Skip to main content

2013 Afcon's interesting numbers


Strong presence. . . Mali's Adama Coulibaly is one of six players sharing his surname in the 2013 Afcon.

NOW that the squads for the 16 teams which will be doing business in the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations have been finalised, it is proper that interesting facts about the squads be closely scrutinised.
The excitement is beginning to rise as the teams arrive this week ahead of the big kickoff on January 19, now just five days away.
Here are some of the facts that emerged from 23-man squads of each national team:
  • Like in the past editions, the South African, known as the Premier Soccer League, is providing the bulk of the players – 25. The breakdown is as follows: 1 in Ghana squad, 2 in Togo, 2 in Niger, 5 in Zambia and 15 in South African team, Bafana Bafana.
  • Ethiopia has the highest number of players drawn from the team’s own national league – 20. (Cote d’Ivoire has the least – 1, third choice keeper Ali Badra Sangare from Academie Ivoire.)
  • Africa has provided 7 coaches for the tournament; the highest number in many years. These are Gordon Igesund (South Africa), Rachid Taoussi (Morocco), Lucio Antunes (Cape Verde), James Kwesi Appiah (Ghana), Stephen Keshi (Nigeria), Sewnet Bishaw (Ethiopia), Sami Trabelsi (Tunisia)
  • France retains the title of providing the bulk of foreign coaches – 5, namely Claude Le Roy (DR Congo), Patrice Carteron (Mali), Herve Renard (Zambia), Didier Six (Togo), Sabrir Lamouchi (Cote d’Ivoire)
  • At 41, Lamouchi is the youngest coach at the tournament. The Lyon-born mentor is a former France international of Tunisian descent. Second youngest at 42 is Carteron
  • The club with the highest player representation is TP Mazembe from Lubumbashi, DR Congo – 10. The breakdown is as follows: 4 in Congo (keeper Robert Kidiaba, defender Jean Kasusula, midfielders Deo Kanda, Tresor Mputu, striker Patou Kabangu); 6 in Zambia (defenders Stopila Sunzu, Hichani Himonde, Francis Kasonde, midfielders Nathan Sinkala, Rainford Kalaba, striker Jonas Sakuwaha)
  • 6 – the surname with the highest representation, Coulibaly/Koulibaly. The breakdown is as follows: 4 in Mali and 2 in Burkina Faso. Traore is second best with 5 players in Mali team (1), Burkina Faso (2), Cote d’Ivoire (2). Interestingly, both surnames belong to Malian culture.
  • 13 – the number of times the African coaches have won the Afcon in its past 25 editions; better by just one than foreign coaches 
Another point of interest, though not quantified with figures, is that there are more players based in Africa who will be in action in this tournament. Nigeria for example has selected six, something which was unheard of about the Super Eagles more than a decade ago.
Let the games begin!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zambia - just do it!

Zambia is standing on the verge of a soccer history, which was delayed for nearly 20 years. In 1993 Zambia’s team, which is strongly believed to have been one of the most formidable national teams the continent of Africa has ever produced, crashed from the air off the coast of Gabon. On that fateful day on 27 April 1993 the squad were heading to Dakar, Senegal, for a 1994 World Cup qualifier. Their plane had made a brief stop at Gabonese captial of Libreville for refueling and other technical checks, before crashing into the Atlantic Ocean on takeoff. The only survivors from that team were midfielders, Kalusha Bwalya and Charly Musonda, who were both based in Netherlands and Belgium respectively. Their circumstances for not being on the DHC-5 Buffalo plane are different. Bwalya, who at the time played for Ajax Amsterdam, had made his own arrangements to travel to Dakar, while Musonda could not travel to Lusaka to join his teammates due to injury. He was at the time playing fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Morocco vs Comoros to set tone for Afcon

African football stands on the cusp of another compelling chapter as the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicks off in Morocco on Sunday, December 21. While the opening fixture between hosts Morocco and Comoros at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat may not immediately stir memories of classic AFCON showdowns, the tournament itself carries a weight of expectation that extends far beyond the first whistle. Morocco arrives as both host nation and one of the continent’s most formidable footballing powers. The Atlas Lions have enjoyed a golden period in recent years, highlighted by their historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and consistent dominance at youth and club levels. With a squad brimming with Europe-based stars, tactical maturity, and home support behind them, Morocco are widely tipped as favourites to lift the trophy. For many fans, AFCON 2026 represents an opportunity for the North African giants to finally translate their promise into continenta...
Post a Comment
Read more

More than football: Sudan’s Falcons fly for a broken nation in Morocco

Sudan’s improbable march into the knockout stages of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is already one of the tournament’s most powerful stories. On Saturday, January 3, in Tangier, the Falcons of Jediane face continental heavyweights Senegal in the round of 16, carrying with them not only tactical plans and match-day hopes, but the weight of a nation shattered by war yet unwilling to surrender its dreams. That Sudan even qualified for the Morocco tournament borders on the miraculous. Forced into exile by a brutal civil war that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the national team has lived up to its falcon moniker by soaring far beyond its broken homeland to survive. Home matches were staged abroad, preparations scattered across foreign soil, including Saudi Arabia, and players lived as displaced men rather than celebrated athletes. Yet, against all odds, Sudan squeezed through Group E as one of the best third-placed teams be...
Post a Comment
Read more