| Tourney Name: | African Cup of Nations |
| Year: | 1978 |
| Country: | Ghana |
| Dates: | 5–16 March |
| Num Teams: | 8 |
| Venues: | 2 |
| Cities: | 2 |
| Champion: | Ghana |
| Count: | 3 |
| Second: | Uganda |
| Third: | Nigeria |
| Fourth: | Tunisia |
| Fourth-Flagvar: | 1959 |
| Matches: | 16 |
| Goals: | 38 |
| Top Scorer: |  Opoku Afriyie  Segun Odegbami  Phillip Omondi (3 goals each) |
| Player: | Karim Abdul Razak |
| Prevseason: | 1976 |
| Nextseason: | 1980 |
The 1978 African Cup of Nations was the eleventh edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF). It was hosted by Accra and Kumasi, Ghana. The format of the competition changed from 1976: the field of eight teams was still split into two groups of four, but the final group stage was eliminated in favor of the knockout semifinals used in tournaments prior to 1976 (except 1959). Ghana won its third championship, beating Uganda in the final 2−0.
Ivory Coast and Mali were both disqualified in the second round of qualification: Ivory Coast for using an ineligible player, and Mali after stadium security and police assaulted match officials during the first leg. Since Mali had received a first round walkover after Niger failed to appear, Upper Volta, who had been beaten by the Ivory Coast in the first round, were given their place in the final tournament.
See main article: 1978 African Cup of Nations qualification.
The 8 qualified teams are:
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts | (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970) | |||
| Holders | (1972, 1976) | |||
| 2nd round winners | (1963, 1976) | |||
| 2nd round winners | (1962, 1968, 1974, 1976) | |||
| 2nd round winners | (1974) | |||
| 2nd round winners | (debut) | |||
| 2nd round winners | (1968 1972, 1974) | |||
| 2nd round winners | (1962, 1963, 1965) |
See main article: 1978 African Cup of Nations squads.
The competition was played in two venues in Accra and Kumasi.
| Accra | |
|---|---|
| Accra Sports Stadium | |
| Capacity: 40,000 | |
| Kumasi | |
| Kumasi Sports Stadium | |
| Capacity: 40,500 | |
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:
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1 The match was abandoned after Tunisia walked off in the 42nd minute with the score tied at 1–1 to protest the officiating. Nigeria were awarded a 2–0 win, and Tunisia were suspended for two years (also banning them from the next tournament).[1]
See main article: 1978 African Cup of Nations Final.
Goalkeeper
Defenders
Mokhtar Dhouieb James Kuuku Dadzie Khaled Gasmi
Larbi IhardaneMidfielders
Forwards
Segun Odegbami Mohammed Polo