The 1982 African Cup of Nations was the 13th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of African nations run by the CAF. It was hosted by Libya. Just like in 1980, there were eight teams, which were split into two groups of four. Ghana won its fourth championship, beating Libya on penalties 7−6 after a 1–1 draw.[1]
Qualified teams
The 8 qualified teams are:
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
 Libya |
Hosts | 0 (debut) | |
 Nigeria |
Holders | 22 March 1980 | 4 (1963, 1976, 1978, 1980) |
 Ghana |
2nd round winners | 2 August 1981 | 6 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1978, 1980) |
 Cameroon |
2nd round winners | 30 August 1981 | 2 (1970, 1972) |
 Zambia |
2nd round winners | 30 August 1981 | 2 (1974, 1978) |
 Algeria |
2nd round winners | 20 September 1981 | 2 (1968, 1980) |
 Ethiopia |
2nd round winners | 4 October 1981 | 8 (1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1976) |
 Tunisia |
2nd round winners | 1981 | 4 (1962, 1963, 1965, 1978) |
- Notes
- ^ Bold indicates champion for that year, Italic indicates host.
Squads
Venues
The competition was played in two venues in Tripoli and Benghazi.
| Tripoli | Benghazi | |
|---|---|---|
| June 11 Stadium | March 28 Stadium | |
| Capacity: 88,000 | Capacity: 55,000 | |
|
|
First round
Teams highlighted in green progress to the Semi-finals.
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libya
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 |
| Ghana
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| Cameroon
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Tunisia
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
Source: [citation needed]
| Ghana | 1–0 | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
John Ebow Essien  28' |
Report |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 |
| Zambia
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 |
| Nigeria
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
| Ethiopia
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 |
Source: [citation needed]
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 16 March – Benghazi | ||||||
| Ghana (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||
| 19 March – Tripoli | ||||||
| Algeria | 2 | |||||
| Ghana (pen.) | 1 (7) | |||||
| 16 March – Tripoli | ||||||
| Libya | 1 (6) | |||||
| Libya | 2 | |||||
| Zambia | 1 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 18 March – Tripoli | ||||||
| Algeria | 0 | |||||
| Zambia | 2 | |||||
Semifinals
| Libya | 2–1 | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Beshari 38', 84' |
Report | 29' Kaumba |
Third place match
Final
| Ghana | 1–1 | Libya |
|---|---|---|
| Alhassan 35' |
Report | Al-Beshari 70' |
| Penalties | ||
Lamptey  Alhassan Paha Asaase Abbrey Mensah  Quarshie Afriyie |
7–6 | Al-Beshari Sola Al-Ajeli Ben-Suleiman Al-Farjani Ghonaïm Jaranah Zeiyu |
Top scorers
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- Own goal
- Peter Fregene (against Zambia)
- Okey Isima (against Algeria)
- Kamel Seddik (against Libya)
CAF Team of the Tournament
| Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
References
- ^ Anaman, Fiifi. "The Last Time: How Ghana managed an unlikely ascension unto the African football throne". Retrieved 10 July 2017.
External links
- Details at RSSSF
- Photographs of different ACN Finals (includes Libya 82)
- 1982 African Cup of Nations on www.world-results.net
- 1982 African Cup of Nations for football mundial
| Editions |
|
|---|---|
| Qualification | |
| Finals | |
| Bids | |
| Squads | |
| Statistics | |
| Miscellaneous | |
Notes: The 2021 and 2023 tournaments were actually held in 2022 and 2024 respectively. • There were no 1957 and 1959 qualifications as places were given by invitation only. • The "finals" articles for 1959 and 1976 are about the decisive matches of final group stages.  Football in Africa portal | |