1978 African Cup of Nations

1978 African Cup of NationsTournament details

Host country| Ghana
Dates| 5–16 March
Teams| 8
Venue(s)| 2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions|  Ghana (3rd title)
Runners-up|  Uganda
Third place|  Nigeria
Fourth place|  Tunisia
Tournament statistics
Matches played| 16
Goals scored| 38 (2.38 per match)
Top scorer(s)|  Opoku Afriyie
Segun Odegbami
Phillip Omondi
(3 goals each)
Best player(s)|  Karim Abdul Razak

← 1976

1980 →

International football competition

The 1978 African Cup of Nations was the eleventh edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by Accra and Kumasi, Ghana. The format of the competition changed from 1976: the field of eight teams was still split into two groups of four, but the final group stage was eliminated in favor of the knockout semifinals used in tournaments prior to 1976 (except 1959). Ghana won its third championship, beating Uganda in the final 2−0.

Ivory Coast and Mali were both disqualified in the second round of qualification: Ivory Coast for using an ineligible player, and Mali after stadium security and police assaulted match officials during the first leg. Since Mali had received a first round walkover after Niger failed to appear, Upper Volta, who had been beaten by the Ivory Coast in the first round, were given their place in the final tournament.

## Qualified teams

[edit]

Main article: 1978 African Cup of Nations qualification

The 8 qualified teams are:

Team  | Qualified as  | Qualified on  | Previous appearances in tournament[a]

|
|
|

Ghana | Hosts |  | 4 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970)
Morocco | Holders | 14 March 1976 | 2 (1972, 1976)
Nigeria | 2nd round winners | 26 June 1977 | 2 (1963, 1976)
Uganda | 2nd round winners | 26 June 1977 | 4 (1962, 1968, 1974, 1976)
Zambia | 2nd round winners | 26 June 1977 | 1 (1974)
Upper Volta[b] | 2nd round winners | 17 July 1977 | 0 (debut)
Congo | 2nd round winners | 31 July 1977 | 3 (1968 1972, 1974)
Tunisia | 2nd round winners | 16 October 1977 | 3 (1962, 1963, 1965)

Notes

1. ^ Bold indicates champion for that year, Italic indicates host.
2. ^ Ivory Coast originally qualified by beating Mali 2–1 on aggregate, but both teams were disqualified: Ivory Coast for fielding an ineligible player in the second leg, and Mali due to police and stadium security assaulting the match officials during the first leg. Upper Volta, who had lost to Ivory Coast in the previous round, were given their place in the finals[1].

## Squads

[edit]

Main article: 1978 African Cup of Nations squads

## Venues

[edit]

The competition was played in two venues in Accra and Kumasi.

Accra |

Accra

Kumasi

|

Accra Sports Stadium
Capacity: 40,000
Kumasi
Kumasi Sports Stadium
Capacity: 40,500

## Group stage

[edit]

### Tiebreakers

[edit]

If two or more teams finished level on points after completion of the group matches, the following tie-breakers were used to determine the final ranking:

1. Goal difference in all group matches
2. Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
3. Drawing of lots

### Group A

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Ghana (H) | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 6  | 2  | +4  | 5  | Advance to Knockout stage
2  |  Nigeria | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0  | 5  | 3  | +2  | 4
3  |  Zambia | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 3  | 2  | +1  | 3  |
4  |  Upper Volta | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 2  | 9  | −7  | 0

Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

5 March 1978

Ghana | 2–1|  Zambia

|
|

Afriyie 21'
Abdul Razak 55' | Report | Kapita 8'

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Suleiman El Naim (Sudan)

* * *

5 March 1978

Nigeria | 4–2|  Upper Volta

|
|

Chukwu 17'
Amiesimaka 31'
Odegbami 44', 82' | Report | Hien 50'
Koïta 52'

