Africa Cup 2015

Africa Cup 2015
Africa Cup of Nations 2015
Number of nations	16  (of 52 applicants)
African champions	Ivory Coast (2nd title)
venue	Equatorial Guinea
Opening game	17th January 2015
Endgame	February 8, 2015
Games	32
Gates	68  (⌀: 2.13 per game)
spectator	616,576  (⌀: 19,268 per game)
Top scorer	Ahmed Akaïchi André Ayew Javier Balboa Thievy Bifouma Dieumerci Mbokani (3 goals each)
Best player	Christian Atsu
yellow cards	87  (⌀: 2.72 per game)
Yellow-red cards	1  (⌀: 0.03 per game)
Red cards	1  (⌀: 0.03 per game)

The Africa Cup 2015 ( French Coupe d'Afrique des Nations , English Africa Cup of Nations ), hosted by the African Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), was the 30th edition of the African continental football championship. The Ivory Coast national team won the tournament by beating Ghana on penalties.

For the second time since 1988 Morocco should host the championship. However, the country was withdrawn from the tournament in November 2014 because it refused to host it in January 2015 due to the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa . In addition, the Moroccan national soccer team lost its automatic start right as the host. On November 14, 2014, Equatorial Guinea was chosen as the new host of the tournament. This gave the team from Equatorial Guinea, which had initially been excluded due to a rule violation during qualification, the right to start as the host.

The tournament was overshadowed by spectator riots in the second semi-final between Equatorial Guinea and Ghana, which led to a half-hour break in the game.

Record winners Egypt and defending champions Nigeria failed to qualify.

The draw for the final round took place on December 3, 2014 in Malabo . The games were played in Malabo, Bata , Mongomo and Ebebiyín .

Award

The organizers of the Africa Cups 2015 and 2017 were determined in January 2011 at a meeting of the continental association CAF in Lubumbashi , Congolese . Following the withdrawal of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , South Africa and Morocco were the only applicants for the host. Morocco was awarded the contract for 2015. South Africa was initially intended to host the Africa Cup of 2017, but swapped hosting rights in August 2011 with Libya , which originally hosted the 2013 tournament .

In October 2014, the Moroccan government called for the tournament to be postponed due to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Shortly thereafter, the CAF announced that the tournament would continue to take place as planned between January 17 and February 8, 2015 in Morocco, as they had prepared for the epidemic and were prepared for all possible precautions. The CAF Executive Committee rejected the request by the Moroccan Football Association to allow the tournament to be postponed to either June 2015 or January 2016. The host Morocco was then given six days to agree to the planned time frame. Morocco let the ultimatum of the African continental union expire. Three days later, on November 11th, Morocco was withdrawn from the Africa Cup due to its refusal to host on the scheduled date. In addition, the Moroccan national soccer team lost its automatic start right as the host. Potential hosts such as South Africa or Ghana refused to take over the tournament at short notice. On November 14, 2014, Equatorial Guinea was chosen as the new host of the tournament. This gave the team from Equatorial Guinea, which had initially been excluded due to a rule violation during qualification, the right to start as the host.

The African continental association punished the Moroccan football association on February 6, 2015 for canceling the tournament. Morocco is not allowed to take part in the Africa Cups in 2017 and 2019 , has to pay a fine of 1 million US dollars and a compensation of 8.05 million euros for the material damage caused by the tournament being canceled.

On April 2, 2015, the International Court of Justice lifted the exclusion for 2017 and 2019 and reduced the fine from $ 1 million to $ 50,000.

qualification

→ Main article : Africa Cup 2015 / qualification

Morocco was automatically qualified to host; however, it was suspended in November 2014. Another 51 teams had registered for the qualification. Only Djibouti and Somalia did not participate. For the first time, South Sudan took part in the qualification. The format of the qualification was determined on January 24, 2014. Between September 5 and November 15, 2014, 28 of the 51 registered teams in seven groups identified the 15 teams that took part in the final round alongside the hosts, with the two best in each group and the best third in the group qualifying. The 21 best teams in the CAF ranking were automatically qualified for the group stage. The remaining seven teams were determined in pre-qualifications between May and August 2014. The draw took place on April 27, 2014 in Cairo .

