2012 Africa Cup of Nations

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

2012 Africa Cup of Nations
  • Copa Africana de Naciones 2012
  • Campeonato Africano das Nações de 2012
  • Coupe d'Afrique des Nations 2012
  • AFCON 2012
  • CAN 2012
Tournament details
Host countriesEquatorial Guinea
Gabon
Dates21 January – 12 February
Teams16
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Zambia (1st title)
Runners-up Ivory Coast
Third place Mali
Fourth place Ghana
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored76 (2.38 per match)
Attendance456,332 (14,260 per match)
Top scorer(s)Angola Manucho
Gabon Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Ivory Coast Didier Drogba
Mali Cheick Diabaté
Morocco Houssine Kharja
Zambia Christopher Katongo
Zambia Emmanuel Mayuka
(3 goals each)
Best player(s)Zambia Christopher Katongo
Fair play award Ivory Coast
2010
2013

The competition took place between 21 January and 12 February 2012 and was co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The bidding process for hosting the tournament ended in September 2006.

The matches were played in four stadiums in four host cities, with the final played at the newly built Stade d'Angondjé in Gabon's largest city, Libreville. Fourteen teams were selected for participation via a continental qualification tournament that began in July 2010.

The 2012 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations took place against the backdrop of political turmoil. Libya and Tunisia qualified for the tournament, even as the Arab Spring brought upheaval and regime change to both nations.[1] Traditional African footballing nations such as reigning champions Egypt (also affected by political events), as well as Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa had failed to qualify. Players from third-placed Mali had pleaded for the insurgency in the north of their country to end.

In the first round of the tournament finals, the teams competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These eight teams advanced to the knockout stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final. Both host nations, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, were eliminated from the competition at the quarter-final stage.

In the final, unfancied Zambia defeated third-time finalists Ivory Coast after a dramatic penalty shootout, despite the fact that Ivory Coast did not concede a single goal during the entire tournament,[2] giving Zambia their first continental title.[3] Manager Hervé Renard dedicated their win to the members of the national team who died in a plane crash near the final's venue in Libreville in 1993.[4]

Host selection

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Bids :

  • Angola (selected as hosts for 2010)
  • Gabon / Equatorial Guinea (selected as hosts for 2012)
  • Libya (selected as hosts for 2013)
  • Nigeria (selected as reserve hosts for 2010, 2012 & 2013 tournaments)

Rejected Bids :

  • Benin / Central African Republic
  • Botswana
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Senegal
  • Zimbabwe

On 4 September 2006, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) approved a compromise between rival countries to host the Africa Cup of Nations after it ruled out Nigeria. CAF agreed to award the next three editions from 2010 to Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Libya respectively. They assigned Angola in 2010, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, which submitted a joint bid in 2012, and Libya for 2014.

This edition was awarded to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea to rotate the hosting of the cup and give hosting chance for first-timer nations.

Two-time former host Nigeria was the reserve host for the 2010, 2012 and 2014 tournaments, in the event that any of the host countries failed to meet the requirements established by CAF, although this ended up being unnecessary.

The 2014 tournament was pushed forward to 2013 and subsequently held in odd-numbered years to avoid clashing with the FIFA World Cup.[5]

Qualification

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The qualification process involved ten groups of four, one of which was reduced to a group of three after the withdrawal of Mauritania, and one group of five. The top team from each group goes through, as well as the second placed team from the group of five. The two best second place teams also qualify. At the end of the qualification process, fourteen teams would have qualified, as well as the two host nations. The first qualifiers were held on 1 July 2010.[6]

