The 1996 African Cup of Nations, also known as the Coca-Cola 1996 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 20th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the international football championship run by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It was hosted by South Africa, who replaced original hosts Kenya. The field expanded for the first time to sixteen teams, split into four groups of four; the top two teams in each group advanced to the quarter-finals. However, Nigeria withdrew from the tournament at the final moment under pressure from then-dictator Sani Abacha, reducing the final number of teams to fifteen.

Hosts South Africa won a first championship, defeating Tunisia 2–0 in the final. The tournament was covered in the 2026 documentary series “Class of ‘96: Rise of a Nation”.

Qualified teams

For full qualification see: 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in tournament Hosts (debut) Holders (1963, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994) Group 5 winners (1994) Group 1 winners (1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1988, 1992, 1994) Group 5 runners-up (1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994) Group 4 runners-up (1968, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992) Group 6 winners (debut) Group 7 winners (1978) Group 1 runners-up (1970, 1972, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992) Group 4 winners (1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986,1988, 1990, 1992, 1994) Group 3 winners (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1994) Group 7 runners-up (1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992,1994) Group 2 runners-up (debut) Group 6 runners-up (1986) Group 3 runners-up (1994) Group 2 winners (1962, 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982, 1994) Notes

Squads

Venues Johannesburg Durban FNB Stadium Kings Park Stadium Capacity: 80,000 Capacity: 52,000 Bloemfontein Port Elizabeth Free State Stadium EPRU Stadium Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 33,852

Group stage Group A

Group B

Group C

withdrew, so their three matches were canceled. vs , 16 January 1996 vs , 19 January 1996 vs , 25 January 1996

Group D

Knockout stage Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Third place match

Final

Goalscorers

Team of the Tournament Goalkeeper Chokri El Ouaer

Defenders Yasser Radwan Mark Fish Elijah Litana Isaac Asare

Midfielders Zoubeir Baya Hazem Emam Abedi Pele Mark Williams

Forwards Kalusha Bwalya Tony Yeboah

References

External links

Details at RSSSF Details at www.angelfire.com