The selection of Equatorial Guinea was initially excluded from the qualification from round 3 by the African Football Association because of the use of an ineligible player ( Thierry Fidjeu-Tazemeta ). The team was still qualified as a substitute host.

Qualified teams

as host:  Equatorial Guinea as group winner:  Algeria  Gabon  Ghana  Cameroon  Cape Verde  South Africa  Tunisia

as second group:  Burkina Faso  Ivory Coast  Guinea  Republic of the Congo  Mali  Zambia  Senegal as the best third party:  Democratic Republic of Congo

Venues

Bata	Malabo	Mongomo Bata Malabo Ebebiyín Venues 2015 in Equatorial Guinea	Mongomo	Ebebiyín
Estadio de Bata	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo		Estadio de Mongomo	Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín
Capacity: 35,700	Capacity: 15,250		Capacity: 15,000	Capacity: 8,000

Squad

→ Main article : Africa Cup 2015 / squad

Group stage

Group A

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Republic of the Congo	3	2	1	0	004: 200	+2	07th
2.	Equatorial Guinea	3	1	2	0	003: 100	+2	05
3.	Gabon	3	1	0	2	002: 300	−1	03
4th	Burkina Faso	3	0	1	2	001: 400	−3	01

Sat, January 17, 5:00 p.m. in Bata
Equatorial Guinea	-	Republic of the Congo	1: 1 (1: 0)
Saturday 17th January at 8:00 p.m. in Bata
Burkina Faso	-	Gabon	0: 2 (0: 1)
Wed., January 21 at 5:00 p.m. in Bata
Equatorial Guinea	-	Burkina Faso	0-0
Wed., January 21st at 8:00 p.m. in Bata
Gabon	-	Republic of the Congo	0: 1 (0: 0)
Sun 25 January at 7:00 p.m. in Ebebiyín
Gabon	-	Equatorial Guinea	0: 2 (0: 0)
Sun., January 25th at 7:00 p.m. in Bata
Republic of the Congo	-	Burkina Faso	2: 1 (0: 0)

Group B

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Tunisia	3	1	2	0	004: 300	+1	05
2.	DR Congo	3	0	3	0	002: 200	± 0	03
3.	Cape Verde	3	0	3	0	001: 100	± 0	03
4th	Zambia	3	0	2	1	002: 300	−1	02

Sun. January 18 at 5:00 p.m. in Ebebiyín
Zambia	-	DR Congo	1: 1 (1: 0)
Sun. January 18th at 8:00 p.m. in Ebebiyín
Tunisia	-	Cape Verde	1: 1 (0: 0)
Thursday, January 22nd at 5:00 p.m. in Ebebiyín
Zambia	-	Tunisia	1: 2 (0: 0)
Thursday, January 22nd at 8:00 p.m. in Ebebiyín
Cape Verde	-	DR Congo	0-0
Mon., January 26th at 7:00 p.m. in Ebebiyín
Cape Verde	-	Zambia	0-0
Mon., January 26th at 7:00 p.m. in Bata
DR Congo	-	Tunisia	1: 1 (0: 1)

Group C

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Ghana	3	2	0	1	004: 300	+1	06th
2.	Algeria	3	2	0	1	005: 200	+3	06th
3.	Senegal	3	1	1	1	003: 400	−1	04th
4th	South Africa	3	0	1	2	003: 600	−3	01

Mon., January 19 at 5:00 p.m. in Mongomo
Ghana	-	Senegal	1: 2 (1: 0)
Mon., January 19 at 8:00 p.m. in Mongomo
Algeria	-	South Africa	3: 1 (0: 0)
Friday, January 23rd at 5:00 p.m. in Mongomo
Ghana	-	Algeria	1: 0 (0: 0)
Friday, January 23 at 8:00 p.m. in Mongomo
South Africa	-	Senegal	1: 1 (0: 0)
Tuesday, January 27th at 7:00 p.m. in Mongomo
South Africa	-	Ghana	1: 2 (1: 0)
Tuesday, January 27th at 7:00 p.m. in Malabo
Senegal	-	Algeria	0: 2 (0: 1)

Group D

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Ivory Coast	3	1	2	0	003: 200	+1	05
2.	Guinea	3	0	3	0	003: 300	± 0	03
3.	Mali	3	0	3	0	003: 300	± 0	03
4th	Cameroon	3	0	2	1	002: 300	−1	02
According to the tournament rules, the lot decided on the 2nd and 3rd place. The drawing of lots was made on Thursday, January 29, 2015.

