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[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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[b] |
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) |
The competition was played in two venues in Accra and Kumasi.
| Accra |
 |
Kumasi |
|---|---|---|
| Accra Sports Stadium | Kumasi Sports Stadium | |
| Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 40,500 | |
|
|
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 |
| Nigeria
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 |
| Zambia
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
| Upper Volta
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
| Ghana | 2–1 | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
Afriyie  21' Abdul Razak 55' |
Report | Kapita 8' |
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Suleiman El Naim (Sudan)
| Nigeria | 4–2 | Upper Volta |
|---|---|---|
| Chukwu 17' Amiesimaka 31' Odegbami 44', 82' |
Report | Hien 50' Koïta 52' |
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: ... Sylla
| Zambia | 2–0 | Upper Volta |
|---|---|---|
| P. Phiri 20' B. Phiri 88' |
Report |
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: C. Monty
| Nigeria | 1–1 | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| Odegbami 33' |
Report | Klutse 76' |
Attendance: 60,000
| Zambia | 0–0 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 25,000
| Ghana | 3–0 | Upper Volta |
|---|---|---|
| Alhassan 3', 59' Polo 52' |
Report |
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Pierre Mutombo (Zaïre)
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uganda
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 4 |
| Tunisia
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 |
| Morocco
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 |
| Congo
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
| Morocco | 1–1 | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Acila 29' |
Report | Kaabi 63' |
Referee: Gebreyesus Tesfaye (Ethiopia)
| Uganda | 3–1 | Congo |
|---|---|---|
| Omondi 1' Semwanga 31' Kisitu 81' |
Report | Mamounoubala 80' |
Referee: Hussein Fahmy (Egypt)
| Tunisia | 3–1 | Uganda |
|---|---|---|
| Labidi 36' Ben Aziza 38', 83' |
Report | Musenze 71' |
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Abdelkader Aouissi (Algeria)
| Morocco | 1–0 | Congo |
|---|---|---|
| Acila 28' |
Report |
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Youssou N'Diaye (Senegal)
| Congo | 0–0 | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Salem Mohamed Adal (Libya)
| Uganda | 3–0 | Morocco |
|---|---|---|
| Kisitu 13' Nsereko 32' Omondi 36' |
Report |
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Théophile Lawson-Hétchéli (Togo)
| 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 | ||||
| Ghana | 1–0 | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Abdul Razak 57' |
Report |
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Youssef El Ghoul (Libya)
| Uganda | 2–1 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Nasur 11' Omondi 58' |
Report | Eyo 54' |
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Abdelkader Aouissi (Algeria)
| Nigeria | 2–0 (Awarded) | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
| Mohammed 42' |
Report | Akid 19' |
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]
| Ghana | 2–0 | Uganda |
|---|---|---|
| Afriyie 38', 64' |
Report |
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Youssef El Ghoul (Libya)
Segun Odegbami Phillip Omondi George Alhassan Hassan "Acila" Amcharrat Abderraouf Ben Aziza Godfrey Kisitu 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 MohammedGoalkeeper
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
