The 1980 African Cup of Nations was the 12th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by Nigeria. Just like in 1978, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. Nigeria won its first championship, beating Algeria in the final 3−0.

Qualified teams

The 8 qualified teams are:

Squads

Venues

The competition was played in two venues in Lagos and Ibadan.

Group stage

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:

Group A

Group B

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

Third place match

Final

CAF Team of the Tournament

Goalscorers