The 1982 African Cup of Nations was the 13th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of African nations run by the CAF. It was hosted by Libya. Just like in 1980, there were eight teams, which were split into two groups of four. Ghana won its fourth championship, beating Libya on penalties 7−6 after a 1–1 draw.

Qualified teams

The 8 qualified teams are:

Squads

Venues

The competition was played in two venues in Tripoli and Benghazi.

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

Semifinals

Third place match

Final

Goalscorers

CAF Team of the Tournament