The African Cup of Nations – Africa's top football tournament – is about to reach a thrilling conclusion after Egypt knocked out hosts Cameroon in Thursday's semi-final. The final – Senegal vs Egypt – kicks off on Sunday at 7 pm GMT. UK viewers can watch both semi-finals for free on BBC iPlayer. Make sure you know how to watch an African Cup of Nations live stream from anywhere using ExpressVPN.
Date: 9th January – 6th February 2022
Venue: Cameroon
FREE streams: BBC iPlayer (UK) | Sling |FuboTV (US free trials)
Watch anywhere: ExpressVPN
UK stream: Now (£34/month)
US stream: beIN Sports ($20/month)
Aus stream: beIn Sports (via Kayo Sport)
The 33rd African Cup of Nations launched in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde back in January. The first major football event of 2022 saw 24 teams bid for AFCON glory – a far cry from the inaugural Cup in 1957, when a mere three sides took part.
Plenty of Premier League stars were in action, including Arsenal's Thomas Partey (Ghana) and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Chelsea's Edouard Mendy (Senegal), Liverpool's Mo Salah (Egypt), Manchester United's Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast), and Tottenham Hotspur's Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal).
There was talk of further postponing what is actually 'AFCON 2021' due to an outbreak in Cameroon, but the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, has said the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations would "go ahead as planned". Audiences are capped at 80 per cent of capacity for games involving hosts Cameroon, and 60 per cent for all other matches.
Ready to watch the greatest African footballers on the planet? Lucky Aussie fans can watch the final on beIn Sports which you can also find on Kayo. Make sure you know how to watch the 2022 African Cup of Nations finale from anywhere.
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Watch the African Cup of Nations final for free
In the UK, BBC iPlayer will livestream the 2022 AFCON final between Senegal and Egypt on 6th February.
Remember to use ExpressVPN to access your local streaming service when traveling overseas.
In the USA, beIN Sports has the rights to all the games. Sling provides streaming access to beIN for $35 a month and new users get a free 3-day trial. The channel is also covered by FuboTV in the States which has a free trial too.
In Australia, Optus will stream every game live. Subscription costs just AU$14.99 a month (around £8 / $11) and also includes access to Premier League football at the same time.
In Italy, Discovery has secured the rights to the African Cup of Nations 2022. The games will stream live on Discovery+. Subscription costs from €7.99 a month.
Again, you can check out ExpressVPN to access your local streaming service when outside your home country.
Watch the African Cup of Nations 2022 from abroad using a VPN
Even if you have subscribed to the relevant TotalEnergies AFCON 2022 rights holders, you won't be able to access these streaming services when outside your own country. The service will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically block your access.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) helps you get around this obstacle. It creates a private connection between your device and the internet, and saves you money! What's not to love?
How to use a VPN
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.
2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For the AFCON, you may wish to choose 'London' for BBC iPlayer.
3. Then head over to BBC iPlayer on your browser or device and enjoy the free African Cup of Nations live stream.
If, for whatever reason, you can't get it working, then do remember that you have the comfort of a 30-day money-back guarantee with ExpressVPN. You could also try NordVPN, which also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and Surfshark which offers 24-hour assistance.
African Cup of Nations 2022 live stream in the UK
Sky Sports has the rights to all 52 games of the 2022 African Cup of Nations, including Sunday's finale between Senegal and Egypt. Sky subscribers can watch for free.
Not a subscriber? Cord-cutters can live stream the football with a Now Sports Pass (£10 a day or £34 a month).
It's also worth noting that the BBC has the rights to show 10 games live in the UK, including Sunday's final.
Remember: you'll need to use a VPN to access BBC iPlayer when travelling outside the UK.
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African Cup of Nations 2022 live stream in the USA
beIN Sports also has the rights to show every game of the 2022 African Cup of Nations live in the USA, including Sunday's Senegal vs Egypt final.
Subscription prices depend on your cable provider, but cord cutters can tune into beIN Sports via fuboTV and Sling. Better still, Sling is offering new users a free 3-day trial so you can try before you buy.
