The Africa Cup of Nations has only been held in even-numbered years.
The Africa Cup of Nations , officially CAN -LRB- Coupe d'Afrique des Nations -RRB- , also referred to as African Cup of Nations , or AFCON , is the main international association football competition in Africa .. Africa. Africa. association football. association football. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football -LRB- CAF -RRB- , and was first held in 1957 .. CAF. Confederation of African Football. 1957 Africa Cup of Nations. Confederation of African Football. Confederation of African Football. Since 1968 , it has been held every two years .. 1968 Africa Cup of Nations. The title holders at the time of a FIFA Confederations Cup qualify for that competition .. FIFA Confederations Cup. FIFA Confederations Cup. In 1957 there were only three participating nations  : Egypt , Sudan and Ethiopia .. 1957 Africa Cup of Nations. Egypt. Egypt national football team. Sudan. Sudan national football team. Ethiopia. Ethiopia national football team. South Africa was originally scheduled to compete , but were disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government then in power .. Africa. Africa. South Africa. South Africa national football team. apartheid. apartheid. Since then , the tournament has grown greatly , making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament .. The number of participants in the final tournament reached 16 in 1998 -LRB- 16 teams were to compete in 1996 but Nigeria withdrew , reducing the field to 15 , and the same happened with Togo 's withdrawal in 2010 -RRB- , and since then , the format has been unchanged , with the sixteen teams being drawn into four groups of four teams each , with the top two teams of each group advancing to a `` knock-out '' stage .. 1996 African Cup of Nations. 1998 African Cup of Nations. 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Nigeria. Nigeria national football team. Togo. Togo national football team. Egypt is the most successful nation in the cup 's history , winning the tournament a record of seven times -LRB- including when Egypt was known as the United Arab Republic between 1958 and 1961 -RRB- .. Egypt. Egypt national football team. United Arab Republic. United Arab Republic. Three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament 's history , with Ghana and Cameroon winning the first two versions to keep after each of them won a tournament three times .. Ghana. Ghana national football team. Cameroon. Cameroon national football team. The current trophy was first awarded in 2002 and with Egypt winning it indefinitely after winning their unprecedented third consecutive title in 2010 .. 2002 African Cup of Nations. 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Egypt. Egypt national football team. As of 2013 , the tournament was switched to being held in odd-numbered years so as not to clash with the FIFA World Cup .. 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. FIFA World Cup. FIFA World Cup. In July 2016 , Total has secured an eight-year sponsorship package from the Confederation of African Football -LRB- CAF -RRB- to support 10 of its principal competitions .. CAF. Confederation of African Football. Confederation of African Football. Confederation of African Football. Total. Total S.A.. Total will start with the Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Gabon therefore renaming it Total Africa cup of Nations .. Africa. Africa. Total. Total S.A.