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The 1978 African Cup of Nations was the eleventh edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by Accra and Kumasi, Ghana. The format of the competition changed from 1976: the field of eight teams was still split into two groups of four, but the final group stage was eliminated in favor of the knockout semifinals used in tournaments prior to 1976 (except 1959). Ghana won its third championship, beating Uganda in the final 2−0.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Ghana |
| Dates | 5–16 March |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Ghana (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  Uganda |
| Third place |  Nigeria |
| Fourth place |  Tunisia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 38 (2.38 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Opoku Afriyie Segun Odegbami Phillip Omondi (3 goals each) |
| Best player(s) | Karim Abdul Razak |
← 1976 1980 → | |
Ivory Coast and Mali were both disqualified in the second round of qualification: Ivory Coast for using an ineligible player, and Mali after stadium security and police assaulted match officials during the first leg. Since Mali had received a first round walkover after Niger failed to appear, Upper Volta, who had been beaten by the Ivory Coast in the first round, were given their place in the final tournament.
The 8 qualified teams are:
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[lower-alpha 1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | Hosts | 4 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970) | |
 Morocco | Holders | 14 March 1976 | 2 (1972, 1976) |
| Nigeria | 2nd round winners | 26 June 1977 | 2 (1963, 1976) |
| Uganda | 2nd round winners | 26 June 1977 | 4 (1962, 1968, 1974, 1976) |
 Zambia | 2nd round winners | 26 June 1977 | 1 (1974) |
 Upper Volta[lower-alpha 2] | 2nd round winners | 17 July 1977 | 0 (debut) |
 Congo | 2nd round winners | 31 July 1977 | 3 (1968 1972, 1974) |
| Tunisia | 2nd round winners | 16 October 1977 | 3 (1962, 1963, 1965) |
- Notes
- Ivory Coast originally qualified by beating Mali 2–1 on aggregate, but both teams were disqualified: Ivory Coast for fielding an ineligible player in the second leg, and Mali due to police and stadium security assaulting the match officials during the first leg. Upper Volta, who had lost to Ivory Coast in the previous round, were given their place in the finals[1].
The competition was played in two venues in Accra and Kumasi.
| Accra | |
|---|---|
| Accra Sports Stadium | |
| Capacity: 40,000 | |
 | |
| Kumasi | |
| Kumasi Sports Stadium | |
| Capacity: 40,500 | |
 |
Tiebreakers
If two or more teams finished level on points after completion of the group matches, the following tie-breakers were used to determine the final ranking:
- Goal difference in all group matches
- Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
- Drawing of lots
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghana (H) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 | Advance to Knockout stage |
| 2 | Nigeria |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | |
| 3 | Zambia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Upper Volta |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
| Nigeria | 4–2 | Upper Volta |
|---|---|---|
Chukwu  17' Amiesimaka 31' Odegbami 44', 82' |
Report | Hien 50' Koïta 52' |
| Zambia | 2–0 | Upper Volta |
|---|---|---|
| P. Phiri 20' B. Phiri 88' |
Report |
Attendance: 60,000
Attendance: 25,000
| Ghana | 3–0 | Upper Volta |
|---|---|---|
| Alhassan 3', 59' Polo 52' |
Report |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uganda |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | Advance to Knockout stage |
| 2 | Tunisia |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 3 | Morocco |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Congo |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
Referee: Gebreyesus Tesfaye (Ethiopia)
Referee: Hussein Fahmy (Egypt)
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 14 March – Accra | ||||||
| Ghana | 1 | |||||
| 16 March – Accra | ||||||
| Tunisia | 0 | |||||
| Ghana | 2 | |||||
| 14 March – Kumasi | ||||||
| Uganda | 0 | |||||
| Uganda | 2 | |||||
| Nigeria | 1 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 16 March – Accra | ||||||
| Tunisia | 1 | |||||
| Nigeria | 11 | |||||
Semi-finals
| Ghana | 1–0 | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Abdul Razak 57' |
Report |
Third place match
Referee: Théophile Lawson-Hétchéli (Togo)
1 The match was abandoned after Tunisia walked off in the 42nd minute with the score tied at 1–1 to protest the officiating. Nigeria were awarded a 2–0 win, and Tunisia were suspended for two years (also banning them from the next tournament).[2]
Final
There were 38 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 2.38 goals per match.
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Jacques Mamounoubala
Willie Klutse
Akid- Mohammed "Polo" Ahmed
Adokiye Amiesimaka- Christian Chukwu
- Martins Eyo
- Ali Kaabi
- Mohsen Labidi
Samuel Musenze- Abdulla Nasur
- Moses Nsereko
- Edward Semwanga
Hubert Hien- Mamadaou Koïta
Obby Kapita- Bizwell Phiri
- Patrick Phiri
- Baba Otu Mohammed
Goalkeeper
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
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