Tuesday, January 20 at 5:00 p.m. in Malabo
Ivory Coast	-	Guinea	1: 1 (0: 1)
Tuesday, January 20th at 8:00 p.m. in Malabo
Mali	-	Cameroon	1: 1 (0: 0)
Sat., January 24th at 5:00 p.m. in Malabo
Ivory Coast	-	Mali	1: 1 (0: 1)
Sat. January 24th at 8:00 p.m. in Malabo
Cameroon	-	Guinea	1: 1 (1: 1)
Wed., January 28th at 7:00 p.m. in Malabo
Cameroon	-	Ivory Coast	0: 1 (0: 1)
Wed., January 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Mongomo
Guinea	-	Mali	1: 1 (1: 0)

Mali and Guinea finished the group stage with a tie for points and goals together as runners-up, so that a drawing of lots had to determine the further course of the tournament - a drawing of lots was last required at the Africa Cup in 1988 . In contrast to other international tournaments, no criteria such as fair play rating, FIFA ranking or a penalty shoot-out are applied in the Africa Cup if at least two teams are tied on points and goals. The national coaches of Mali and Guinea have openly criticized the current regulation. On January 29th, the CAF announced that Guinea had drawn the decisive lot and reached the quarter-finals, while Mali finished the group stage in third place.

Final round

Geographical overview of the participants and their placement

Tournament winner

final

Semifinals

Quarter finals

Group stage

On January 27, 2015, the CAF announced that it would change two venues for the quarter-finals:

• The second quarter-final match will not be played in the Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín in Ebebiyín, but in the Estadio de Bata in Bata.
• The third quarter-final game will not be played in the Estadio de Mongomo in Mongomo, but in the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo in Malabo.
• The second and fourth quarter-finals will kick off half an hour later (8:30 p.m. local time).

The CAF justified the relocation of the venues with the fact that the playing areas in Ebebiyín and Mongomo had been affected by storms and excessive loads. There were previously concerns in the media that the organizer could not guarantee the necessary security for the 5,000-seat Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín . The stadium is said to have been overcrowded during the group matches and the police - due to the large crowd - have shown glaring weaknesses. In addition, the CAF can also expect higher revenues in the two largest stadiums in Bata and Malabo.

No extra time was planned in the game for third place. If the game is tied after 90 minutes, there would be a penalty shoot-out.

game schedule

	Quarter finals				Semifinals				final
	Tunisia	1
	Equatorial Guinea	2
					Equatorial Guinea	0
					Ghana	3
	Ghana	3
	Guinea	0
									Ghana	0 (8)
									Ivory Coast	0 (9)
	Ivory Coast	3
	Algeria	1
					Ivory Coast	3			Game for third place
					DR Congo	1
	Republic of the Congo	2							Equatorial Guinea	0 (2)
	DR Congo	4th							DR Congo	0 (4)

Quarter finals

Sat., January 31st at 5:00 p.m. in Bata
Republic of the Congo	-	DR Congo	2: 4 (0: 0)
Sat., January 31st at 8:30 p.m. in Bata
Tunisia	-	Equatorial Guinea	1: 2 a.d. (1: 1, 0: 0)
Sun., February 1st at 5:00 p.m. in Malabo
Ghana	-	Guinea	3: 0 (2: 0)
Sun., February 1st at 8:30 p.m. in Malabo
Ivory Coast	-	Algeria	3: 1 (1: 0)

The first quarter-final match between the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo went goalless for 45 minutes. The Republic of the Congo took a 2-0 lead in seven minutes (1-0 by Ferebory Doré in the 55th minute and 2-0 by Thievy Bifouma in the 62nd minute), but Florent Ibengé's side scored in the 65 minutes later by Mbokani the connection goal and ten minutes later by Bokila the equalizer. Kimuaki finally gave his side the lead in the 81st minute before Mbokani scored 4-2 in the first minute of stoppage time - his second goal of the game.