Qualified teams

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A map of Africa showing the qualified nations, highlighted by stage reached.
Country Qualified as Qualification date Appearance in finals Previous best performance Regional body FIFA ranking1 Continental ranking1
  Angola JWGroup J Winner 048 October 2011 066th 40Quarterfinals (2008, 2010) COSAFA 85 19
  Botswana KWGroup K Winner 0126 March 2011 011st 20none COSAFA 94 21
  Burkina Faso FWGroup F Winner 033 September 2011 088th 50Fourth place (1998) WAFU 66 14
  Ivory Coast HWGroup H Winner 025 June 2011 1919th 80Winner (1992) WAFU 18 1
  Equatorial Guinea AACo-host 0029 July 2007 011st 20none UNIFFAC 151 41
  Gabon AACo-host 0029 July 2007 055th 30Quarterfinals (1996) UNIFFAC 91 20
  Ghana IWGroup I Winner 048 October 2011 1818th 90Winner (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982) WAFU 26 2
  Guinea BWGroup B Winner 048 October 2011 1010th 60Second place (1976) WAFU 79 17
  Libya RU Top Two Runner-Up 048 October 2011 033rd 60Second place (1982) UNAF 63 13
  Mali AWGroup A Winner 048 October 2011 077th 60Second place (1972) WAFU 69 15
  Morocco DWGroup D Winner 059 October 2011 1414th 80Winner (1976) UNAF 61 12
  Niger GWGroup G Winner 048 October 2011 011st 20none WAFU 98 22
  Senegal EWGroup E Winner 033 September 2011 1212th 60Second place (2002) WAFU 43 5
  Sudan RU Top Two Runner-Up 059 October 2011 088th 80Winner (1970) CECAFA 120 30
  Tunisia KXGroup K Runner-up 048 October 2011 1515th 80Winner (2004) UNAF 59 10
  Zambia CWGroup C Winner 048 October 2011 1515th 70Second place (1974, 1994) COSAFA 71 16
1 FIFA World Rankings, release of 18 January 2012.

Controversies

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Togo

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Togo were initially banned from the 2012 and 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments by CAF after they withdrew from the 2010 tournament following an attack on their team bus.[7] Togo appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with FIFA president Sepp Blatter stepping in to mediate. The ban was subsequently lifted with immediate effect on 14 May 2010, after a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee. Togo were therefore free to play in the 2012 and 2013 qualifiers.[8]

Nigeria

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On 30 June 2010, after Nigeria's exit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan punished the team for a poor campaign by imposing a two-year ban from international competition.[9] This would have resulted in the Nigerians missing out on both the 2012 qualifying phase and the 2012 African Cup of Nations. However, on 5 July, the Nigerian government dropped the ban after FIFA threatened to impose harsher international sanctions as a result of the government interference.[10] Nigeria competed in qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations as scheduled but failed to qualify.

Venues

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The opening match, one semi-final and the third place match were held in Equatorial Guinea, while the other semi-final and the final were held in Gabon.[11]

Location of the host cities of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations
  • Equatorial Guinea
  •  1  Bata
  •  2  Malabo
  •  
  •  
  • Gabon
  •  3  Franceville
  •  4  Libreville
City Stadium Capacity
  Bata Estadio de Bata 41,000
  Franceville Stade de Franceville 22,000
  Libreville Stade d'Angondjé 40,000
  Malabo Estadio de Malabo 20,000

Draw

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The draw for the final tournament took place on 29 October 2011 at the Sipopo Conference Palace in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.[12] The draw ceremony was attended by the two presidents from the host countries, President Ali Bongo of Gabon and President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea.[13] The draw saw the 16 qualified teams being pitted into four groups of four teams each. The two top teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals with the winners progressing to the semi-finals and final eventually.

