Kampala, Uganda | By Michael Wandati | The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023, the most significant football tournament on the continent, commenced on January 13, 2024 in Cote d’Ivoire.
Tanzania is set to kick off its campaign on January 17, 2023 with a Group F match against Morocco, the 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinalists, followed by matches against Zambia and DR Congo.
Despite Uganda not making it to the competition, there is a strong show of support from Ugandans for their neighbors, Tanzania, to excel. Grace Nabachwa, a football supporter in Kampala, expressed the sentiment, stating, “We must support our brothers from Tanzania because they are now carrying the regional flag in Cote d’Ivoire.”
Uganda’s captain, Khalid Aucho, who plays for Young Africans SC in the Tanzania Premier League, emphasized his support for Tanzania at the AFCON, saying, “I wish Tanzania all the best in the AFCON 2023. Tanzania, you have all our prayers.”
Even though Tanzania qualified for AFCON at Uganda’s expense, Fred Musaasizi affirmed his backing for Tanzania, stating, “These are our brothers, and we must support them throughout the tournament.”
Also Read: History as Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania named 2027 AFCON joint hosts
Josephine Adoch, another avid football fan, expressed her support for Tanzania, noting, “The AFCON is a very big and interesting tournament which brings together the best in the continent, and it’s always good to have a side to support. I will be supporting our brothers from Tanzania because we have a lot in common and play in the same Zone.”
Former Uganda striker Mujib Kasule echoed his support for Tanzania, saying, “Since we are all from the same Zone, we shall support Tanzania. But they need to take every match like a final.”
Notably, Ethiopia and Sudan are the only teams from the CECAFA Zone to have won an AFCON title, in 1962 and 1970, respectively. Egypt holds the record for the most AFCON titles with seven, while Cameroon and Ghana have won five and four tournaments, respectively.
Group stage
Saturday, January 13
Group A: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 20:00)
Sunday, January 14
Group A: Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 14:00)
Group B: Egypt vs Mozambique (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 17:00)
Group B: Ghana vs Cape Verde (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 20:00)
Monday, January 15
Group C: Senegal vs The Gambia (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 14:00)
Group C: Cameroon vs Guinea (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 17:00)
Group D: Algeria vs Angola (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 20:00)
Tuesday, January 16
Group D: Burkina Faso vs Mauritania (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 14:00)
Group E: Tunisia vs Namibia (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo, 17:00)
Group E: Mali vs South Africa (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo, 20:00)
Wednesday, January 17
Group F: Morocco vs Tanzania (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 17:00)
Group F: DR Congo vs Zambia (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 20:00)
Thursday, January 18
Group A: Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea-Bissau (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 14:00)
Group A: Ivory Coast vs Nigeria (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 17:00)
Group B: Egypt vs Ghana (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 20:00)
Friday, January 19
Group B: Cape Verde vs Mozambique (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 14:00)
Group C: Senegal vs Cameroon (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 17:00)
Group C: Guinea vs The Gambia (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 20:00)
Saturday, January 20
Group D: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 14:00)
Group D: Mauritania vs Angola (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 17:00)
Group E: Tunisia vs Mali (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo, 20:00)
Sunday, January 21
Group E: South Africa vs Namibia (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo, 20:00)
Group F: Morocco vs DR Congo (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 14:00)
Group F: Zambia vs Tanzania (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 17:00)
Monday, January 22
Group A: Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 17:00)
Group A: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 17:00)
Group B: Cape Verde vs Egypt (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 20:00)
Group B: Mozambique vs Ghana (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 20:00)
Tuesday, January 23
Group C: The Gambia vs Cameroon (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 17:00)
Group C: Guinea vs Senegal (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 17:00)
Group D: Angola vs Burkina Faso (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 20:00)
Group D: Mauritania vs Algeria (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 20:00)
Wednesday, January 24
Group E: Namibia vs Mali (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 17:00)
Group E: South Africa vs Tunisia (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo, 17:00)
Group F: Tanzania vs DR Congo (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo, 20:00)
Group F: Zambia vs Morocco (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 20:00)
Round of 16
Saturday, January 27
Game 37: Winners of Group D vs third-best team across Group B/E/F (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 17:00)
Game 38: Runners-up of Group A vs runners-up of Group C (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 20:00)
Sunday, January 28
Game 39: Winners of Group A vs third-best team across Group C/D/E (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 17:00)
Game 40: Runners-up of Group B vs Group Runners-up of Group F (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 20:00)
Monday, January 29
Game 41: Winners of Group B vs third-best team across Group A/C/D (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 17:00)
Game 42: Winners of Group C vs third-best team across Group A/B/F (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 20:00)
Tuesday, January 30
Game 43: Winners of Group E vs runners-up of Group D (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo, 17:00)
Game 44: Winners of Group F vs runners-up of Group E (Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro, 20:00)
Quarterfinals
Friday, February 2
Game 45: Winners of Game 38 vs Winners of Game 37 (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 17:00)
Game 46: Winners of Game 40 vs Winners of Game 39 (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 20:00)
Saturday, February 3
Game 47: Winners of Game 43 vs Winners of Game 42 (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 17:00)
Game 48: Winners of Game 41 vs Winners of Game 44 (Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, 20:00)
Semifinals
Wednesday, February 7
Game 49: Winners of Game 45 vs Winners of Game 48 (Stade de la Paix, Bouake, 17:00)
Game 50: Winners of Game 47 vs Winners of Game 46 (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, 20:00)
Third place playoff
Saturday, 10 February
Game 51: Game 49 vs Game 50 losers (Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, 20:00)
Final
Sunday, 11 February
Game 52: (Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)
