The first African Cup of Nations was held in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, in 1957. There were no qualifiers for this tournament, as the finals were made up of the four founding countries of the Confederation of African Football, namely Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and South Africa.
In the 1962 edition, qualifying rounds were held to determine the four teams participating in the tournament. Since 1968, the tournament has been held every two years. Egypt remains the country that has won the most cups in the history of the tournament, having won it 7 times.