2008 Africa Cup of Nations

The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament was staged at four venues around Ghana between 20 January and 10 February 2008. This was the last Africa Cup of Nations to use the old CAF logo.

Egypt won the tournament, beating Cameroon 1–0 in the final. As winners, they qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup as the CAF representatives.

Host selection

Bids:

• Ghana (selected as hosts)
• Libya
• South Africa (withdrew)

The organization of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations was awarded to Ghana on 8 July 2004 by the CAF Executive Committee members which are 12 in Cairo, Egypt. Voters had a choice between Ghana and Libya which was disadvantaged by the fact that two countries in the North Africa region had already hosted the last two editions (Tunisia in 2004, and Egypt in 2006).

South Africa, also a candidate at the start, eventually withdrew in May 2004 after being nominated for the organization of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

This was the fourth time that Ghana hosted the African Cup after 1963, 1978 and 2000 (jointly with Nigeria).

Results
Nation	Votes
Template:Flagicon Ghana	9
Template:Flagicon Libya	3
Template:Flagicon South Africa	Withdrew
Total votes	12

Qualification

The entrants were divided into 12 groups. All group winners and the best three runners-up from groups with four teams (groups 2-11) qualified for the finals. Host Ghana qualified automatically. Qualifying took place between 2 September 2006 and 13 October 2007.

Teams

File:African Cup of Nations 2008 results.png

A map of Africa showing the qualified nations, highlighted by stage reached.

• Ghana – Host, 16th appearance (4 titles)
• Ivory Coast – Group 1 winner, 17th appearance (1 title)
• Egypt – Group 2 winner, 21st appearance (5 titles)
• Nigeria – Group 3 winner, 15th appearance (2 titles)
• Sudan – Group 4 winner, 7th appearance (1 title)
• Cameroon – Group 5 winner, 15th appearance (4 titles)
• Angola – Group 6 winner, 4th appearance
• Senegal – Group 7 winner, 11th appearance
• Guinea – Group 8 winner, 9th appearance
• Mali – Group 9 winner, 5th appearance
• Namibia – Group 10 winner, 2nd appearance
• Zambia – Group 11 winner, 13th appearance
• Morocco – Group 12 winner, 14th appearance (1 title)
• Tunisia – Group 4 runner-up, 13th appearance (1 title)
• Benin – Group 9 runner-up, 2nd appearance
• South Africa – Group 11 runner-up, 7th appearance (1 title)

Venues

Accra		Kumasi
Ohene Djan Stadium		Baba Yara Stadium
Capacity: 40,000		Capacity: 40,528
File:Ohene Djan Sports Stadium, Accra.jpg		File:Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.jpg
Tamale		Sekondi-Takoradi
Tamale Stadium		Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium
Capacity: 21,017		Capacity: 20,088
File:Stadium tamale2.jpg		File:Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium.jpg

Tournament ball

File:Adidas African Cup of Nations 2008 match ball Wawa Aba.jpg The tournament ball "Wawa Aba"

File:Wawa aba.png Wawa aba, an Adinkra symbol of hardiness, toughness, and perseverance

During the previous editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, the ball used was not a ball especially made for the tournament. As the tournament was held on even years, the same years big tournaments such as the UEFA European Championships or the FIFA World Cup were held, the official ball for the tournament held this year was used for the African Cup of Nations: the Adidas Roteiro in 2004, or the Adidas Teamgeist in 2006. However, for the 2008 tournament, Adidas made a special ball, clearly different from the Adidas Europass going to be used five months later for the Euro. The ball was named Wawa Aba and was designed to include host nation Ghana's red, yellow and green. The ball was later used for the other African competitions.

For the Akan culture originating from Western Africa, one of the Adinkra symbols named Wawa Aba is a symbol of hardiness, toughness, and perseverance. People there particularly believe in the strength and team spirit of a community. The Wawa Aba literally means "seed(s) of Wawa tree (Triplochiton scleroxylon)”, one of the strongest and most processible woods of Africa and whose seeds are very hard. For the population, the Wawa Aba mainly has mystical significance. These are people who don't let failure discourage them, who seize all opportunities successfully and who are thus just as strong and adaptable as the Wawa Aba.

Match officials

16 referees and 16 assistant referees were selected for the tournament, including two from Japan and one from South Korea.

Referees	Assistant Referees
Template:Flagicon Mohamed Benouza	Template:Flagicon Brahim Djezzar
Template:Flagicon Divine Evehe	Template:Flagicon Evarist Menkouande
Template:Flagicon Yuichi Nishimura	Template:Flagicon Toru Sagara
Template:Flagicon Abderrahim El Arjoun	Template:Flagicon Redouane Achik
Template:Flagicon Jerome Damon	Template:Flagicon Enock Molefe
Template:Flagicon Kokou Djaoupe	Template:Flagicon Komi Konyoh
Template:Flagicon Kacem Bennaceur	Template:Flagicon Bechir Hassani
Template:Flagicon Djamel Haimoudi	Template:Flagicon Jeong Hae-sang
Template:Flagicon Coffi Codjia	Template:Flagicon Celestin Ntagungira
Template:Flagicon Modou Sowe	Template:Flagicon Angesom Ogbamariam
Template:Flagicon Alex Kotey	Template:Flagicon Desire Gahungu
Template:Flagicon Koman Coulibaly	Template:Flagicon Lassina Paré
Template:Flagicon Badara Diatta	Template:Flagicon Peter Edibe
Template:Flagicon Eddy Maillet	Template:Flagicon Inacio Manuel Candido
Template:Flagicon Muhmed Ssegonga	Template:Flagicon Nasser Sadek Abdel Nabi
Template:Flagicon Kenias Marange	Template:Flagicon Kenneth Chichenga

Draw

The draw for the tournament took place on 19 October 2007 in Accra. The sixteen teams were divided into four pots according to their performances in past Cup of Nations tournaments. Ghana, as hosts, were automatically seeded as the top team in Group A. Egypt, the defending champions, were seeded as the top team in Group C. Tunisia and Nigeria had the two strongest records and so completed the top seeded Pot 1. Each group consists of four teams, one drawn from each of the pots.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Ghana (hosts) Egypt (title holders) Tunisia Nigeria	Ivory Coast Cameroon Morocco Senegal	South Africa Guinea Mali Zambia	Angola Benin Namibia Sudan

Group stage

Tie-breaking criteria

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

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 group matches between the teams concerned;
4. goal difference in all group matches;
5. number of goals scored in all group matches;
6. drawing of lots by the organizing committee.