In the second quarter-final match, Equatorial Guinea beat Tunisia 2-1 after extra time. In a largely defensive game, the Tunisians took the lead in the 70th minute through Akaïchi . In the third minute of stoppage time, referee Rajindraparsad Seechurn gave the hosts an extremely questionable penalty, which Balboa converted. The game became more biting due to the wrong decision, after which both teams found it difficult to control their emotions. Balboa scored the winning goal for the hosts again with a free kick from just outside the penalty area in the 102nd minute. After the final whistle, the referee was only able to leave the field from the angry Tunisian players under the protection of several stewards. The African Continental Association then banned Seechum for six months due to questionable decisions and “poor performance”. In addition, on February 3, 2015, both national teams were punished by the disciplinary body of the African Football Association. Equatorial Guinea was fined US $ 5,000 due to serious security issues. The Tunisian association was fined $ 50,000. Furthermore, the Tunisian national team is threatened with exclusion from the Africa Cup 2017 if the Tunisian association does not apologize in writing for the allegations to the CAF . On February 6, the CAF announced that the Tunisian association president Wadie Jary had been temporarily removed from his offices at continental level, as the CAF was still awaiting a letter of apology from the association president. The CAF set a deadline of March 31. If the deadline is not met, the Tunisian national team continues to face exclusion from the 2017 Africa Cup.

In the third quarter-final game, Ghana clearly beat Guinea. In the fourth minute, Atsu took the lead for Ghana, which Appiah extended shortly before half-time (44th minute). In the 61st minute, Atsu scored the last goal of the game with a shot near the right edge of the penalty area. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Guinea goalkeeper Yattara received a red card after an emergency brake against Asamoah Gyan .

In the last quarter-final match, Ivory Coast won against Algeria. Ivor's Bony headed the first goal of the game in the 26th minute. Algerian El Arbi Hillel Soudani equalized in the 51st minute , before Bony brought the Ivorians back into the lead in the 68th minute. Gervinho scored the goal to make it 3-1 in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Semifinals

Wed., February 4th at 8:00 p.m. in Bata
DR Congo	-	Ivory Coast	1: 3 (1: 2)
Thursday, February 5th at 8:00 p.m. in Malabo
Ghana	-	Equatorial Guinea	3: 0 (2: 0)

In the first of the two semi-finals, Ivory Coast took the lead after 20 minutes against the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Yaya Touré's shot from around 20 meters. Shortly thereafter, Mbokani equalized the Ivorians' lead with a penalty before Gervinho scored another opening goal for the Ivorians before the half-time break (41st minute). In the second half, the Ivory Coast put the Congolese under increasing pressure and achieved the final score of 1: 3 through Kanon in the 68th minute. The Congolese did not set any further accents afterwards, the Ivory Coast easily reached the finals.

In the second semi-final, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea neutralized each other over much of the first half. In the 42nd minute, the referee ruled on a penalty, as Appiah had been fouled by the Equatorial Guinean goalkeeper Ovono in the penalty area. Jordan Ayew converted the penalty kick to 1-0 lead. Shortly before the half-time whistle, Mubarak Wakaso extended the lead. Meanwhile, the first Equatorial Guinean spectators threw bottles and other objects onto the field and at the Ghanaian national team. At half-time, the Ghanaian players and coaches were only able to leave the pitch under police protection in front of the angry Equatorial Guinean spectators. The stadium announcer tried to calm the audience down shortly before and during the half-time break. In the second half, the spectators continued to throw objects at the opposing team. André Ayew scored the last goal of the game in the 75th minute.

In the 82nd minute, the referee interrupted the game due to riots by the Equatorial Guinean spectators. The Ghanaian fans were escorted inside the stadium by the police to protect their safety. Observers criticized this process because the Ghanaian fans were pelted with objects from three sides during this time. According to the journalists present, not only bottles but also stones, mirrors and broken porcelain were thrown at the Ghanaians. Several helicopters circled over the stadium, with one helicopter flying a few meters above the west grandstand in order to frighten the angry spectators and to get the situation under control. Tear gas was also used. Meanwhile, the announcer tried to calm the audience down. The game continued after 30 minutes, but the remaining nine minutes were not played to the end - the officials decided that only three minutes of added time had to be played.