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: ... Sylla

* * *

8 March 1978

Zambia | 2–0|  Upper Volta

|
|

P. Phiri 20'
B. Phiri 88' | Report |

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: C. Monty

* * *

8 March 1978

Nigeria | 1–1|  Ghana

|
|

Odegbami 33' | Report | Klutse 76'

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 60,000

* * *

10 March 1978

Zambia | 0–0|  Nigeria

|
|

| Report |

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 25,000

* * *

10 March 1978

Ghana | 3–0|  Upper Volta

|
|

Alhassan 3', 59'
Polo 52' | Report |

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 25,000

Referee: Pierre Mutombo (Zaïre)

### Group B

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Uganda | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 7  | 4  | +3  | 4[a] | Advance to Knockout stage
2  |  Tunisia | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0  | 4  | 2  | +2  | 4[a]
3  |  Morocco | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 2  | 4  | −2  | 3  |
4  |  Congo | 3  | 0  | 1  | 2  | 1  | 4  | −3  | 1

Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

1. ^ a b Tied on overall points. Overall goal difference: Uganda +3, Tunisia +2.

6 March 1978

Morocco | 1–1|  Tunisia

|
|

Acila 29' | Report | Kaabi 63'

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Referee: Gebreyesus Tesfaye (Ethiopia)

* * *

6 March 1978

Uganda | 3–1|  Congo

|
|

Omondi 1'
Semwanga 31'
Kisitu 81' | Report | Mamounoubala 80'

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Referee: Hussein Fahmy (Egypt)

* * *

9 March 1978

Tunisia | 3–1|  Uganda

|
|

Labidi 36'
Ben Aziza 38', 83' | Report | Musenze 71'

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Abdelkader Aouissi (Algeria)

* * *

9 March 1978

Morocco | 1–0|  Congo

|
|

Acila 28' | Report |

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Youssou N'Diaye (Senegal)

* * *

11 March 1978

Congo | 0–0|  Tunisia

|
|

| Report |

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Salem Mohamed Adal (Libya)

* * *

11 March 1978

Uganda | 3–0|  Morocco

|
|

Kisitu 13'
Nsereko 32'
Omondi 36' | Report |

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Théophile Lawson-Hétchéli (Togo)

## Knockout stage

[edit]

| Semi-finals| | Final

|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |

|  14 March – Accra | |

|   Ghana |  1

|  16 March – Accra

|   Tunisia |  0 |

|   Ghana |  2

|  14 March – Kumasi

| |   Uganda |  0

|   Uganda |  2

|   Nigeria |  1 |

| Third place

|  16 March – Accra

|   Tunisia |  1

|   Nigeria |  11

### Semi-finals

[edit]

14 March 1978

Ghana | 1–0|  Tunisia

|
|

Abdul Razak 57' | Report |

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Youssef El Ghoul (Libya)

* * *

14 March 1978

Uganda | 2–1|  Nigeria

|
|

Nasur 11'
Omondi 58' | Report | Eyo 54'

Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Abdelkader Aouissi (Algeria)

### Third place match

[edit]

16 March 1978

Nigeria | 2–0
(Awarded)|  Tunisia

|
|

Mohammed 42' | Report | Akid 19'

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Referee: Théophile Lawson-Hétchéli (Togo)

1 The match was abandoned after Tunisia walked off in the 42nd minute with the score tied at 1–1 to protest the officiating. Nigeria were awarded a 2–0 win, and Tunisia were suspended for two years (also banning them from the next tournament).[2]

### Final

[edit]

Main article: 1978 African Cup of Nations Final

16 March 1978

Ghana | 2–0|  Uganda

|
|

Afriyie 38', 64' | Report |

Accra Sports Stadium, Accra

Attendance: 40,000

Referee: Youssef El Ghoul (Libya)

## Goalscorers

[edit]

The two scorers in the third place match were not added.

There were 38 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 2.38 goals per match.

