The Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN (French for Coupe d'Afrique des Nations), is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been held every two years. The title holders at the time of a FIFA Confederations Cup qualify for that competition.

In 1957 there were only three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. South Africa were originally scheduled to compete, but were disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government then in power. Since then, the tournament has grown greatly, making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament. The number of participants in the final tournament reached 16 in 1998 (16 teams were to compete in 1996 but Nigeria withdrew, reducing the field to 15), and since then, the format has been unchanged, with the sixteen teams being drawn into four groups of four teams each, with the top two teams of each group advancing to a "knock-out" stage.

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The competition was co-hosted in two countries, it took place in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon from 21 January to 12 February 2012. The bidding process for hosting the tournament ended in September 2006, the continental football federation, CAF, selected Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

The matches were played in four stadiums in four host cities around the two countries, with the final played at the newly built Stade d'Angondjé in Gabon's largest city, Libreville. Fourteen teams were selected for participation via a continental qualification tournament that began in July 2010.

The 2012 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations was one of the most politically charged sports events to take place, Libya (Libyan civil war) and Tunisia's (Tunisian revolution) national teams qualified for the tournament despite a political backdrop which saw both country's autocratic rulers ousted from power. Players of the Libyan and Tunisian national teams had fought on the front line in their respective campaigns. The traditional footballing nations such as reigning champions Egypt (also affected by political events), Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria and South Africa had failed to qualify. Players from third-placed Mali pleaded for the Insurgency in the Azawad to end.