Zambia won their first Africa Cup of Nations title in 2012, defeating Ivory Coast on penalties near the site of the 1993 crash that killed the previous national team.
Key Facts
- Edition
- 28th Africa Cup of Nations
- Dates
- 21 January – 12 February 2012
- Co-hosts
- Equatorial Guinea and Gabon
- Teams
- 14 participating nations
- Final venue
- Stade d'Angondjé, Libreville
- Final result
- Zambia defeated Ivory Coast via penalty shootout
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 2012 tournament was awarded to co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and Gabon following a bidding process concluded in September 2006. Qualification began in July 2010, with 14 teams advancing through a continental qualifying tournament. Several traditional powers including Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria, and South Africa failed to qualify, partly due to political upheaval associated with the Arab Spring.
Held from 21 January to 12 February 2012, the tournament featured 14 teams competing across four stadiums. After a group stage and knockout rounds, unfancied Zambia met Ivory Coast in the final at Stade d'Angondjé in Libreville. Despite Ivory Coast conceding no goals throughout the tournament, Zambia won the title via a penalty shootout.
Zambia claimed their first-ever continental title, a result widely celebrated as a major upset. Manager Hervé Renard dedicated the victory to the members of the Zambian national team who perished in a plane crash near Libreville in 1993. Both host nations, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, had been eliminated at the quarter-final stage before the final was played.