The riots resulted in many injuries due to the objects being thrown and the use of the police. The next day, Equatorial Guinea was punished by the disciplinary body of the African Football Association. The points were as follows:

• Equatorial Guinea pays all costs incurred for treating the injured. 36 people were injured, 14 of them had to be taken to hospital, one of whom was seriously injured.
• The Equatorial Guinean Football Association has to pay a fine of US $ 100,000 due to the incidents in the semifinals and as a repeat offender.
• The game for 3rd place against the Democratic Republic of the Congo will still be played in front of an audience for reasons of fairness.
• In the event of further incidents, official games of Equatorial Guinea will automatically be played as ghost games.

The incidents in Malabo caused immense damage to the image of the Africa Cup. Many Ghanaian fans said in front of the journalists present that there was no longer any interest or desire for the final. Ghana's association president Kwesi Nyantakyi told the BBC "we were lucky that nobody died". The captain of Equatorial Guinea Emilio Nsue apologized at a press conference for the behavior and riots of the Equatorial Guinean spectators. As with some games before, the press criticized the lack of security during the games. The equatorial Guinean ruling party PDGE propagated that opposition members, government critics and their agents are said to have led the riots in order to disturb the peace.

3rd place match

Sat., February 7th at 5:00 p.m. in Malabo
DR Congo	-	Equatorial Guinea	0: 0, 4: 2 i. E.

In the game for third place, both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea played defensively and successfully defended the entire game, although the Congolese had more pull to goal. Neither team dominated the game and no goal was scored for 90 minutes. The tournament regulations did not provide for extra time for the game for third place, which resulted in a penalty shoot-out. Javier Balboa missed the target on penalties and Raúl Fabiani's shot was saved by Congolese goalkeeper Kidiaba .

final

Ivory Coast		Ghana		Lineup
	final February 8, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. in Bata ( Estadio de Bata ) Result: 0: 0 n.v., 9: 8 i. E. Referee: Bakary Gassama ( Gambia )   Match report
	Boubacar Barry - Serge Aurier , Eric Bailly , Kolo Touré , Wilfried Kanon - Max Gradel (67th Seydou Doumbia ), Serey Dié , Yaya Touré  , Siaka Tiéné (116th Salomon Kalou ) - Wilfried Bony , Gervinho (120th Junior Tallo ) trainers : Hervé Renard ( France )	Brimah Razak - Harrison Afful , John Boye , Jonathan Mensah , Abdul Rahman Baba - Christian Atsu (117th Frank Acheampong ), Mubarak Wakaso , Afriyie Acquah , André Ayew - Asamoah Gyan  (120th Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu ), Kwesi Appiah (99th ) Jordan Ayew ) Trainer: Avram Grant ( Israel )
	penalties shoot
	Bony shoots against the crossbar Tallo shoots past 1: 2 Serge Aurier 2: 2 Seydou Doumbia 3: 3 Yaya Touré 4: 4 Salomon Kalou 5: 5 Kolo Touré 6: 6 Wilfried Kanon 7: 7 Eric Bailly 8: 8 Serey The 9: 8 Boubacar Barry	0: 1 Wakaso Mubarak 0: 2 Jordan Ayew Barry saves against Acquah Acheampong shoots past 2: 3 André Ayew 3: 4 Jonathan Mensah 4: 5 Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu 5: 6 Harrison Afful 6: 7 Abdul Rahman Baba 7: 8 John Boye Barry holds against Razak
	Die (14th), Tiéné (58th), Canon (58th), Bailly (105th)
	Player of the Match: Afriyie Acquah (Ghana)

In the final, the two neighbors Ghana and Ivory Coast faced each other. In a largely tactical game, there were hardly any chances to score. The Ivory Coast remained without a goal in their fourth final, and as Ghana, like the three other final opponents, had not scored a goal before, had to like 1992, when both parted with 11:10 on penalties, and for the fourth time in a final with the Ivory Coast the penalty shoot-out decide. In this, Ghana initially looked like the sure winner, as the first two Ivorians shot while the first two Ghanaians scored. But after the next two Ghanaians also shot and only the fifth Ghanaian scored again, while all the Ivorians scored, it was 3: 3 after five shooters. Now the shooting continued until a player did not hit. When all field players had shot, it was the turn of the two goalkeepers. Initially, Boubacar Barry , who was only used due to an injury to the goalkeeper, was able to save his Ghanaian colleague's shot and then converted himself.

