Query: There have been at least 29 Africa Cup of Nations.

Relevant passages:
Africa Cup of Nations <=SEP=> The Africa Cup of Nations , officially CAN ( Coupe d'Afrique des Nations ) , also referred to as African Cup of Nations , or AFCON , is the main international association football competition in Africa . It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football ( CAF ) , and was first held in 1957 . Since 1968 , it has been held every two years . The title holders at the time of a FIFA Confederations Cup qualify for that competition .   In 1957 there were only three participating nations : Egypt , Sudan and Ethiopia . South Africa was originally scheduled to compete , but were disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government then in power . Since then , the tournament has grown greatly , making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament . The number of participants in the final tournament reached 16 in 1998 ( 16 teams were to compete in 1996 but Nigeria withdrew , reducing the field to 15 , and the same happened with Togo 's withdrawal in 2010 ) , and since then , the format has been unchanged , with the sixteen teams being drawn into four groups of four teams each , with the top two teams of each group advancing to a `` knock-out '' stage .   Egypt is the most successful nation in the cup 's history , winning the tournament a record of seven times ( including when Egypt was known as the United Arab Republic between 1958 and 1961 ) . Three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament 's history , with Ghana and Cameroon winning the first two versions to keep after each of them won a tournament three times . The current trophy was first awarded in 2002 and with Egypt winning it indefinitely after winning their unprecedented third consecutive title in 2010 .   As of 2013 , the tournament was switched to being held in odd-numbered years so as not to clash with the FIFA World Cup .   In July 2016 , Total has secured an eight-year sponsorship package from the Confederation of African Football ( CAF ) to support 10 of its principal competitions . Total will start with the Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Gabon therefore renaming it Total Africa cup of Nations .

2013 Africa Cup of Nations <=SEP=> The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations , also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons , held from 19 January to 10 February 2013 , was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations , the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( CAF ) . Starting from this edition , the tournament was switched to being held in odd-numbered years instead of even-numbered years so that it does not clash with the FIFA World Cup .   South Africa hosted the tournament for the second time , after previously hosting the 1996 African Cup of Nations . The 2013 tournament is the highest attended edition of the Africa Cup of Nations under the current , 16-team format . The South African team was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Mali , following a penalty shoot-out .   Nigeria won its third Africa Cup of Nations championship with a 1 -- 0 victory over Burkina Faso in the final . Nigeria participated in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil as the representative from CAF .