2004 African Cup of Nations

2004 African Cup of Nations
كأس الأمم الإفريقية 2004
Tournament details
Host countryTunisia
Dates24 January – 14 February
Teams16
Venue(s)6 (in 5 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Tunisia (1st title)
Runners-up Morocco
Third place Nigeria
Fourth place Mali
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored88 (2.75 per match)
Attendance617,500 (19,297 per match)
Top scorer(s) (4 goals each)
Best player(s)Nigeria Jay-Jay Okocha
2002
2006

The 2004 African Cup of Nations, known as the Nokia 2004 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes, was the 24th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football championship of Africa organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament was played between 24 January and 14 February 2004 in Tunisia, taking place in the country for the third time following the 1965 and 1994 editions. The organization of the 2004 edition was awarded to Tunisia on 4 September 2000.

The defending champions were Cameroon from the 2002 edition. A total of 32 matches were played, in which 88 goals were scored, at an average of 2.75 goals per match. Attendance at all stages of the tournament reached 617,500, averaging 19,297 viewers per match. Qualification took place from 7 September 2002 to 6 July 2003. Cameroon as title holder and Tunisia as host country automatically qualified for the final phase of the tournament. As in the 2002 edition, sixteen teams, divided into four groups each comprising four teams, took part in the competition. The defending champions Cameroon were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 1–2 against Nigeria's Super eagles. Tunisia won the title for the first time in their history, after beating one-time champions Morocco in the final match with a score of 2–1, so the Eagles of Carthage are the 13th selection in history to be crowned African champions. Nigeria secured third place after beating Mali in the third place match, which placed them fourth.

Four players scored the most goals at the end of the tournament: Tunisian Francileudo Santos, Cameroonian Patrick Mboma, Malian Frédéric Kanouté and Nigerian Jay-Jay Okocha, however the top scorer title was given to Tunisia's Santos as he was the player of the champion team and did not receive any cards throughout the tournament, while Nigeria's Okocha won the best player award. As champions, Tunisia qualified for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany, as a representative of African continent.