January 18 – In a snub to FIFA, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has overturned a decision to suspend Pape Gueye from the African Cup of Nations with the Marseille midfielder now free to play for Senegal.
January 18 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang insists he departed the Africa Cup of Nations due to medical reasons and played down speculation of a disciplinary breach.
January 17 – Equatorial Guinea stunned Algeria 1-0 to leave the defending champions in danger of exiting the Africa Cup of Nations in the first round. Hosts Cameroon and powerhouses Morocco and Nigeria have all ensured their passage to the knockout phase.
January 14 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed Mali’s 1-0 Africa Cup of Nations victory over Tunisia, rejecting the North Africans’ appeal about the match ending before full-time.
By Samindra Kunti
January 13 – Chaos dominated the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday: Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe was guilty of poor time-keeping during Mali vs Tunisia and in the city of Bua, the basecamp of both Mali and Gambia, a gun battle between rebel forces and government soldiers broke out, raising security concerns.
January 13 – The Africa Cup of Nations, already hit by refereeing blunders and even a gun battle, suffered another farcical moment on Wednesday as the wrong anthem was played three times for Mauritania ahead of their opening game against Gambia.
January 12 – Nigeria kept Egypt and Mohamed Salah in check to take control of Group C at the Africa Cup of Nations and reverse their fortunes following an acrimonious build-up to the tournament.
January 12 – Ivory Coast’s AFCON hopes have been dealt a potentially damaging blow with their No. 1 goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo banned by FIFA for an alleged doping violation after testing positive for trimetazidine.
January 11 – The African confederation that has recently struggled to find hard cash to fund football on its continent has turned to cryptocurrency. Crypto exchange Binance has become another last-minute sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations, which hosts Cameroon kicked off on Sunday with a 1-0 victory against Burkina Faso.
By Samindra Kunti
January 10 – At last, the wait for the host nation is over. Cameroon kicked off the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament with more prize money than ever, with a dramatic 2-1 rearguard win over Burkina Faso in an enthralling opening game.
By Samindra Kunti
January 7 – Three years late and with the coronavirus crisis a major concern on the touchline, Cameroon will kick off the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil against Burkina Faso on Sunday. Defending champions Algeria and Senegal start as favourites to win the continental finals.
January 6 – As many observers feared, the African Cup of Nations has been plunged into Covid chaos just days ahead of kick-off with Senegal, one of the favourites, among those worst hit.
January 6 – On the eve of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has partnered with sportswear giant Umbro in a multi-year deal.
January 6 – After consultation between the Cameroonian government and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), attendances at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations will be capped at 60-80% of stadium capacity. The tournament kicks off on Sunday.
By Samindra Kunti
January 5 – Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet sighs at all the adversity. His Scorpions will participate for the first time in the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, but in an interview with Insideworldfootball, he explains how the debutants’ preparations have been derailed by Covid-19 infections, cancelled friendlies, injuries and the late release of European-based players.