• 

  The Ivorian national team before the start of the game

• 

  The Ghanaian national team before the start of the game

• 

  Boubacar Barry (left) on the winning goal on penalties

• 

  The Ivorian national football team at the award ceremony

List of goalscorers

All goal scorers are listed. If the number of hits is the same, the players are sorted alphabetically.

rank player Gates 1  Ahmed Akaïchi 3  André Ayew 3  Javier Balboa 3  Thievy Bifouma 3  Dieumerci Mbokani 3 6th  Christian Atsu 2  Jeremy Bokila 2  Wilfried Bony 2  Gervinho 2  Max Gradel 2 11  Mohamed Ali Manser 1  Kwesi Appiah 1  Jordan Ayew 1  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 1  Aristide Bancé 1  Nabil Bentaleb 1  Yannick Bolasie 1  John Boye 1

rank player Gates 11  Yassine Chikhaoui 1  Kévin Constant 1  Mame Diouf 1  Férébory Doré 1  Seydou Doumbia 1  Malick Evouna 1  Faouzi Ghoulam 1  Asamoah Gyan 1  Iban Iyanga 1  Wilfried Kanon 1  Joel Kimuaki Mpela 1  Riyad Mahrez 1  Modibo Maïga 1  Oupa Manyisa 1  Mandla Masango 1  Emmanuel Mayuka 1  Serigne Kara Mbodj 1  Benjamin Moukandjo 1

rank player Gates 11  Mubarak Wakaso 1  Emilio Nsue 1  Fabrice Ondama 1  Prince Oniangué 1  Ambroise Oyongo 1  Thuso Phala 1  Héldon Ramos 1  Bakary Sako 1  Given Singuluma 1  Islam Slimani 1  El Arbi Hillel Soudani 1  Moussa Sow 1  Ibrahima Traoré 1  Yaya Touré 1  Sambou Yatabaré 1  Mohamed Yattara 1  Thulani Hlatshwayo ET

Awards

The awards were announced by the CAF immediately after the final game, with most individual awards given to Ghanaian players.

Player of the tournament

• Christian Atsu was named the best player of the tournament by the CAF.

Best scorer

• With three goals and two assists, André Ayew was the tournament's best scorer.

Best goalkeeper

• Sylvain Gbohouo (Ivory Coast) was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament by the CAF.

Fair play trophy

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo national team was top rated in the tournament's fair play scoring and received the CAF's fair play trophy.
• As a single player, Kwesi Appiah won the fair play trophy.

Goal of the tournament

• Christian Atsu's 3-0 win in the quarter-final match between Ghana and Guinea was voted the most beautiful goal of the tournament.

Team of the tournament

In addition, the CAF Technical Commission put together a 23-person team for the tournament, divided into a team of the twelve best players in the tournament and eleven substitutes:

goalkeeper	Defense	midfield	striker
The best players
Sylvain Gbohouo Muteba Kidiaba	Serge Aurier Harrison Afful Kolo Touré	André Ayew Yaya Touré Max Gradel Yannick Bolasie Gervinho	Christian Atsu Wilfried Bony
reserve
Felipe Ovono	Faouzi Ghoulam Chancel Mbemba Cédric Mongongu	Yacine Brahimi Ibrahima Traoré Yassine Chikhaoui Javier Balboa	Thievy Bifouma Ahmed Akaïchi Dieumerci Mbokani

marketing

Mascot and cue ball

The official mascot of the Africa Cup 2015 was called "Chuku Chuku" and depicted an African tassel spike (Atherurus africanus) in the equatorial Guinean jersey with the spines in the equatorial Guinean colors of blue, white, red and green. The African tassel spike is one of the most common animal species in Equatorial Guinea and belongs to the type of porcupine . The CAF incorrectly reported via Twitter and Facebook that the mascot represented a squirrel .

"Marhaba" is the official name of the game ball for the Africa Cup of Nations 2015 distributed by Adidas . "Marhaba" comes from Arabic and means something like "hello" or "welcome". The properties and structure of the match ball are identical to those of the official “ Brazuca ” match ball for the 2014 World Cup and the official match ball for the UEFA Champions League . The golden and blue color of the ball is supposed to represent the contrasting landscapes of the continent, from the Sahara to the azure blue sky.

