Amadou Haidara taking part in AFCON with Mali

Amadou Haidarawill be taking part in the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off on 13th January.

We will keep you updated on how our number 8 is doing at the tournament, where he will be representing Mali.

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But how does the tournament work? Which countries are taking part?

Find out everything you need to know about AFCON 2024 below.

When and where is the AFCON 2024 taking place?

• The tournament takes place every two years, with this year’s edition taking place from 13th January to 11th February.
   
• The AFCON will be hosted in five different cities in Côte d’Ivoire, with games spread out across six stadiums. The opening game will take place between hosts Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau on Saturday at 21:00 CET in the National Stadium in the capital city of Abidjan. 

Which countries are taking part and what is the tournament format? 

• A total of 24 teams will take part in the tournament, split into six groups for the opening stages.
   
• The top two teams in each group will qualify for the round of 16. The four top third-placed sides will also advance to the next round. From there, the tournament will proceed through the knockout stages all the way to the final.
   

Overview of all the groups:

Group A: Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria

Group B: Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Mosambique

Group C: Gambia, Guinea, Camerron, Senegal

Group D: Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Mauritania

Group E: Mali, Namibia, South Africa, Tunesia

Group F: DR Congo, Morocco, Zambia, Tanzania
 

When will Doudou be in action with Mali?

• Mali – South Africa (Tuesday, 21:00 CET)
• Tunesia– Mali (Saturday, 21:00 CET)
• Namibia – Mali (Wednesday, 18:00 CET) 

Who are the defending champions and which other Bundesliga teams are taking part?

• Senegal lifted the trophy in 2022 with Sadio Mané in their ranks, beating Egypt on penalties in the final. Both teams are once again amongst the favourites to win the tournament this year. The record champions in this competition are Egypt with seven titles. 
   

Other Bundesliga players taking part at the AFCON 2024:

• Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Odilon Kossounou (Côte d’Ivoire) and Amine Adli (Morocco) – all Bayer Leverkusen
• Fares Chaibi (Algeria), Omar Marmoush (Egypt) and Ellyes Skhiri (Tunesia) – all Eintracht Frankfurt
• Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria) and Sebastien Haller (Côte d’Ivoire) – both Borussia Dortmund
• Serhou Guirassy (Guinea) and Silas (DR Congo) – both VfB Stuttgart
• Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco) – FC Bayern München
• Naby Keita (Guinea) – SV Werder Bremern
• Aissa Laidouni (Tunesia)– Union Berlin

Ilaix Moriba (currently on loan at Getafe) is also taking part in the tournament with Guinea.