The 1988 African Cup of Nations was the 16th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by Morocco, who replaced original host Zambia. Just like in 1986, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. The tournament final was held in Casablanca at Stade Mohamed V. Cameroon won its second championship, beating Nigeria in the final 1−0. This tournament has the fewest goals-per-game average in Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Host selection

The original host was Zambia but after their withdrawal in December 1986 due to financial issues, the Confederation of African Football approached Algeria which agreed to host the tournament. However, in February 1987 the CAF rescinded this decision following a dispute with Algeria which protested the CAF's decision to order a replay of the first leg match of the 1987 All-Africa Games qualification against Tunisia. CAF had made this decision following Tunisia's protest that Algeria had fielded two professional players. Morocco was chosen in the end to host the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations replacing Algeria.

Qualified teams

The 8 qualified teams are:

Squads

Venues

The competition was played in two venues in Casablanca and Rabat.

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

Note: Algeria qualified by drawing of lots.

Group B

Knockout stage

Semifinals

Third place match

Final

Goalscorers

CAF Team of the Tournament

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards