Who has won the most Africa Cup of Nations titles?

In 1957, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Sudan founded the Confederation of African Football (CAF), with the first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament held in Khartoum, Sudan in February.

South Africa was disqualified from the tournament due to apartheid, handing Ethiopia a bye into the final. Egypt beat hosts Sudan 2-1 in the semi-final and Ethiopia 4-0 in the final, becoming the first-ever champions of Africa. 

Qualification became necessary for participation at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1962, with six teams competing in 1963 and 1965 before expanding to eight teams from 1968 to 1990. 

The final between Zaire and Zambia at the 1974 Africa Cup of Nations remains the only match to be replayed after the first encounter ended 2-2 after extra time, with Zaire winning the replay 2-0 two days later. 

Ghana became the first nation to win the Africa Cup of Nations three times, lifting the trophy in 1963, 1965, and 1978. 

In 1992, the Africa Cup of Nations expanded to 12 teams before increasing to 16 nations at the 1996 edition in South Africa, who became eligible to play after the end of apartheid.

South Africa would go on to emulate the Springboks Rugby World Cup victory a year earlier by going all the way and winning the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil after defeating Tunisia 2-0 in the final, becoming the third nation after Egypt in 1957 and Ghana in 1963 to win the tournament on debut. 

In its current format, six nations in groups of four play round-robin fixtures followed by knockout stages, including the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, 3rd-place playoff match, and the final. 

Notable records achieved by individuals at all Africa Cup Nations tournaments since its inception:

Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon is the leading scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations with 18 goals in six tournaments between 2000 and 2010. 

DR Congo's Ndaye Mulamba holds the record for scoring the most goals in a single tournament, finding the back of the net nine times at the 1974 edition. 

Here is the list of the most successful teams to have won the Africa Cup of Nations.