AFCON · Updated 2026-10-19
Which countries have never played at AFCON?
Short answer
10 CAF members have never played at an Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament: Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Lesotho, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan and São Tomé and Príncipe.
The numbers
| Team | Matches played | Africa Elo rank |
|---|---|---|
| Central African Republic | 140 | 47 |
| Chad | 140 | 52 |
| Djibouti | 113 | 55 |
| Eritrea | 75 | 49 |
| Eswatini | 276 | 50 |
| Lesotho | 300 | 45 |
| Seychelles | 183 | 57 |
| Somalia | 128 | 56 |
| South Sudan | 82 | 51 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 74 | 54 |
People also ask
How many teams play in the Africa Cup of Nations?
24 teams play at the Africa Cup of Nations finals. The tournament grew from 3 teams in 1957 to 8 in 1968, 12 in 1992, 16 in 1996 and 24 from the 2019 edition in Egypt; the rest of CAF's members are eliminated in qualifying. Read more →
How many countries are in CAF?
CAF has 54 full member associations, one for each of Africa's 54 independent football nations, organised into six regional zones (UNAF, WAFU A, WAFU B, UNIFFAC, CECAFA and COSAFA). Teams such as Zanzibar also play in zonal cups. Read more →
Answers are generated from our database of international results, Wikidata player records and other open sources, and refresh automatically. See our methodology.