On 30 November 2018, Cameroon was stripped of hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations[6] due to delays in the delivery of infrastructure, the Boko Haram insurgency and the Anglophone Crisis.

Algeria defeated Senegal 1–0 in the final, winning their second title and first since 1990,[10] while Nigeria came third after beating Tunisia 1–0 in the third-place play-off match.

[13] Among the six official candidates, Algeria, Guinea and Ivory Coast also bid for hosting the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

[14] Security concerns and threats from various militant groups particularly in the eastern part of the country were an early issue with a Congolese bid.

Other nations who expressed early interest in hosting were 2013 champions Nigeria, Senegal, and a joint bid of Kenya and Uganda.

Bids: The organization of the competition was finally awarded to Egypt on 8 January 2019 by the CAF Executive Committee meeting in Dakar, Senegal.

[23] In July 2016, Total secured an eight-year sponsorship package from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to support 10 of its principal competitions.

The organizing board of the 2019 African Cup of Nations revealed the AFCON 2019 Mascot; "Tut", which was inspired by the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

His kit bears resemblance to Egypt's home colors, with the map of Africa visible on his shirt as well as the tournament's logo.

[27] However, the ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, meaning Morocco, having qualified for this edition of the African Cup of Nations, could participate in the tournament.

After the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, the CAF agreed to increase the number of teams from 16 to 24, following the UEFA Euro 2016.

[32][33] The EFA announced the video assistant referees (VARs) would be introduced during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, starting from the quarter-finals.

For the draw, the teams were allocated to four pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of April 2019 (shown in parentheses).