Sadio Mane’s Senegal are aiming to retain their title and Mohamed Salah is chasing a first trophy with Egypt at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, which is to begin in Ivory Coast on Saturday.
A strong field also features 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists Morocco and a Nigeria team spearheaded by African soccer player of the year Victor Osimhen, as organizers hope the focus will remain solely on the sport at this edition of the continental showpiece.
Ivory Coast is hosting the tournament for the first time since 1984, when only eight teams participated with Roger Milla’s Cameroon emerging as champions.
Photo: AFP
This time there are 24 teams at a tournament initially scheduled to be played in June and July last year to avoid a clash with Europe’s top leagues.
However, fears over staging it during the rainy season eventually led the Confederation of African Football to push it back to the more traditional January and February slot.
The previous Africa Cup of Nations, two years ago in Cameroon, was overshadowed by the tragedy at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, when eight people died in a crush and stampede.
Security is therefore at the forefront of organizers’ thoughts this time, with 1.5 million fans expected to attend from outside the country.
Matches are to be staged in six stadiums across five cities, with two venues in the economic capital, Abidjan, including the 60,000-capacity Ebimpe Olympic Stadium, constructed especially for the competition. It is to be the venue for the opening game between Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau, as well as the Feb. 11 final.
Games are also be played in the capital, Yamoussoukro, and nearby Bouake, as well as in San Pedro on the coast and in Korhogo in the north near the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso.
Organizers will also hope the quality of the soccer is better this time than in 2022, when an average of fewer than two goals were scored per game.
Morocco are expected to go far, with Africa’s top-ranked nation still riding high from their run to the last four in Qatar just over a year ago.
They have a squad full of players based at leading European sides, with Paris Saint-Germain rightback Achraf Hakimi the headline name, but Morocco have not won the Africa Cup of Nations since 1976.
“With each competition that goes by, we get further away from the date when we last won it, but that is not a reason for us to put extra pressure on ourselves,” coach Walid Regragui said.
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