Host country Angola Champions Egypt (7th title) Third place Nigeria Top scorer Mohamed Nagy Best player Ahmed Hassan Teams 15 | Venue(s) 4 (in 4 host cities) Runners-up Ghana Fourth place Algeria Dates 10 Jan 2010 – 31 Jan 2010 Location Luanda Province, Angola | |
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Champion Egypt national football team Similar 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, 2004 African Cup of N | ||
The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa (CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2010 and concluded on 31 January.
Contents
- Host selection
- Qualification
- Qualified teams
- Draw
- Match officials
- Tie breaking criteria
- Group A
- Group B
- Group D
- Knockout stage
- Awards
- Best XI
- Goals scored per nation
- Scoring
- Mascot
- Match ball
- Attack on the Togo national team
- References
In the tournament, the hosts Angola were to be joined by 15 nations who advanced from the qualification process that began in October 2007 and involved 53 African national teams. The withdrawal of Togo after a terrorist attack on their bus upon arriving for the tournament reduced the number of participating nations to 15. A total of 29 games were played, instead of the scheduled 32 games. Egypt won the tournament, their seventh ACN title and an unprecedented third in a row, beating Ghana 1–0 in the final.
Host selection
Angola was awarded the right to host the tournament by CAF in a decision to rotate the hosting of the Cup and allow new nations like Angola, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea a chance to host the tournament. Bids from Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Senegal were rejected. Gabon and Equatorial Guinea were also awarded the hosting rights to the 2012 Nations Cup, while Libya would be hosting the event for the second time in 2014. Two-time former host Nigeria is the reserve host for the 2010, 2012 and 2014 Nations Cups, in the event that any of the host countries fails to meet the requirements established by CAF.
Qualification
The Confederation of African Football announced that the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification would also be the qualification for this tournament. Despite the fact Angola are the host of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, they also needed to participate in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. A similar situation was true for South Africa. Although they will be the hosts for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, they still needed to compete in the qualification tournament in order to qualify for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
Qualified teams
Draw
The draw for the final tournament took place on 20 November 2009 at the Talatona Convention Centre in Luanda, Angola. The 16 teams were split into four pots, with Pot 1 containing the top four seeded nations. Angola were seeded as hosts and Egypt as reigning holders. The remaining 14 teams were ranked based on their records in the three last editions of the competition. Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire had the two strongest records and so completed the top seeded Pot 1. The four seeded teams were placed into their groups in advance of the final draw.
Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
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:
- points earned in the matches between the teams concerned;
- goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned;
- number of goals scored in the matches between the teams concerned;
- goal difference in all group matches;
- number of goals scored in all group matches;
- fair play points system taking into account the number of yellow and red cards;
- drawing of lots by the organising committee.
All times given as local time (UTC+1)
Group A
Group B
Group D
Knockout stage
All times given as local time (UTC+1)
Awards
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.
Goals scored per nation
*** indicates the team played only two matches in the group stage, due to the withdrawal of Togo from the tournament.
Scoring
*** indicates the team played only two matches in the group stage, due to the withdrawal of Togo from the tournament.
Mascot
The Mascot for the Tournament is Palanquinha, which was inspired by the Giant Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger variani), a national symbol and a treasured animal in Angola. In Angola, this animal is found only in the Cangandala National Park in Malange Province.
Match ball
The official match ball for the tournament is the Adidas Jabulani Angola, a modified version of the Adidas Jabulani to be used at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with the colours of the flag of Angola.
Attack on the Togo national team
On 8 January 2010, the team bus of the Togo national football team was attacked by gunmen in Cabinda, Angola as it travelled to the tournament. A spokesman for the Togolese football federation said assistant coach Améleté Abalo and press officer Stanislaud Ocloo had died as well as the driver. The separatist group Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Military Position (FLEC-PM) claimed responsibility for the attack. The Togolese team withdrew from the competition the following day. The players initially decided to compete to commemorate the victims in this way, but were immediately ordered to return by the Togolese government.
Following their departure from Angola, Togo were formally disqualified from the tournament after failing to fulfil their opening Group B game against Ghana on 11 January.
On 30 January 2010, CAF banned Togo from participating in the next two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and fined the team $50,000 due to "government involvement in the withdrawal from the tournament". Togo were unable to compete until the 2015 tournament, but that ban was lifted on 14 May 2010 by a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.