Television broadcast

The tournament was broadcast in Germany on Eurosport . Eurosport had announced that it would broadcast all Africa Cup matches live on its television channels. The opening game and some concurrent last group stage matches were at Euro Sport 2 sent. The reporting took place from Munich, the moderators and commentators were not live on site. Marco Hagemann , Frank Winkler , Andreas Jörger and Tobi Fischbeck commented for Eurosport , while Lutz Pfannenstiel acted as co-commentator and expert .

Sponsors and kit suppliers

In addition to the “title sponsor” Orange , seven “official sponsors” -  IFD Kapital Group , Pepsi , Pan Atlantic Exploration , Doritos , Nissan , Samsung and Standard Bank  - appeared.

Although Adidas is a contract partner of the CAF, only three of the 16 national teams wore jerseys of this brand (Equatorial Guinea, Republic of the Congo and Algeria). Seven other kit suppliers were: Puma (for Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Cameroon and Senegal), Nike (for Zambia and South Africa), Airness (for Mali and Guinea), Kappa (for Burkina Faso), Burrda (for Tunisia), Lacatoni (for Cape Verde) and O'Neills (for the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Trivia

• 15 of the 32 games ended in a draw, of which ten games were 1-1 draws.
• Given Singuluma scored the fastest goal of the tournament for Zambia on January 18, 2015 (1st matchday of Group B) against the Democratic Republic of the Congo after 64 seconds.
• The Ghanaian midfielder Mubarak Wakaso scored a historic goal in Ghana's 3-0 (2-0) against Equatorial Guinea in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup: his goal in the 45th minute to make it 2-0 in the meantime was the 1,500th goal in the history of Africa -Cup.

