Competition: AFCON 2017
Date: 14 January - 5 February
Host Country: Gabon
TV Channel: There is no live TV coverage in Singapore.
Live Streaming: beIN Sports Connect, Fubo TV, Sling TV
Overview
The Africa Cup of Nations kickstarts in Gabon on 14 January with 16 teams from the continent including the hosts participating in the tournament.
Tournament format
The 16 teams have been divided into four groups of four teams each. The group stages of the tournament will see teams playing their group mates once in a single round robin format. The two two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals. While the winner of the semi-final will play the final on 5 February, the losers will battle for a third-place finish.
The matches will be played across four venues in Gabon - Libreville Stadium, Franceville Stadium, Oyem Stadium and Port Gentil Stadium.
Teams
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
Gabon | Algeria | Ivory Coast | Ghana |
Burkina Faso | Tunisia | DR Congo | Mali |
Cameroon | Senegal | Morocco | Egypt |
Guinea-Bissau | Zimbabwe | Togo | Uganda |
Quite a few teams, including the hosts, will look for some magic from their stars, who are plying their trade in Europe. Borussia Dortmund star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be a huge boost to the host nation, who are drawn in Group A, of making their first semi-final in the tournament history.
The group also has African powerhouse Cameroon, who are likely to join the hosts past the group stages. Group B is a tougher group with the likes of Algeria, Tunisia and Senegal battling for the two knockout spots from the group. Leicester stars Islam Slimani and Riyad Mahrez along with Schalke midfielder Nabil Bentaleb are key stars for Algeria, who will be hoping to take home the AFCON 2017.
Senegal, who will be led by Liverpool's main man Sadio Mane, are expected to challenge the dominance of Algeria while Tunisia who have consistently made the knockout stages of the biennial tournament can challenge the top two teams.
Ivory Coast will miss their greats Yaya Toure and Kolo Toure but their title defence this year will be spearheaded by talented Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. Herve Renard-led Morroco and DR Congo are other big names in Group C, who will try and make it difficult for the defending champions. Ghana and Egypt, who are drawn along with Malia and Uganda, are favourites to progress from Group D.
TV Schedule
Australia: beIN Sports 1
Thailand: beIN Sports 4
UK: EuroSport 2
US: beIN Sports
Turkey: Tivibu Spor 1
Ireland: EuroSport 2
Italy: Fox Sports HD
Netherlands: Fox Sports 2
Canada: beIN Sports Canada
France: beIN Sports 2
Africa: SuperSport 6, SuperSport 4, SuperSport Select 2, Canal+ Sport 1
Tournament Schedule
Match | Group | Date | Time | Venue |
Gabon vs Guinea-Bissau | A | 14 January, Saturday | 12am SGT (Sunday) | Libreville |
Burkina Faso vs Cameroon | A | 14 January, Saturday | 3am SGT (Sunday) | Libreville |
Algeria vs Zimbabwe | B | 15 January, Sunday | 12am SGT (Monday) | Franceville |
Tunisia vs Senegal | B | 15 January, Sunday | 3am SGT (Monday) | Franceville |
Ivory Coast vs Togo | C | 16 January, Monday | 12am SGT (Tuesday | Oyem |
DR Congo vs Morocco | C | 16 January, Monday | 3am SGT (Tuesday) | Oyem |
Ghana vs Uganda | D | 17 January, Tuesday | 12am SGT (Wednesday) | Port Gentil |
Mali vs Egypt | D | 17 January, Tuesday | 3am SGT (Wednesday) | Port Gentil |
Gabon vs Burkina Faso | A | 18 January, Wednesday | 12am SGT (Thursday) | Libreville |
Cameroon vs Guniea-Bissau | A | 18 January, Wednesday | 3am SGT (Thursday) | Libreville |
Algeria vs Tunisia | B | 19 January, Thursday | 12am SGT (Friday) | Franceville |
Senegal vs Zimbabwe | B | 19 January, Thursday | 3am SGT (Friday) | Franceville |
Ivory Coast vs DR Congo | C | 20 January, Friday | 12am SGT (Saturday) | Oyem |
Morocco vs Togo | C | 20 January, Friday | 3am SGT (Saturday) | Oyem |
Ghana vs Mali | D | 21 January, Saturday | 12am SGT (Sunday) | Port Gentil |
Egypt vs Uganda | D | 21 January, Saturday | 3am SGT (Sunday) | Port Gentil |
Cameroon vs Gabon | A | 22 January, Sunday | 3am SGT (Monday) | Libreville |
Gunieau-Bissau vs Burkina Faso | A | 22 January, Sunday | 3am SGT (Monday) | Franceville |
Senegal vs Algeria | B | 23 January, Monday | 3am SGT (Tuesday) | Franceville |
Zimbabwe vs Tunisia | B | 23 January, Monday | 3am SGT (Tuesday) | Libreville |
Morocco vs Ivory Coast | C | 24 January, Tuesday | 3am SGT (Wednesday) | Oyem |
Togo vs DR Congo | C | 24 January, Tuesday | 3am SGT (Wednesday) | Port Gentil |
Egypt vs Ghana | D | 25 January, Wednesday | 3am SGT (Thursday) | Port Gentil |
Uganda vs Mali | D | 25 January, Wednesday | 3am SGT (Thursday) | Oyem |
Quarter-final 1 | A winners v B Runners-up | 28 January, Saturday | 12am SGT (Sunday) | Libreville |
Quarter-final 2 | B winners v A Runners-up | 28 January, Saturday | 3am SGT (Sunday) | Franceville |
Quarter-final 3 | C Winners v D Runners-up | 29 January, Sunday | 12am SGT (Monday) | Oyem |
Quarter-final 4 | D Winners v C Runners-up | 29 January, Sunday | 3am SGT (Monday) | Port Gentil |
Semi-final 1 | - | 1 February, Wednesday | 3am SGT (Thursday) | Libreville |
Semi-final 2 | - | 2 February, Thursday | 3am SGT (Friday) | Franceville |
Third Place Match | - | 4 February, Saturday | 3am SGT (Sunday) | Port Gentil |
Final | - | 5 February, Sunday | 3am SGT (Monday) | Libreville |