All times given as local time (UTC+0)

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Awards

Player of the tournament

• Template:Flagicon Hosny Abd Rabo

Top scorer

• Template:Flagicon Samuel Eto'o – 5 goals

Best Goalkeeper

• Template:Flagicon Essam El-Hadary

Best XI

The following players were selected as the best in their respective positions, based on their performances throughout the tournament. Their performances were analysed by the tournament's Technical Study Group (TSG), who picked the team.

Goalkeepers	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Template:Flagicon Essam El-Hadary	Template:Flagicon Geremi Template:Flagicon Wael Gomaa Template:Flagicon Michael Essien	Template:Flagicon Sulley Muntari Template:Flagicon Yaya Touré Template:Flagicon Alex Song Template:Flagicon Hosny Abd Rabo Template:Flagicon Mohamed Aboutrika	Template:Flagicon Amr Zaki Template:Flagicon Manucho

Substitutes

• Template:Flagicon Richard Kingson
• Template:Flagicon Hany Said
• Template:Flagicon Ahmed Fathy
• Template:Flagicon Saber Ben Frej
• Template:Flagicon Stéphane Mbia
• Template:Flagicon Samuel Eto'o
• Template:Flagicon Didier Drogba
• Template:Flagicon Kader Keïta

Goalscorers

5 goals

• Template:Flagicon Samuel Eto'o

4 goals

• Template:Flagicon Manucho
• Template:Flagicon Hosny Abd Rabo
• Template:Flagicon Mohamed Aboutrika
• Template:Flagicon Amr Zaki

3 goals

• Template:Flagicon Didier Drogba
• Template:Flagicon Salomon Kalou
• Template:Flagicon Kader Keïta
• Template:Flagicon Boubacar Sanogo
• Template:Flagicon Junior Agogo
• Template:Flagicon Sulley Muntari
• Template:Flagicon Soufiane Alloudi

2 goals

• Template:Flagicon Geremi
• Template:Flagicon Joseph-Désiré Job
• Template:Flagicon Stéphane Mbia
• Template:Flagicon Mohamed Zidan
• Template:Flagicon Michael Essien
• Template:Flagicon Pascal Feindouno
• Template:Flagicon Brian Brendell
• Template:Flagicon Yakubu
• Template:Flagicon Elrio van Heerden
• Template:Flagicon Chaouki Ben Saada
• Template:Flagicon Francileudo dos Santos
• Template:Flagicon Chris Katongo

1 goal

• Template:Flagicon Flávio
• Template:Flagicon Razak Omotoyossi
• Template:Flagicon Achille Emana
• Template:Flagicon Alain N'Kong
• Template:Flagicon Aruna Dindane
• Template:Flagicon Bakari Koné
• Template:Flagicon Yaya Touré
• Template:Flagicon Marco Zoro
• Template:Flagicon Ahmed Fathy
• Template:Flagicon Haminu Dramani
• Template:Flagicon Asamoah Gyan
• Template:Flagicon Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
• Template:Flagicon Ismaël Bangoura
• Template:Flagicon Oumar Kalabane
• Template:Flagicon Souleymane Youla
• Template:Flagicon Frédéric Kanouté
• Template:Flagicon Hicham Aboucherouane
• Template:Flagicon Abdeslam Ouaddou
• Template:Flagicon Tarik Sektioui
• Template:Flagicon Monsef Zerka
• Template:Flagicon Mikel John Obi
• Template:Flagicon Moustapha Bayal Sall
• Template:Flagicon Henri Camara
• Template:Flagicon Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye
• Template:Flagicon Diomansy Kamara
• Template:Flagicon Katlego Mphela
• Template:Flagicon Yassine Chikhaoui
• Template:Flagicon Issam Jemâa
• Template:Flagicon Mejdi Traoui
• Template:Flagicon James Chamanga
• Template:Flagicon Felix Katongo
• Template:Flagicon Jacob Mulenga

Own goals

• Template:Flagicon Mohammed Ali El Khider (playing against Cameroon)

Tournament rankings

Ranking criteria

For teams eliminated in the same knockout round, the following criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the final rankings: Goal difference in round eliminated; Goals scored in round eliminated; If teams eliminated in the semi-finals or quarter-finals are tied, the above criteria are reapplied for the previous knockout round, with this process repeated once more should two semi-finalists remain tied; Points in group stage; Goal difference in group stage; Goals scored in group stage; Disciplinary points. For teams eliminated in the group stage, the following criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the final rankings: Position in group; Points; Goal difference; Goals scored; Disciplinary points.

Template:Fb cl3 header navbar Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team |- | colspan="11"| Eliminated in the quarter-finals |- Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team |- | colspan="11"| Eliminated in the group stage |- Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team Template:Fb cl3 team |}

External links

• 2008 African Cup of Nations at CAFonline.com
• Africa Cup of Nations on BBC 1Xtra
• African Cup of Nations 2008 coverage on Reuters.co.uk