Zambia will miss the 2019 Egypt Africa Cup of Nations after finishing bottom in group K . This is the second time Zambia is missing the tournament in a row but how does the Chipolopolo boys compare in terms of total number appearances in relation to other big African teams.
With all the 24 teams who will be competing at the prestigious continental show piece in Egypt later this year already known, The ZamFoot crew now looks at the appearances statistics for the tournament since its inception in 1957.
The 2019 tournament will be the 31st show piece to be held since inception in 1957. Egypt rank as the team with the most appearances making it to the tournam a total of 24 times despite missing three consecutive tournaments (2012,2013 and 2015).
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COPPER BULLETS
Despite Zambia failing to qualify for the second time in a row, The copper Bullets are still among the top ten teams with the most appearances at AFCON with a total of 17 appearances.
Zambia first entered the race for qualification in 1970 but did not qualify until 1974 . In their maiden appearance, The copper Bullets went all the way to the final losing to Zaire ( Now Known as DR Congo) .
The match is the only AFCON final in history to have been played twice . The two teams drew 2-2 at Saad Gamar Stadium in Libya before a Ndaye Mulamba brace won it for Zaire side 2-0 and 4-2 on aggregate at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt.
Zambia went on to be runners up again in 1994 a year after the Gabon air disaster which claimed an entire team before winning it in 2012 and ironically in Gabon with Kalusha ‘King Kalu’ Bwalya (a surviving member of the team that perished in 1993 off the coast of Gabon) at the helm of the Football Association of Zambia.
Zambia came out third in 1982 in Libya beating Algeria in the third and fourth play off,1990 in Algeria when they beat Senegal and 1996 in South Africa when Joe Bwalya scored a long range strike to beat Ghana in a tournament Kalusha Bwalya scored five goals to win the top goalscorer award and best player .
Most AFCON Appearances By Countries
1. Egypt – 24 Appearances
2. Ivory Coast – 23 Appearances
3. Ghana – 22 Appearances
4. Tunisia – 19 Appearances
5. Cameroon – 19 Appearances
6. DR Congo – 19 Appearances
7. Nigeria – 18 Appearances
8. Algeria – 18 Appearances
9. Zambia – 17 Appearances
10. Morocco – 17 Appearances
11. Senegal – 15 Appearances
12. Mali – 10 Appearances
13. South Africa – 10 Appearances
14. Uganda – 7 Appearances
15. Kenya – 6 Appearances
16. Zimbabwe – 3 Appearances
17. Benin – 3 Appearances
18. Namibia – 3 Appearances
19. Tanzania – 2 Appearances
20. Burundi – 1 Appearance
21. Madagascar – 1 Appearance
22. Mauritania – 1 Appearance
Note that Certain teams with few appearances may not appear on the lits.