The two hosts were automatically seeded into pot 1. The other 14 qualified teams were ranked based on their performances during the previous three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.[14] For each of the last three African Cup of Nations final tournaments, the following system of points is adopted for the qualified countries:

Classification Points awarded
Winner 7
Runner-up 5
Losing semi-finalists 3
Losing quarter-finalists 2
Eliminated in 1st round 1

Moreover, a weighted coefficient on points was given to each of the last three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations as follows:

The teams were then divided into four pots based on the ranking. Each group contained one team from each pot. Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, as co-hosts, were automatically seeded as the top team in Group A and C respectively.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  Equatorial Guinea (co-hosts)
  Gabon (co-hosts)
  Ghana (22 pts)
  Ivory Coast (17 pts)
  Angola (11 pts)
  Tunisia (9 pts)
  Zambia (9 pts)
  Guinea (6 pts)
  Mali (5 pts)
  Senegal (5 pts)
  Morocco (3 pts)
  Burkina Faso (3 pts)
  Sudan (2 pts)
  Libya (1 pt)
  Botswana (0 pts)
  Niger (0 pts)

Match officials

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The following referees were chosen for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.[15]

Referees Linesmen

Mohamed Benouza
Djamel Haimoudi
Néant Alioum
Noumandiez Doué
Gehad Grisha
Eric Otogo-Castane
Bakary Gassama
Hamada Nampiandraza
Koman Coulibaly
Ali Lemghaifry
Rajindraparsad Seechurn
Bouchaïb El Ahrach
Badara Diatta
Eddy Maillet
Daniel Bennett
Khalid Abdel Rahman
Slim Jedidi
Janny Sikazwe

Albdelhak Etchiali
Jean-Claude Birumushahu
Evarist Menkouande
Yanoussa Moussa
Richard Bouende-Malonga
Songuifolo Yeo
Angesom Ogbamariam
Theophile Vinga
Aboubacar Doumbouya
Marwa Range
Moffat Champiti
Balla Diarra
Balkrishna Bootun
Redouane Achik
David Shaanika
Peter Edibe
Felicien Kabanda
Djibril Camara
Jason Damoo
Zakhele Siwela
Bechir Hassani

Squads

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Each team's squad for the tournament consisted of 23 players; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament. Each participating national association had to submit their squad by 11 January 2012 (midnight CET). Replacement of seriously injured players was permitted until 24 hours before the team in question's first match of the tournament.[16]

Group stage

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Groups A and B took place in Equatorial Guinea, while Groups C and D were held in Gabon.[17] Notably, there was not a single goalless draw during the group stage.

Tie-breaking criteria

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If two or more teams end the group stage with the same number of points, their ranking is determined by the following criteria:[16]

  1. points earned in the matches between the teams concerned;
  2. goal difference in the matches between the teams concerned;
  3. number of goals scored in the matches between the teams concerned;
  4. goal difference in all group matches;
  5. number of goals scored in all group matches;
  6. fair play points system taking into account the number of yellow and red cards;
  7. drawing of lots by the organising committee.

All times are West Africa Time (UTC+1).

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Zambia 3 2 1 0 5 3 +2 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Equatorial Guinea (H) 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6
3   Libya 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
4   Senegal 3 0 0 3 3 6 −3 0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
(H) Hosts
Equatorial Guinea  1–0  Libya
Balboa   87' Report
Senegal  1–2  Zambia
N'Doye   73' Report Mayuka   12'
Kalaba   20'
Attendance: 17,500[18]

Libya  2–2  Zambia
Saad   5', 48' Report Mayuka   29'
C. Katongo   54'
Attendance: 1,500[18]
Equatorial Guinea  2–1  Senegal
Randy   61'
Kily   90+3'
Report Sow   89'
Attendance: 35,000[18]

Equatorial Guinea  0–1  Zambia
Report C. Katongo   68'
Libya  2–1  Senegal
Boussefi   5', 84' Report D. N'Diaye   10'

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Ivory Coast 3 3 0 0 5 0 +5 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Sudan 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
3   Angola 3 1 1 1 4 5 −1 4
4   Burkina Faso 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4 0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
Ivory Coast  1–0  Sudan
Drogba   39' Report
Burkina Faso  1–2  Angola
A. Traoré   58' Report Mateus Galiano   48'
Manucho   68'

