The 29th African Cup of Nations is due to be held in South Africa in late January to early February 2013 in an annual tournament that brings together national football teams from across the continent.
The Senegalese side was disqualified in October 2012 after rioting forced the referees to end their match against Cote d’Ivoire prematurely. The Nigerian ‘Super Eagles’ have qualified this year after failing to make the final rounds of the 2012 competition and will initially face Burkina Faso and Zambia in Group C.
The 16 teams compete in any of five cities in South Africa with the final expected to be held in Johannesburg on 10 February. The host team South Africa automatically qualified as top seed in Group A where they are joined by Morocco, Angola and Cape Verde. Commentators expect Group D to be the most competitive with neighbours Tunisia and Algeria competing along with Cote d’Ivoire and Togo. The 2012 contest culminated in a dramatic win for Zambia who had not qualified for the final since 1994.
