Entering the coveted AFCON top goalscorers list is an honour many African footballers dream to achieve in their career.
With AFCON 2025 just months away in Morocco, the stakes can’t be smaller for strikers and midfielders gunning for this top gong.
Since the advent of the Africa’s Premier Nations Championship in 1957, otherwise known as the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), several celebrated footballers have etched their names in the annals of history in each edition of the tournament.
Given the highest regard on the continent, the AFCON has drawn Africans together from different works of life to celebrate African football, unity and the joy the beautiful game brings to people.
Therefore, scoring in such big stage is nothing short of a big honour for any African footballer.
Below is a table containing all AFCON top goalscorers since 1957 till date.
|
Past AFCON top goalscorers |
|||
| Year | Winner | Goals | Nationality |
| 1957 | Ad El Diba | 5 | Egypt |
| 1959 | Mahmoud Al Gohari | 3 | Egypt |
| 1962 | Mohamed Al Badawi and Worku Mengistu | 3 | Egypt and Ethiopia |
| 1963 | Ahmed Al Chazli | 6 | Egypt |
| 1965 | Abbrey Osei Kofi & Eustace Mangli | 3 | Ghana & Ivory Coast |
| 1968 | Laurent Pokou | 6 | Ivory Coast |
| 1970 | Laurent Pokou | 8 | Ivory Coast |
| 1972 | Salif Keita | 5 | Mali |
| 1974 | Mulamba Ndaye | 9 | Zambia |
| 1976 | William Njo Lea | 4 | Guinea |
| 1978 | Phillip Omondi | 4 | Uganda |
| 1980 | Segun Odegbami | 3 | Nigeria |
| 1982 | George Al Hassan | 4 | Ghana |
| 1984 | Taher Abou Zeid | 4 | Egypt |
| 1986 | Roger Milla & Abdoulaye Traore | 4 | Cameroon & Ivory Coast |
| 1988 | Lakhdar Belloumi, Roger Milla, Gamal Abdelhamid & Abdoulaye Traore | 4 | Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt & Ivory Coast |
| 1990 | Djamel Menad | 4 | Algeria |
| 1992 | Rashidi Yekini | 4 | Nigeria |
| 1994 | Rashidi Yekini | 5 | Nigeria |
| 1996 | Kalusha Bwalya | 5 | Zambia |
| 1998 | Hossam Hassan & Benni McCarthy | 7 | Egypt & South Africa |
| 2000 | Shaun Bartlett | 5 | South Africa |
| 2002 | Patrick Mboma, Salomon Olembe & Julius Aghahowa | 3 | Cameroon & Nigeria |
| 2004 | Patrick Mboma, Frederic Kanoute, Austin Okocha, Youssef Mokhtari & Francileudo dos Santos | 4 | Cameroon, Mali, Nigeria, Morocco & Tunisia |
| 2006 | Samuel Eto’o, Ahmed Hassan & Francileudo dos Santos | 4 | Cameroon, Egypt & Tunisia |
| 2008 | Samuel Eto’o | 5 | Cameroon |
| 2010 | Mohamed Nagui | 5 | Egypt |
| 2012 | Manucho, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Didier Drogba, Cheick Tidiane Diabate, Houcine Kharja, Chris Katongo & Emmanuel Mayuka | 3 | Angola, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco & Zambia |
| 2013 | Emmanuel Emenike & Mubarak Wakaso | 4 | Nigeria & Ghana |
| 2015 | Ahmed Akaichi, Andre Ayew, Dieumerci Mbokani, Javier Balboa, Thievy Biffouma | 3 | Tunisia, Ghana, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea & Congo |
| 2017 | Junior Kabananga | 3 | DR Congo |
| 2019 | Odion Ighalo | 5 | Nigeria |
| 2021 | Vincent Aboubakar | 8 | Cameroon |
| 2023 | Emilio Nsue | 5 | Equatorial Guinea |
| 2025 | ? | ? | ? |
🇬🇶 Emilio Nsue is officially the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 Puma Golden Boot winner! ⚽
5️⃣ goals in 4️⃣ games for the Equatorial Guinea captain! @pumafootball pic.twitter.com/Wsu77Yp8Nd
— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) February 11, 2024
AFCON all-time top scorers
A lot of players have finished as top goalscorers in the Africa Cup of Nations over the years, but just how many of them rank high on the all-time top scorers list?
PIDGINNEWS takes a closer look at the very top 10 all-time top goalscorers at the AFCON, showcasing their nationality and number of goals scored.
#OnThisDay in 2008: Samuel Eto'o nets a brace against Sudan to become the #AFCON's all-time leading scorer 🇨🇲🌍🙌 pic.twitter.com/8IH78lO4Qn
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) January 30, 2017
|
All-time AFCON top goalscorers |
|||
| Player | Goals | Nationality | |
| Samuel Eto’o | 18 | Cameroon | |
| Laurent Pokou | 14 | Ivory Coast | |
| Rashidi Yekini | 13 | Nigeria | |
| Hassan El-Shazly | 12 | Egypt | |
| Patrick Mboma | 11 | Cameroon | |
| Hossam Hassan | 11 | Egypt | |
| Didier Drogba | 11 | Ivory Coast | |
| Mengistu Worku | 10 | Ethiopia | |
| Ndaye Mulamba | 10 | DR Congo | |
| Kalusha Bwalya | 10 | Zambia | |
