts Sudan as the inaugural participants.
From 1968 to 1990, eight finalists took part and that was increased to to 12 in 1992 by the Confederation of African Football (Caf).
Caf then expanded the number of finalists to 16, in line with its development policy. The 16 finalists consist of 14 qualifying teams, plus the hosts and the defending champions.
Year Winner Score Runner-up Host
1957 Egypt 4-0 Ethiopia (Sudan)
1959 Egypt 2-1 Sudan (Egypt)
1962 Ethiopia 4-2 Egypt (Ethiopia)
1963 Ghana 3-0 Sudan (Ghana)
1965 Ghana 3-2 Tunisia (Tunisia)
1968 Congo-
Kinshasa 1-0 Ghana (Ethiopia)
1970 Sudan 1-0 Ghana (Sudan)
1972 Congo-
Brazzaville 3-2 Mali (Cameroon)
1974 Zaire 2-0 Zambia (Egypt)
1976 Morocco ** (Ethiopia)
1978 Ghana 2-0 Uganda (Ghana)
1980 Nigeria 3-0 Algeria (Nigeria)
1982 Ghana 1-1
7-6 pens Libya (Libya)
1984 Cameroon 3-1 Nigeria (Ivory Coast)
1986 Egypt 0-0
5-4 pens Cameroon (Egypt)
1988 Cameroon 1-0 Nigeria (Morocco)
1990 Algeria 1-0 Nigeria (Algeria)
1992 Ivory Coast 0-0
11-10 pens Ghana (Senegal)
1994 Nigeria 2-1 Zambia (Tunisia)
1996 South Africa 2-0 Tunisia (South Africa)
1998 Egypt 2-0 South Africa (Burkina Faso)
2000 Cameroon 2-2
4-3 pens Nigeria (Ghana/Nigeria)
2002 Cameroon 0-0
3-2 pens Senegal Mali
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Morocco crowned champions after group stage