It’s hard to imagine a time without the Afcon, but this was precisely the case before 1957 when the first tournament was played in Khartoum. As founding members of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa were the only countries eligible to take part, this was technically a mini-tournament.

The field was rendered even smaller when Caf disqualified the South Africans for their federation’s discrimination against black players. Thus, the Pharaohs won the maiden competition after ousting the hosts 2-1 and then routing the Ethiopians 4-0 in the title match to begin a tradition of Egyptian excellence on the African continent.