football competition of the African nations. It hass been held every two years since 1968, and before that date was held in irregular intervals.
In the first African Nations Cup in 1957, there were only three participating nations (Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia); since then, however, the field of participants has grown to almost every african nation, thus making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament (since 1968). The number of participants in the final tournament reached 16 in 1998.