2013 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football. Starting from this edition, the tournament was switched to being held in odd-numbered years instead of even-numbered years so that it does not clash with the FIFA World Cup. This edition was therefore the first to be held in an odd numbered year since 1965.
South Africa hosted the tournament for the second time, after previously hosting the 1996 African Cup of Nations. The 2013 tournament is the highest attended edition of the Africa Cup of Nations under the 16-team format. The [South Africa national Association football|football team|South African team] was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Mali, following a penalty shoot-out. Zambia were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the group stage.
Nigeria won its third Africa Cup of Nations championship with a 1–0 victory over Burkina Faso in the final. Nigeria participated in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil as the representative from CAF.
Host selection
Bids :- Angola
- Gabon / Equatorial Guinea
- Libya
- Nigeria '
- Benin / Central African Republic
- Botswana
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Senegal
- Zimbabwe
This edition was awarded to Libya for the second time after 1982 African Cup of Nations.
Two-time former host Nigeria was the reserve host for the 2010, 2012 and 2014 tournaments, in the event that any of the host countries failed to meet the requirements established by CAF, although this ended up being unnecessary
The 2014 tournament was pushed forward to 2013 and subsequently held in odd-numbered years to avoid year-clash with the FIFA World Cup.
Libyan withdrawal
Due to the Libyan Civil War, Libya traded years with South Africa, so that South Africa hosted in 2013 and Libya would be hosting in 2017. This was ratified in September 2011 at CAF's Executive Committee in Cairo, Egypt.Qualification
A total of 47 countries entered the qualification, including South Africa, which automatically qualified. Libya was not allowed to keep its automatic qualification after being stripped of its hosting rights due to the Libyan Civil War.Many teams made their return to the finals in this tournament. The hosts, South Africa returned after a 4-year absence. Ethiopia appeared for the first time since 1982. Other teams absent from the 2012 finals that featured in 2013 were Nigeria, Togo, DR Congo, and Algeria. Cape Verde made its finals debut. Teams that didn't qualify for this tournament from the 2012 African Cup of Nations were both co-hosts, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Senegal, Sudan, Guinea and Botswana. South Sudan was ineligible to participate as the qualifying competition had already started by the time its membership of CAF was confirmed.
Qualified nations
| Country | Qualified as | Qualification date | Previous appearances in tournament† |
| Hosts | 28 September 2011 | ||
| Winner against Malawi | 13 October 2012 | 18 | |
| Winner against Botswana | 13 October 2012 | ||
| Winner against Uganda | 13 October 2012 | 15 | |
| Winner against Liberia | 13 October 2012 | 16 | |
| Winner against Sierra Leone | 13 October 2012 | 15 | |
| Winner against Senegal | 13 October 2012 | 19 | |
| Winner against Mozambique | 13 October 2012 | 14 | |
| Winner against Sudan | 14 October 2012 | ||
| Winner against Cameroon | 14 October 2012 | 0 | |
| Winner against Zimbabwe | 14 October 2012 | ||
| Winner against Guinea | 14 October 2012 | ||
| Winner against Gabon | 14 October 2012 | ||
| Winner against Equatorial Guinea | 14 October 2012 | 15 | |
| Winner against Central African Rep. | 14 October 2012 | ||
| Winner against Libya | 14 October 2012 | 14 |
Venues
Host cities
The South African Football Association opened bidding to all 2010 FIFA World Cup host cities however a maximum of seven venues would be used. The final list of stadiums was initially to be announced by 30 March, but was pushed back to 4 April, 20 April, and then 3 May 2012.The venues were announced on 4 May 2012. FNB Stadium hosted the opening match and the final. The other venues selected for matches were Mbombela Stadium, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Royal Bafokeng Stadium and Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The average daytime temperature of the host cities ranges from to.
- Host city during 1996 African Cup of Nations
- Stadium/site used during 1996 African Cup of Nations
- As "National Stadium"
- Stadium expandable
- All capacities are approximate
Match ball
The official match ball for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations was manufactured by Adidas and named the Katlego, which means "success" in Tswana language. The name was chosen by African football fans via an online voting competition where it beat alternate names, Khanya and Motswako.Mascot
The official mascot of the tournament was Takuma, a hippopotamus wearing sports kit in South Africa's official yellow and green. The mascot was designed by Tumelo Nkoana, a 13-year-old South African student from Hammanskraal in Gauteng.Draw
The draw for the final tournament took place on 24 October 2012 in Durban. Positions A1 and C1 were already assigned to the hosts and holders respectively. The other 14 qualified teams were ranked based on their performances during the last three Africa Cup of Nations, i.e. the 2008, 2010 and 2012 editions.| 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:
- 2012 edition: points to be multiplied by 3
- 2010 edition: points to be multiplied by 2
- 2008 edition: points to be multiplied by 1
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| | | | |
Match officials
The following referees were chosen for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.;Referees
- Mohamed Benouza
- Djamel Haimoudi
- Sidi Alioum
- Noumandiez Doué
- Gehad Grisha
- Eric Otogo-Castane
- Bakary Gassama
- Sylvester Kirwa
- Hamada Nampiandraza
- Koman Coulibaly
- Ali Lemghaifry
- Rajindraparsad Seechurn
- Bouchaïb El Ahrach
- Badara Diatta
- Bernard Camille
- Daniel Bennett
- Slim Jedidi
- Janny Sikazwe
- Albdelhak Etchiali
- Jerson Emiliano Dos Santos
- Jean-Claude Birumushahu
- Evarist Menkouande
- Yanoussa Moussa
- Yéo Songuifolo
- Angesom Ogbamariam
- Theophile Vinga
- Malik Alidu Salifu
- Marwa Range
- Balla Diarra
- Redouane Achik
- Arsénio Chadreque Marengula
- Peter Edibe
- Félicien Kabanda
- Djibril Camara
- El Hadji Malick Samba
- Zakhele Siwela
- Ali Waleed Ahmed
- Béchir Hassani
- Anouar Hmila
Squads
Each team could register a squad of 23 players.Group stage
The schedule of the final tournament was released on 8 September 2012.;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.
Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Group D
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Knockout phase
In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time was played and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner, except for the play-off for third place, where no extra time would be played.Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
----Awards
The following awards were given for the tournament:;Orange Player of the Tournament
;Pepsi Tournament Top Scorer