Sudan  2–2  Angola
Bashir   32', 74' Report Manucho   4', 50' (pen.)
Ivory Coast  2–0  Burkina Faso
Kalou   16'
B. Koné   82' (o.g.)
Report
Attendance: 4,000[18]
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)

Sudan  2–1  Burkina Faso
Mudather Karika   33', 79' Report Ouédraogo   90+5'
Ivory Coast  2–0  Angola
Eboué   33'
Bony   64'
Report
Attendance: 1,500[18]
Referee: Slim Jedidi (Tunisia)

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Gabon (H) 3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Tunisia 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6
3   Morocco 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4   Niger 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
(H) Hosts
Gabon  2–0  Niger
Aubameyang   31'
N'Guéma   42'
Report
Morocco  1–2  Tunisia
Kharja   86' Report Korbi   34'
Msakni   76'

Niger  1–2  Tunisia
N'Gounou   9' Report Msakni   4'
Jemâa   89'
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)
Gabon  3–2  Morocco
Aubameyang   76'
Cousin   79'
Mbanangoyé   90+10'
Report Kharja   24', 90+1' (pen.)

Gabon  1–0  Tunisia
Aubameyang   61' Report
Niger  0–1  Morocco
Report Belhanda   78'

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Ghana 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Mali 3 2 0 1 3 3 0 6
3   Guinea 3 1 1 1 7 3 +4 4
4   Botswana 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7 0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [citation needed]
Ghana  1–0  Botswana
John Mensah   25' Report
Mali  1–0  Guinea
B. Traoré   30' Report

Botswana  1–6  Guinea
Selolwane   23' (pen.) Report S. Diallo   15', 27'
A. R. Camara   42'
Traoré   45'
M. Bah   83'
Soumah   86'
Ghana  2–0  Mali
Gyan   64'
A. Ayew   71'
Report

Botswana  1–2  Mali
Ngele   50' Report Dembélé   56'
Keita   75'
Ghana  1–1  Guinea
Agyemang-Badu   27' Report A. R. Camara   45'

Knockout stage

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In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winners if necessary.

Bracket

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Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
4 February – Bata
 
 
  Zambia3
 
8 February – Bata
 
  Sudan0
 
  Zambia1
 
5 February – Franceville
 
  Ghana0
 
  Ghana (a.e.t.)2
 
12 February – Libreville
 
  Tunisia1
 
  Zambia (p)0 (8)
 
5 February – Libreville
 
  Ivory Coast0 (7)
 
  Gabon1 (4)
 
8 February – Libreville
 
  Mali (p)1 (5)
 
  Mali0
 
4 February – Malabo
 
  Ivory Coast1 Third place play-off
 
  Ivory Coast3
 
11 February – Malabo
 
  Equatorial Guinea0
 
  Ghana0
 
 
  Mali2
 

Quarter-finals

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Zambia  3–0  Sudan
Sunzu   15'
C. Katongo   66'
Chamanga   86'
Report
Attendance: 200[18]

Ivory Coast  3–0  Equatorial Guinea
Drogba   35', 69'
Y. Touré   81'
Report

Gabon  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Mali
Mouloungui   54' Report Diabaté   85'
Penalties
Poko  
Mbanangoyé  
Mouloungui  
Aubameyang  
Manga  
4–5   Diabaté
  Yatabaré
  Kanté
  B. Traoré
  Keita

Ghana  2–1 (a.e.t.)  Tunisia
John Mensah   9'
A. Ayew   100'
Report Khelifa   41'

Semi-finals

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Zambia  1–0  Ghana
Mayuka   78' Report
Attendance: 12,000[18]

Mali  0–1  Ivory Coast
Report Gervinho   45'

Third place play-off

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Ghana  0–2  Mali
Report Diabaté   23', 80'
Attendance: 15,000[18]
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)

