Sports News of Friday, 26 April 2019

Source: ghanasoccernet.com

2019 AFCON: Teams, kick-off times and fixtures

The AFCON been expanded to 24 teams The AFCON been expanded to 24 teams

There is plenty of football to whet the appetite this summer and one offer on the table is the newly-revamped African Cup of Nations.

Previously played in January/February, causing a nightmare for those who play in Europe’s top leagues, the African federation approved a change to fit the usual international tournament calendar with fixtures now played in June/July.

On top of that, the tournament has been expanded from 16 teams to 24 and will provide an opportunity for fans to watch the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Riyad Mahrez in action.

We’ve gathered everything you need to know here, including the fixtures, kick-off times and TV broadcaster in the United Kingdom.

Who has qualified?

A host of recognisable names have qualified, including the likes of Senegal, Ghana, Egypt and the Ivory Coast, while some other less-established names are making an appearance as Burundi, Madagascar and Mauritania are making their competition debuts.

When is it?

The tournament begins on Friday, June 21st as hosts Egypt clash with Zimbabwe, which begins the group stages that last until Tuesday, July 2nd. The final is played on Friday, July 19th.

What are the fixtures and kick-off times?

Thankfully, the kick-off times for the 2019 African Cup of Nations fit in well for UK audiences, with the majority taking place in the late evening but there are some kick-offs at earlier times. Full fixtures can be found below.

Friday June 21st

Egypt v Zimbabwe (20:00 GMT)

Saturday June 22nd

DR Congo v Uganda (14:30 GMT)

Nigeria v Burundi (17:00 GMT)

Guinea v Madagascar (20:00 GMT)

Sunday June 23rd

Morocco v Namibia (14:30 GMT)

Senegal v Tanzania (17:00 GMT)

Algeria v Kenya (20:00 GMT)

Monday June 24th

Ivory Coast v South Africa (14:30 GMT)

Tunisia v Angola (17:00 GMT)

Mali v Mauritania (20:00 GMT)

Tuesday June 25th

Cameroon v Guinea-Bissau (17:00 GMT)

Ghana v Benin (20:00 GMT)

Wednesday June 26th

Uganda v Zimbabwe (17:00 GMT)

Egypt v DR Congo (20:00 GMT)

Nigeria v Guinea (14:30 GMT)

Thursday June 27th

Madagascar v Burundi (14:30 GMT)

Senegal v Algeria (17:00 GMT)

Kenya v Tanzania (20:00 GMT)

Friday June 28th

Tunisia v Mali (14:30 GMT)

Morocco v Ivory Coast (17:00 GMT)

South Africa v Namibia (20:00 GMT)

Saturday June 29th

Mauritania v Angola (14:00 GMT)

Cameroon v Ghana (17:00 GMT)

Benin v Guinea-Bissau (20:00 GMT)

Sunday June 30th

Burundi v Guinea (16:00 GMT)

Madagascar v Nigeria (16:00 GMT)

Uganda v Egypt (19:00 GMT)

Zimbabwe v DR Congo (19:00 GMT)

Monday July 1st

South Africa v Morocco (16:00 GMT)

Namibia v Ivory Coast (16:00 GMT)

Tanzania v Algeria (19:00 GMT)

Kenya v Senegal (19:00 GMT)

Tuesday July 2nd

Benin v Cameroon (16:00 GMT)

Guinea-Bissau v Ghana (16:00 GMT)

Angola v Mali (19:00 GMT)

Mauritania v Tunisia (19:00 GMT)