The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is a biennial international competition contested by African countries to determine who becomes the continental champion. The inaugural African Nations Cup was held as the continent looked to press its claims for international recognition. Many African countries were still struggling to win independence from European colonial rule, and only three countries took part in the first competition. Participating teams were Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia according to ESPN.
The competition was held in February 1957 in Khartoum, Sudan, where Egypt defeated the host nation in the final to win the Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem Trophy, named after its donor, an Egyptian who was the first CAF president. Failing to field a multi-racial team, South Africa were barred from participating in the tournament. As a result, Ethiopia were given a bye into the final, where they met Egypt following the latter’s win over Sudan in the semi-final.
In the final, Egypt beat Ethiopia 4–0, with all four goals scored by El-Diba, who finished the tournament as top scorer with five goals. Only two games were played in this first edition. The trio have all lifted the coveted trophy, but while maiden champions Egypt have gone on to become record seven-times winners, Ethiopia and Sudan have just one title each to their name.
