Organizers may have been forced to delay the competition by a year, but the African Cup of Nations is finally taking place in Cameroon, with 24 nations vying for the crown of the best team in Africa, a title that currently holds a Algeria’s dominant team. The full tournament schedule follows below.
The Algerians could set a record during this year’s AFCON tournament if they can remain undefeated in four more matches. They enter the tournament on an undefeated streak of 34 games which is approaching the 37-match unbeaten mark set by Italy in 2021. Algeria, which added the FIFA Arab Cup to its trophy case in December, is expected to receive the biggest challenge for defending the title from Senegal, the team they beat at the end of the last edition. The Senegalese are in search of their first AFCON championship.
Egypt has won the tournament more times than any other nation (seven), but has not lifted the trophy since 2010. Pharaohs fans hope Liverpool superstar forward Mohamed Salah can take the team far. Côte d’Ivoire has a deep and experienced squad, while host Cameroon will appreciate their chances of landing a surprise and replicating their streak from 2017.
Cameroon is hosting the tournament for the first time since 1972, and all eyes will be on the impact the recent rise in COVID-19 will have on the event. The fast-spreading omicron variant has already wreaked havoc in league competitions around the world, and positive testing could lead to unpredictable lineups. But there will be no postponements and the coaches will have expanded the rosters of 28 men and five substitutes (and a sixth in overtime) to help manage any outbreak.
The games will be played in front of a reduced capacity with Fans in attendance are required to show proof of vaccination.. It remains to be seen how many fans actually show up since, according to Reuters, 2 percent of the population of Cameroon is vaccinated.
AFCON 2022 TV and broadcast in US, Canada
- Dates: January 9 to February 6 (52 games)
- Times: 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. Eastern time
- TV channels: beIN Sports, beIN Sports XTRA
- Spanish television: beIN Sports in Spanish, beIN Sports XTRA in Spanish
- Transmission: fuboTV, beIN Sports Connect and other platforms
The AFCON tournament will be hosted by beIN Sports in the US and Canada, and coverage will be available in both English and Spanish.
The cable and satellite television channels beIN Sports and beIN Sports en Español will broadcast most of the games, and others will be broadcast on the free channel beIN Sports XTRA followed by a delayed broadcast on the main television channels.
Fans can access all of these beIN streams via fuboTV, which available to new users via free trial.
AFCON 2022: tournament format
Like other continental championships and World Cup tournaments, the African Nations Cup begins with a group stage, followed by knockout rounds until the final. And for the first time in the competition’s history, all 52 matches will feature video review and the use of a video assistant referee (VAR).
The 24 nations are divided into six groups of four nations each. At the end of the free-for-all group game, with three points awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss, the top two teams in each group based on points (and tiebreakers, if necessary) advance to the knockout stages. The remaining places in the round of 16 will be filled by the four best third-placed teams.
A predetermined knockout group will be played until the final. If any knockout game ends in a tie after 90 minutes, the teams will play 30 minutes of overtime. If the tie persists, a penalty shoot-out will determine the team to follow. The game for third place is the only one that would skip overtime and go directly to the penalty shoot-out in the event of a tie.
AFCON 2022 Calendar
Sunday, January 9
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Cameroon vs. Burkina Faso (Group A) |
11am | be in XTRA beIN XTRA Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Ethiopia vs. Cape Verde (Group A) |
14:00 | be in XTRA beIN XTRA Spanish |
fuboTV |
Monday, January 10
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Senegal vs. Zimbabwe (B Group) |
8 am | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Guinea vs. Malawi (B Group) |
11am | – | – |
| Morocco vs. Ghana (Group C) |
11am | be in XTRA beIN XTRA Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Comoros vs Gabon (Group C) |
14:00 | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
Tuesday, January 11
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Algeria vs. Sierra Leone (Group E) |
8 am | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Nigeria vs. Egypt (Group D) |
11am | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Sudan vs. Guinea-Bissau (Group D) |
14:00 | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
Wednesday, January 12
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Tunisia vs. Mali (Group F) |
8 am | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Mauritania vs. Gambia (Group F) |
11am | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Equ. Guinea vs. Ivory Coast (Group E) |
14:00 | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
Thursday, January 13
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Cameroon vs Ethiopia (Group A) |
11am | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Cape Verde vs. Burkina Faso (Group A) |
14:00 | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
Friday, January 14
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Senegal vs. Guinea (B Group) |
8 am | be in sports beIN Sports Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Malawi vs. Zimbabwe (B Group) |
11am | beIN XTRA beIN XTRA Spanish |
fuboTV |
| Morocco vs Comoros (Group C) |
11am | – | – |
| Gabon vs. Ghana (Group C) |
14:00 | beIN XTRA beIN XTRA Spanish |
fuboTV |
Saturday, January 15
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Nigeria vs. Sudan (Group D) |
11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Guinea-Bissau vs. Egypt (Group D) |
14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Sunday, January 16
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Gambia vs. Mali (Group F) |
8 am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Tunisia vs. Mauritania (Group F) |
11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Ivory Coast vs. Sierra Leone (Group E) |
11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Algeria vs Equ. Guinea (Group E) |
14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Monday, January 17
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Burkina Faso vs. Ethiopia (Group A) |
11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Cape Verde vs Cameroon (Group A) |
11am | Determined | fuboTV |
Tuesday, January 18
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Zimbabwe vs. Guinea (B Group) |
11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Malawi vs. Senegal (B Group) |
11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Gabon vs Morocco (Group C) |
14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
| Ghana vs Comoros (Group C) |
14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Wednesday, January 19
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Egypt vs. Sudan (Group D) |
14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
| Guinea-Bissau v Nigeria (Group D) |
14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Thursday, January 20
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Ivory Coast vs. Algeria (Group E) |
11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Sierra Leone vs Equ. Guinea (Group E) |
11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Mali vs. Mauritania (Group F) |
14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
| Gambia vs. Tunisia (Group F) |
14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Sunday, January 23 (Round of 16)
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Round of 16 No. 1: A2 vs. C2 | 11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Round of 16 No. 2: E1 vs. B3 / E3 / F3 | 14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Monday, January 24 (Round of 16)
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Round of 16 No. 3: B2 vs. F2 | 11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Eighth Final No. 4: A1 vs. C3 / E3 / E3 | 14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Tuesday, January 25 (Round of 16)
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Eighth Final No. 5: B1 vs. A3 / C3 / D3 | 11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Round of 16 No. 6: C1 vs. A3 / B3 / F3 | 14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Wednesday, January 26 (Round of 16)
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Round of 16 No. 7: E1 vs D2 | 11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Round of 16 No. 8: F1 vs. E2 | 14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Saturday January 29 (Quarterfinals)
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Quarterfinal 1: Eighth Final No. 3 vs. Eighth Final No. 4 | 11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Quarterfinal 2: Eighth Final No. 1 vs. Eighth Final No. 2 | 14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Sunday January 30 (Quarterfinals)
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Quarterfinal 3: Eighth Final No. 7 vs. Eighth Final No. 6 | 11am | Determined | fuboTV |
| Quarterfinal 4: Eighth Final No. 5 vs. Eighth Final No. 8 | 14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Wednesday February 2 (Semifinal)
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Semifinal 1: Quarterfinal 2 vs. Quarterfinal 4 | 14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |
Thursday, February 3 (Semifinal)
| Coincide | Time (ET) | TV channels | Stream |
| Semifinal 2: Quarterfinal 3 vs. Quarterfinal 1 | 14:00 | Determined | fuboTV |