3 goals

* Opoku Afriyie
* Segun Odegbami
* Phillip Omondi

2 goals

* Karim Abdul Razak
* George Alhassan
* Hassan "Acila" Amcharrat
* Abderraouf Ben Aziza
* Godfrey Kisitu

1 goal

* Jacques Mamounoubala
* Willie Klutse
* Akid
* Mohammed "Polo" Ahmed
* Adokiye Amiesimaka
* Christian Chukwu
* Martins Eyo
* Ali Kaabi
* Mohsen Labidi
* Samuel Musenze
* Abdulla Nasur
* Moses Nsereko
* Edward Semwanga
* Hubert Hien
* Mamadaou Koïta
* Obby Kapita
* Bizwell Phiri
* Patrick Phiri
* Baba Otu Mohammed

## CAF Team of the Tournament

[edit]

[1]

Goalkeeper

* Mohammed Al-Hazaz

Defenders

* Mokhtar Dhouieb
* James Kuuku Dadzie
* Khaled Gasmi
* Larbi Ihardane

Midfielders

* Moses Nsereko
* Karim Abdul Razak
* Adolf Armah
* Phillip Omondi

Forwards

* Segun Odegbami
* Mohammed Polo

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "African Nations Cup 1978". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
2. ^ "16 March 1978 – The Eagles Of Carthage Get Grounded". thisdayinfootballhistory.blogspot.com. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF)
* footballmundial.tripod.com

* v
* t
* e

Africa Cup of Nations

Editions|

* Sudan 1957
* United Arab Republic 1959
* Ethiopia 1962
* Ghana 1963
* Tunisia 1965
* Ethiopia 1968
* Sudan 1970
* Cameroon 1972
* Egypt 1974
* Ethiopia 1976
* Ghana 1978
* Nigeria 1980
* Libya 1982
* Ivory Coast 1984
* Egypt 1986
* Morocco 1988
* Algeria 1990
* Senegal 1992
* Tunisia 1994
* South Africa 1996
* Burkina Faso 1998
* Ghana/Nigeria 2000
* Mali 2002
* Tunisia 2004
* Egypt 2006
* Ghana 2008
* Angola 2010
* Gabon/Equatorial Guinea 2012
* South Africa 2013
* Equatorial Guinea 2015
* Gabon 2017
* Egypt 2019
* Cameroon 2021
* Ivory Coast 2023
* Morocco 2025
* Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda 2027
* TBD 2029

Qualification|

* 1957
* 1959
* 1962
* 1963
* 1965
* 1968
* 1970
* 1972
* 1974
* 1976
* 1978
* 1980
* 1982
* 1984
* 1986
* 1988
* 1990
* 1992
* 1994
* 1996
* 1998
* 2000
* 2002
* 2004
* 2006
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2013
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2021
* 2023
* 2025

Finals|

* 1957
* 1959
* 1962
* 1963
* 1965
* 1968
* 1970
* 1972
* 1974
* 1976
* 1978
* 1980
* 1982
* 1984
* 1986
* 1988
* 1990
* 1992
* 1994
* 1996
* 1998
* 2000
* 2002
* 2004
* 2006
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2013
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2021
* 2023
* 2025

Bids|

* 2027
* 2029

Squads|

* 1957
* 1959
* 1962
* 1963
* 1965
* 1968
* 1970
* 1972
* 1974
* 1976
* 1978
* 1980
* 1982
* 1984
* 1986
* 1988
* 1990
* 1992
* 1994
* 1996
* 1998
* 2000
* 2002
* 2004
* 2006
* 2008
* 2010
* 2012
* 2013
* 2015
* 2017
* 2019
* 2021
* 2023

Statistics|

* Finals
* Appearances
* Awards
* Records and statistics
* Hat-tricks

Miscellaneous|

* Balls
* Mascots
* Music
* Trophy

Notes
The 2021 and 2023 tournaments were actually held in 2022 and 2024 respectively.
There were no 1957 and 1959 qualifications as places were given by invitation only.
The "finals" articles for 1959 and 1976 are about the decisive matches of final group stages.

Football in Africa portal
*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template