Streaming service Fanatiz looks like it could be another cheap way to stream the African Cup of Nations 2022 in the States. Subscription costs just $7.99 a month.
African Cup of Nations 2022 live stream in Australia
If you're in Australia, it's beIn sports that has the rights to all the AFCON 2022 fixtures including Senegal vs Egypt. You can sign up direct for $20 per month but a better deal is to go with Kayo Sports ($25/month) which brings access to all the beIn Sports channels plus a wealth of other sporting events. There's a 14-day free trial to Kayo Sports, so you can take a look for yourself.
Stuck outside Oz at the moment? Don't forget that you can use a VPN to access a live stream without being blocked.
African Cup of Nations 2022 live stream in South Africa
As ever, SuperSport is the place to watch the 2022 African Cup of Nations in South Africa. The online sports channel will broadcast all the games live via the DStv satellite platform. You can sign up to DStv here. Failing that, head to any local sports bar.
African Cup of Nations 2022 schedule & kick-off times
All times GMT
GROUP STAGE:
Sunday 9th January 2022
Group A - Cameroon vs Burkina Faso - 4pm
Group A - Ethiopia vs Cape Verde - 7pm
Monday 10th January 2022
Group B - Senegal vs Zimbabwe - 1pm
Group B - Guinea vs Malawi - 4pm
Group C - Morocco vs vs Ghana - 4pm
Group C - Comoros vs Gabon - 7pm
Tuesday 11th January 2022
Group E - Algeria vs Sierra Leone - 1pm
Group D - Nigeria vs Egypt - 4pm
Group D - Sudan vs Guinea-Bissau - 7pm
Wednesday 12th January 2022
Group F - Tunisia vs Mali - 1pm
Group F - Mauritania vs Gambia - 4pm
Group E - Equatorial Guinea vs Ivory Coast - 7pm
Thursday 13th January 2022
Group A - Cameroon vs Ethiopia - 4pm
Group A - Cape Verde vs Burkina Faso - 7pm
Friday 14th January 2022
Group B - Senegal vs Guinea - 1pm
Group B - Malawi vs Zimbabwe - 4pm
Group C - Morocco vs Comoros - 4pm
Group C - Gabon vs Ghana - 7pm
Saturday 15th January 2022
Group D - Nigeria vs Sudan
Group D - Guinea-Bissau vs Egypt - 7pm
Sunday 16th January 2022
Group F - Gambia vs Mali - 1pm
Group E - Ivory Coast vs Sierra Leone - 4pm
Group F - Tunisia vs Mauritania - 4pm
Group E - Algeria vs Equatorial Guinea - 7pm
Monday 17th January 2022
Group A - Burkina Faso vs Ethiopia - 4pm
Group A - Cape Verde vs Cameroon - 7pm
Tuesday 18th January 2022
Group B - Malawi vs Senegal - 4pm
Group B - Zimbabwe vs Guinea - 4pm
Group C - Gabon vs Morocco - 7pm
Group C - Ghana vs Comoros - 7pm
Wednesday 19th January 2022
Group D - Egypt vs Sudan - 7pm
Group D - Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria - 7pm
Thursday 20th January 2022
Group E - Ivory Coast vs Algeria - 4pm
Group E - Sierra Leone vs Equatorial Guinea - 4pm
Group F - Gambia vs Tunisia - 7pm
Group F - Mali vs Mauritania - 7pm
ROUND OF 16:
23rd – 25th January 2022
QUARTER FINALS:
29th – 30th January 2022
SEMI FINALS:
2nd – 3rd February 2022
FINAL:
Senegal vs Egypt – 7pm GMT, 6th February 2022
Where is AFCON 2022 being held?
This year's tournament takes place across six venues in five Cameroonian cities. The Olembe Stadium and Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé's capital, the Japoma Stadium in Douala, the Limbe Stadium in Limbe, the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam, and the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua have been chosen to host matches.
Limbe Omnisport Stadium in Limbe, Cameroon, has a capacity of 20,000 and stunning ocean views. Not something Premier League stars will be used to.
The opening match of the tournament as well as the showpiece final will take place at the Chinese-built, 60,000 seater Olembe Stadium in the capital.
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