The forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations will be special in a way that it will be first time it has more than 16 finalists.
The draw for the Groups will be made on April 12 in Cairo, Egypt but before then, Ismael Kiyonga takes a look at each of the 24 nations that will take part in the competition
Senegal (The Lions of Teranga)
They are one of the few nations to qualify with an unbeaten record. From group A, they won 5 and drawn 1, scored 12 goals and conceded just 2.
This will be their 15th appearance at the competition and finished runners up in 2000.
Appearances 15 (1965, 1968, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2019)
Madagascar (The Barea)
The Barea are one of the debutants at Egypt 2019 after qualifying as runners up from Group A that had leaders Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan.
They were also one of the first nations to book a place in the competition and despite losing their last two games; they were already safe for a ticket.
Appearances 1 (2019)
Morocco (The Atlas Lions)
The 1976 champions qualified from a group that had among others reigning champions Cameroon.
They will be playing at their 17th finals with a coach who has won it before with both Zambia and Ivory Coast in French man Herve Renard.
Appearances 17 (1972, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2017 & 2019)
Cameroon (The Indomitable Lions)
Despite losing host rights to Egypt, The Indomitable Lions did enough in the qualifiers to earn a place in the competition finals.
They did tie on points with Morocco and under Dutch Legend, Clarence Seedorf; they will be aiming at not only defending their crown but also winning a sixth title.
Appearances 19 (1970, 1972, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017 & 2019)
Mali (The Eagles)
The Eagles also qualified for the tournament unbeaten in a group that had Gabon and Burundi as well as fast improving South Sudan.
This will be their 10th appearance at the competition as they seek to win their maiden African title.
Their best performance at the competition was in 1972 when they lost in the finals.
Appearances 10: (1972, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 & 2019)
Burundi (The Swallows)
The Swallows of Burundi are among the debutants at the Afcon finals after emerging second best behind Mali in Group C beating Gabon to the second slot.
Surprisingly, they were also unbeaten throughout the qualification campaign.
Appearances 1 (2019)
Algeria (The Desert Warriors)
This will be the 18th appearance for the Desert Warriors after topping a group that had Togo and Benin among others.
The target will be to add on their title they won in 1990 which presents their best performance in the competition.
Appearances 18 (1968, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017 & 2019)
Benin (The Squirrels)
Benin edged Emmanuel Adebayor’s Togo to join Algeria from group D and will be targeting a better show than in the previous three championships where they fell at the group stages.
Appearances 4 (2004, 2008, 2010 & 2019)
Nigeria (The Super Eagles)
After missing out on the past two editions, the Super Eagles are back at 2019.
On their previous appearance, they won the title in 2013 and after qualifying as table leaders in a tough group that had seasoned campaigners South Africa and Libya; they would want nothing but triumph.
Appearances 18 (1963, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013 & 2019)
South Africa (Bafana Bafana)
The Bafana Bafana also qualified unbeaten but had to wait till the final day of the qualifiers to confirm their place.
South Africa have only won the title once in 1996 and this will be only their 10th appearance mostly due to apartheid that saw them banned from 1957 to 1992.
Appearances 10 (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015 & 2019)
Ghana (The Black Stars)
Arguably one of the giants of African football having qualified for the most times for the competition.
They qualified from a very easy group of three nations after the disqualification of Sierra Leone.
Appearances 22 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 & 2019)
Kenya (Harambee Stars)
Kenya returns to the finals for the first time since 2004 after finishing runners up from a group topped by Ghana.
Appearances 5 (1972, 1988, 1990, 1992, 2004 & 2019)
Zimbabwe (The Warriors)
The Warriors make back to back appearances at the finals after making at the expense of Liberia and topping a group that had DR Congo.
Appearances 4 (2004, 2006, 2017 & 2019)
DR Congo (The Leopards)
The Fimbu na Fimbu boys qualified on the final day after edging out Liberia and will be eager to match their best performances in 1968 and 1974 when they won it.
This will be their 19th appearances at the Afcon finals.
Appearances 19 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2015, 2017 & 2019)
Guinea (The Syli Nationale)
The National Elephants topped a group that had giants Ivory Coast and will be eager to better 1976 when they lost in the finals as they make their 12th appearance at the finals.
Appearances 12 (1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015 & 2019)
Ivory Coast (The Elephants)
They don’t miss out and they didn’t as qualified from a group topped by Guinea.
This will be a record 23rd appearance for the 2015 African champions.
Appearances 23 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 & 2019)
Angola (Palacas Negras)
The Palacas Negras return to the finals for the first time since 2013 after finishing the qualifiers top of a group that had among others Mauritania, Botswana and seasoned campaigners Burkina Faso.
Appearances 8 (1996, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 & 2019)
Mauritania (The Lions of Chinguetti)
They are also part of the debutants at the Afcon 2019 finals but not by chance. They qualified at the expenses of “better footballing nations” in Burkina Faso and Gabon.
Appearances 1 (2019)
Tunisia (The Carthage Eagles)
Tunisia were expected to qualify from this group that had lowly ranked Eswatini and Niger.
Only Egypt could better them but still, The Carthage Eagles finished top of the Group with 15 points.
Appearances 19 (1962, 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 & 2019)
Egypt (The Pharaohs)
The record winners qualified both as hosts but also from a group were they finished second with 13 points behind Tunisia.
Appearances 24 (1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2017 & 2019)
Guinea-Bissau
They qualified from the most interesting group where all teams won just two games.
Guinea Bissau finished top with 9 points and make back to back appearances.
Appearances 2 (2017 & 2019)
Namibia (Brave Warriors)
The Brave Warriors had to wait even on the result from the game between Mozambique and Guinea Bissau and return to Afcon for the first time since 2008.
Appearances 3 (1998, 2008 & 2019)
Uganda (The Cranes)
The Cranes qualified for successive Afcon finals on match day 5 and achieved so without conceding until the final day when they shipped in three against Tanzania on the final day.
Appearances 7 (1962, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1978, 2017 & 2019)
Tanzania (The Taifa Stars)
The Taifa Stars will only be making a second appearance at the finals and their first since 1990.
They had to beat Uganda on the final day but also lucky that result in Praia between Lesotho and Cape Verde went their way.
Appearances 2 (1980 & 2019)