There the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was formed and the organisation planned the first tournament for the following year in Khartoum.

However, as the start date drew near, there were a few hurdles to overcome, such as the exclusion of South Africa after the apartheid regime failed to approve a multi-racial team. So with South Africa out, the tournament came down to a play-off between just three teams - Egypt, hosts Sudan and Ethiopia.

Ironically, 39 years later, at the end of apartheid, South Africa returned to the scene to stage the tournament.

Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia played the first two tournaments in odd years before it increased to four, six, eight, 12 and then 16 teams. Every adjustment increased the chances of seeing the best players in the continent.
Papa Camara, Petit Sory and Cherif Souleymane were the cream of an excellent Guinean side who could easily be compared to the devastating Nigerian and Cameroonian squads of the last decade.

Few Africans today would have heard of the Algerian Lalmas, Ghanaian dribbling wizard Osei Kofi or Ethiopian captain Italo Vassalo - they were among a host of legends to play in the Nations Cup tournaments of the 1960s.

Since the early days, North Africa - and Ghana in particular - has maintained its reputation, while the other pioneers Ethiopia and Sudan have deteriorated.
In the space of 30 years, there has been an amazing shift of power - a classic between Ethiopia and Sudan (both former champions) in the 1960s. One thing is certain, though - that CAF and the Africa Cup of Nations is still in existence is due to the passion for the game on the African continent.

Egypt is the most successful nation in the cup's history, winning the tournament a record seven times. Ghana and Cameroon have won four titles each. Three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament's history, with Ghana and Cameroon winning the first two versions to keep after each of them won it a third time. The current trophy was first awarded in 2002 and with Egypt winning it indefinitely after winning their unprecedented third consecutive title in 2010.

As of 2013, the tournament will switch to being held in odd-numbered years so that it does not clash with the FIFA World Cup.