The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations began on January 13, 2024 in the Ivory Coast with 24 national teams ready to push hard for continental glory.
Defending champions Senegal were on the list of favourites to retain their title alongside World Cup semifinalists Morocco and an exciting Nigeria team.
Alongside the race to be crowned as the the kings of Africa, AFCON 2023 will also see some of the world’s top strikers going head-to-head for the Golden Boot, with Mohamed Salah, Victor Osimhen and Sadio Mane among those battling it out for the award. Salah suffered an injury that put him out of the running.
The Sporting News looks at the Golden Boot race with updates every each matchday from the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024.
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AFCON 2023 Golden Boot: Top goalscorers
Despite boasting an impressive return of 51 goals in 91 international appearances for Egypt, Salah had only managed to score six goals at AFCON before this year, and his Golden Boot chances hinged on Egypt’s progress at the tournament.
They are now over after the Liverpool man’s injury and Egypt’s early exit to DR Congo at the Round of 16 stage.
Both Salah and Mane could have featured at their final continental championship, depending on their future international plans, and the latter had a stronger predicted chance of playing deep into the knockout stages with Senegal aiming to retain their crown.
But it wasn’t to be for him either, after they were beaten by hosts Ivory Coast in the knockout stages.
Osimhen’s Nigeria were further down the pecking order in terms of favourite status and there will be even more focus on the Napoli striker following Victor Boniface’s injury, which ruled him out of the tournament.
The table below will be updated after each AFCON 2024 matchday.
| Rank | Player | Nation | Goals (Penalties) | Assists | Games Played | Mins Played |
| 1. | Emilio Nsue | Equatorial Guinea | 5 (0) | 0 | 4 | 342 |
| 2. | Gelson Dala | Angola | 4 (0) | 1 | 5 | 396 |
| = | Mohamed Mustafa | Egypt | 4 (0) | 1 | 4 | 390 |
| 4. | Baghdad Bounedjah | Algeria | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 247 |
| = | Mabululu | Angola | 3 (1) | 0 | 5 | 388 |
| = | Lassine Sinayoko | Mali | 3 (0) | 0 | 5 | 400 |
| = | Bertrand Traore | Burkina Faso | 3 (2) | 0 | 4 | 196 |
| = | Ademola Lookman | Nigeria | 3 (0) | 1 | 6 | 458 |
| = | Mohamed Bayo | Guinea | 3 (1) | 0 | 5 | 381 |
Africa Cup of Nations 2023: Dates, schedule
The group stages end on January 24, with the knockout rounds beginning three days later, and the final is scheduled for February 11.
The full details are listed below.
| Stage | Dates | Nations |
| Group Stage | Jan. 13 — 24 | 24 |
| Round of 16 | Jan. 27 — 30 | 16 |
| Quarterfinals | Feb. 2 — 3 | 8 |
| Semifinals | Feb. 7 | 4 |
| 3rd Place Match | Feb. 10 | 2 |
| Final | Feb. 11 | 2 |
AFCON kickoff times
The tournament features three kickoff time slots at 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time. The Ivory Coast is on the same timezone as the UK (GMT) and five hours ahead of USA Eastern Time.
| Local kickoff time | UK (GMT) | USA (ET) | Australia (AEDT) | India (IST) |
| 2:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 9:00 a.m. | 1:00 a.m. (following day) | 7:30 p.m. |
| 5:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 4:00 a.m. (following day) | 10:30 p.m. |
| 8:00 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. (following day) | 1:30 a.m. (following day) |
How to watch AFCON 2024
Here’s how to watch AFCON 2024 matches across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | beIN Sports | Fubo, beIN Sports Connect, Fanatiz |
| Canada | beIN Sports Canada |
Fubo Canada, beIN Sports Connect, Fanatiz |
| UK | Sky Sports | Sky GO, Now TV |
| Australia | beIN Sports | beIN Sports |
| India | — | FanCode |
USA: The tournament will be available on beIN Sports with streaming options on Fubo.
Canada: BeIN Sports will provide broadcast coverage with Fubo Canada on streaming duty.
UK: Selected matches will be available on Sky Sports services with streaming available via Sky GO and Now TV.
Australia: BeIN Sports will provide broadcast coverage and streaming services for the tournament.
India: Streaming service FanCode is the place to go for AFCON 2024 matches.
