CAF U20 AFCON: Mali, Egypt going for record appearance; Zambia, RSA on 7 apps

In less than 36 hours, Zambia Under-20 face Guinea in a sell out match at Lusaka’s Heroes Stadium.

The Beston Chambeshi coached side will be making their 7th appearance at the CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations while West African powerhouses Ghana and Nigeria did not qualify.

The duo have made  10 appearances since the inaugural tournament in 1991 which was won by Egypt. Egypt, coincidentally with Mali will making a record 11th appearance. Both the young pharoahs and Mali are in Group A with Zambia and Guinea with the latter set to make her third  while Zambia will be going for her 7th appearance.

Zambia’s best record is 4th coming in 1991, 1999 and more recently 2007 with the class of ’99 and ’07 qualifying to the World Youth Championship.

Surprisingly, the class of ’15 which included the likes of Lubambo Musonda, Charles Zulu, Patson Daka, and Patrick Ngoma were the worst and came out 8th while the 1995 and 1997 sides came 5th and 7th respectively.

Below is how Zambia has fared at the CAF U20 AFCON

In Group B, the young Cameroon side will be trying to emulate the Lions of Younde, who won the African Cup of Nations early this month. Cameroon will be making its 9th appearance while South Africa is equal with Zambia on 7. Senegal is one ahead of Guinea with 4 appearances and Sudan is the lowest side on 2.

Below are the stats.

Winners (since introduction of final tournament in 1991)

1991  Egypt

1993  Ghana

1995  Cameroon

1997  Morocco

1999  Ghana

2001  Angola

2003  Egypt
2005  Nigeria
2007  Congo
2009  Ghana
2011  Nigeria
2013  Egypt
2015  Nigeria

Finals

1991  Egypt          –  Côte d’Ivoire     2-1
1993  Ghana         –  Cameroon         2-0

1995  Cameroon    –  Burundi            4-0

1997  Morocco      –  South Africa      1-0

1999  Ghana         –  Nigeria              1-0

2001  Angola        –  Ghana              2-0

2003  Egypt          –  Côte d’Ivoire     4-3 (after extra time)
2005  Nigeria        –  Egypt               2-0
2007  Congo         –  Nigeria              1-0
2009  Ghana         –  Cameroon         2-0
2011  Nigeria        –  Cameroon         3-2
2013  Egypt          –  Ghana              1-1 (4-2pen)
2015  Nigeria        –  Senegal            1-0
Number of victories

7 – Nigeria
3 – Egypt, Ghana
1 – Algeria, Cameroon, Congo, Morocco

Number of final appearances

9 – Nigeria
5 – Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana

3 – Côte d’Ivoire

1 –Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Congo, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia

Rankings for the 13 previous editions

Goals scored

1991: 19 goals
1993: 39 goals

1995: 42 goals

1997: 37 goals

1999: 57 goals

2001: 46 goals

2003: 43 goals
2005: 46 goals
2007: 35 goals
2009: 44 goals
2011: 34 goals
2013: 26 goals
2015: 53 goals

Participations at the final tournament

As at the 2015 edition, 26 countries have appeared at least once at the final tournament

10 – Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria

8 – Cameroon
7 – Côte d’Ivoire
6 – South Africa, Zambia

4 – Morocco

3 – Angola, Ethiopia, Senegal

2 – Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Lesotho, Mauritius

1 – Algeria, Burundi, Malawi, DR Congo, Rwanda, Sudan

Statistics (from 1991 to 2013)