Final

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Awards

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Team of the tournament

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Tournament rankings

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Pos. Team G Pld W D L Pts GF GA GD
1   Zambia A 6 5 1 0 16 9 3 +6
2   Ivory Coast B 6 5 1 0 16 9 0 +9
3   Mali D 6 3 1 2 10 6 5 +1
4   Ghana D 6 3 1 2 10 6 5 +1
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5   Gabon C 4 3 1 0 10 7 3 +4
6   Tunisia C 4 2 0 2 6 5 5 0
7   Equatorial Guinea A 4 2 0 2 6 3 5 −2
8   Sudan B 4 1 1 2 4 4 7 −3
Eliminated in the group stage
9   Guinea D 3 1 1 1 4 7 3 +4
10   Libya B 3 1 1 1 4 4 4 0
11   Angola C 3 1 1 1 4 4 5 −1
12   Morocco A 3 1 0 2 3 4 5 −1
13   Senegal A 3 0 0 3 0 3 6 −3
14   Burkina Faso B 3 0 0 3 0 2 6 −4
15   Niger C 3 0 0 3 0 1 5 −4
16   Botswana D 3 0 0 3 0 2 9 −7

Scorers

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3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal

Mascot

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The mascot for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations was unveiled on 16 September 2011 at a ceremony in Libreville, Gabon. The mascot, named Gaguie, is a gorilla sporting the national team colors of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.[23]

Match ball

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The official match ball for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, manufactured by Adidas, was the Comoequa. The name was inspired by the Komo River, which runs through the host nations, and the Equator, which runs throughout Africa and unites the host nations.[24]

Notes

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  1. ^ Original kick-off at 17:00 but was delayed due to heavy rain.[19]
  2. ^ Original kick-off at 20:00 but was pushed back due to the delay of the Libya–Zambia match.

References

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  1. ^ "The Arab Spring, Libya and the African Cup of Nations: The effect of revolution has been to inspire, unite and embolden". Sporting Intelligence. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Zambia win dramatic shoot-out". BBC Sport. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Zambia Takes a Modest and Emotional Path to Victory". The New York Times. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Zambia coach dedicates Africa Cup of Nations win to crash dead". BBC Sport. 13 February 2002. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Africa Cup of Nations Cup to move to odd-numbered years". BBC Sport. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  6. ^ "African International Competitions". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Togo officially disqualified from Africa Cup of Nations". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Togo's African Cup ban is lifted". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Nigeria's President Suspends Soccer Team". CBC Sports. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 June 2010. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  10. ^ "Nigeria backs down on soccer ban". ESPN Soccernet. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  11. ^ "Gabon : Libreville et Malabo s'accordent pour la CAN 2012" [Gabon: Libreville and Malabo agree for the 2012 ACN]. Gaboneco (in French). 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  12. ^ "Official Draw for the Orange CAN 2012 fixed for October 29, 2011". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
  13. ^ "2012 Africa Cup of Nations draw conducted". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 29 October 2011. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011.
  14. ^ "Orange CAN 2012 Official Draw 29 Oct 2011 – Procedures" (PDF). CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 12 October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2013.
  15. ^ "Referees". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  16. ^ a b "Regulations of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Gabon-Equatorial Guinea 2012" (PDF). CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  17. ^ "Fixtures of the 28th Orange -Africa Cup of Nations, CAN 2012 Equatorial Guinea –Gabon" (PDF). CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 29 October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2011.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "2012 African Nations Cup Fixtures and Results". ESPN Soccernet. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  19. ^ "Rain delays Libya-Zambia match". ESPNStar.com. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  20. ^ "Orange CAN 2012 Awards Orange CAN 2012 Awards". cafonline.com. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  21. ^ "Orange CAN 2012 Best XI". cafonline.com. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  22. ^ a b "AFC Competition Operations Manual (Edition 2023)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Orange CAN 2012 mascot Gaguie unveiled". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  24. ^ "CAF and Adidas present the official match ball for the African Cup of Nations". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 3 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
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