Web links

• Official website of the CAF for the tournament
• Official channel on YouTube with game summaries, impressions and press conferences
• Statistics on the tournament on the official website of the CAF
• Game details on rsssf.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Africa Cup 2015 not in Morocco. Sport1.de, November 11, 2014, accessed on November 11, 2014
2. ↑ [1]
3. ↑ Postponement due to Ebola: Africa Cup takes place in Equatorial Guinea. Spiegel Online , November 14, 2014, accessed November 14, 2014 . 
4. ↑ Internet article from Eurosport .
5. ↑ Morocco handed 2015 Nations Cup; South Africa host 2017 . BBC, January 29, 2011.
6. ↑ Football's Fear of Ebola. FAZ.net, October 15, 2014, accessed on November 14, 2014 . 
7. ^ Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco still want delay. BBC Sport, November 8, 2014, accessed November 14, 2014 . 
8. ↑ Morocco is going on the Africa Cup. sportschau.de, November 11, 2014, accessed on November 14, 2014 . 
9. ↑ 2015 Nations Cup: Equatorial Guinea to host tournament. BBC Sport, November 14, 2014, accessed November 14, 2014 . 
10. ↑ Morocco fined, banned from two AFCON tournaments. CAF, February 6, 2015, accessed February 7, 2015 . 
11. ↑ Cas judgment: Morocco can take part in the Africa Cup of 2017 and 2019. spiegel.de, April 2, 2015, accessed on September 27, 2015 . 
12. ↑ cafonline.com: "Huge entry for AFCON 2015 qualifiers"
13. ↑ Equatorial Guinea disqualified from Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015. CAF Online, July 3, 2014, accessed on July 5, 2014
14. ↑ Afcon 2015: Mali and Guinea managers criticize drawing of lots. BBC Sport, January 28, 2015, accessed January 29, 2015 . 
15. ^ The draw qualifies: Guinea. CAF, January 29, 2015, accessed January 29, 2015 . 
16. ↑ Africa Cup: Guinea after drawing lots in the quarter-finals. Spiegel Online, January 29, 2015, accessed January 29, 2015 . 
17. ↑ Afcon 2015: Venues changed for quarter-finals. BBC Sport, January 27, 2015, accessed January 27, 2015 . 
18. ^ Quarterfinal matches of Ebebiyin and Mongomo relocated respectively to Bata and Malabo. CAF, January 27, 2015, accessed January 27, 2015 . 
19. ^ Safety dilemma as Equatorial Guinea advance. BBC Sport, January 26, 2015, accessed January 27, 2015 . 
20. ↑ Thunderstorms and security problems: Change of plan for the Africa Cup. Kicker, January 27, 2015, accessed January 27, 2015 . 
21. ^ Regulation of the Africa Cup Of Nations. (PDF; 229 KB) Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), December 1, 2014, p. 19 , accessed on February 8, 2015 (English): “75.5. The losers of the semi-finals shall play a match for the third place. In case of a draw after the end of the regular time, the winner shall be determined by the taking of kicks from the penalty mark. " 
22. ↑ Mbokani leads DR Congo to the semi-finals. Kicker, January 31, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
23. ↑ Thanks to bizarre whistles: Equatorial Guinea in the semifinals! Kicker, January 31, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
24. ↑ Africa Cup: Balbao shoots Equatorial Guinea into the semi-finals. Spiegel Online, January 31, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
25. ↑ Africa Cup: ban for controversial referee. Spiegel Online, February 3, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
26. ^ Suspension of the President and ultimatum for Tunisian Federation. CAF, February 6, 2015, accessed February 7, 2015 . 
27. ↑ ^{a b} Ghana with Baba in the semi-finals - Bony continues to behead Ivorer. Kicker, February 1, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
28. ↑ Ivory Coast is in the final. Kicker, February 5, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
29. ↑ ^{a b c} After scandal game: Ghana follows the elephants. Kicker, February 5, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
30. ↑ ^{a b c} Ghana players, fans pelted with missiles in win over Equatorial Guinea. The Guardian, February 6, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
31. ^ Piers Edwards: This is what I picked up off the pitch (mirror, broken plate, stone - one of 100s). Truly shameful. Why? # AFCON2015. February 6, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
32. ^ Sanctions following the incidents in Match 30 Ghana-Equatorial Guinea. CAF, February 6, 2015, accessed February 6, 2015 . 
33. ↑ Blood sticks to the advertising board. SZ.de, February 6, 2015, accessed on February 6, 2015 . 
34. ↑ Morocco banned from 2017, 2019, Equatorial Guinea fined. DailyMail, February 6, 2015, accessed February 7, 2015 . 
35. ↑ Makiadi wins bronze with Kongo. Kicker, February 7, 2015, accessed February 8, 2015 . 
36. ↑ DR Congo - Equatorial Guinea - CAN Orange 2015 - 07.02.2015. Game summary. CAF, February 7, 2015, accessed February 8, 2015 . 
37. ↑ kicker.de: Ivory Coast - Ghana iE 9: 8
38. ↑ Côte D'Ivoire - Ghana - FINAL - CAN Orange 2015 - 02/08/2015. Game summary. CAF, February 8, 2015, accessed February 9, 2015 . 
39. ^ Atsu, Ayew win MVP and top scorer awards. CAF, February 8, 2015, accessed February 9, 2015 . 
40. ↑ Orange AFCON 2015 Awards and Best XI. In: cafonline.com. CAF, accessed February 15, 2015 . 
41. ↑ Goal of the tournament. Christin Atsu (Ghana). CAF, accessed February 9, 2015 . 
42. ↑ Chuku Chuku, the official mascot of the CAN 2015 of Equatorial Guinea. Equatorial Guinea's Press and Information Office, January 13, 2015, accessed February 10, 2015 . 
43. ↑ Show some love for Chuku Chuku - Twitter. CAF, January 12, 2015, accessed February 10, 2015 : “Show some love for Chuku Chuku, the official mascot of # AFCON2015 Eq Guinea! We're nuts for this sporty squirrel! " 
44. ↑ Show some love for Chuku Chuku - Facebook. CAF, January 12, 2015, accessed February 10, 2015 : “Show some love for Chuku Chuku, the official mascot of # AFCON2015 Eq Guinea! We're nuts for this sporty squirrel! " 
45. ↑ MARHABA - OFFICIAL MATCH BALL OF ORANGE AFCON, EQUATORIAL GUINEA 2015. CAF, November 26, 2014, accessed February 10, 2015 . 
46. ↑ Africa Cup - All games LIVE at EUROSPORT. Eurosport, January 17, 2015, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; accessed on February 10, 2015 . 
47. ↑ sponsors. CAF, accessed February 10, 2015 . 
48. ↑ 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Kits. Footy Headlines, January 17, 2015, accessed February 10, 2015 . 
49. ↑ ^{a b c} General Statistics of Orange AFCON 2015. CAF, February 12, 2015, accessed February 15, 2015 .