HOST

The 2013 edition of the Africa cup of Nations will be the 29th to be organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The winner of the tournament will qualify for the 2013 FIFA confederations cup in Brazil as the representative from CAF. Eight countries sent in bids to host the tournament. They are; Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Benin, Central African Republic and Botswana. Five of them were, however, short-listed. They are; Angola, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea (joint bids), Libya and Nigeria. Libya was eventually chosen to host the tournament. However, due to the civil war and unrest in Libya at the time, another country was chosen to host the competition. South Africa was given that privilege. As announced by the Minister of sport and recreation, Fikile Mbalila, four host cities for the 2013 Africa cup of Nations have been selected and approved by the cabinet. They are; Mbombela, Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg and eThekwini while the soccer city in Johannesburg will hold the opening and closing ceremonies. HOST CITIES Mbombela local municipality: This is an administrative area in the Ehlanzeni district of Mpumalanga in South Africa. The name literally means, 'a lot of people in a small space'. Here we have the mbombela stadium which is a newly built, 40,929 seat capacity stadium and was one of the ten venues for the FIFA world cup 2010 with an international friendly match between South Africa and Thailand. Port Elizabeth: This is one of the largest and most developed cities in South Africa, situated in the Eastern cape province. It is also one of the major sea ports in South Africa. Here we have the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium which was also built for the 2010 FIFA world Cup. It is named after the administrative district which the stadium is within, that is, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality which, itself, was named after the former president of the country, Nelson Mandela. The stadium is a 48, 459 seat capacity stadium with a sports clothing shoip, gymnasium and some other notable facilities. Rustenburg: This is situated in the North-West Province of South Africa and is known basically for its mining industry. Here we have the Royal Bafokeng stadium which is a football, rugby and athletics stadium with 42, 000 seat capacity. It was built by the Royal Bafokeng nation and is used as the home stadium for premier soccer league club, platinum stars. eThekwini: This is a metropolitan municipality which was created twelve years ago and it includes the city of Durban, South Africa and surrounding towns. It is noteworthy to point out that majority of people within the municipality speak Zulu. Here we have the Moses Mabhida stadium which is a state-of-the-art world class stadium with a capacity to hold at least 70, 000 spectators. Really, there is no doubt in my mind that these cities would live up to their billing in entertaining millions of soccer acolytes across the world to give reign to their passion for the game. Who will win Afcon 2013? The countdown continues.

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The African cup of nations, also referred to as the African cup of Nations is a tournament organized by the confederation of African Football (CAF). The first of its kind was held in 1957 at Khartoum, Sudan. This first tournament had no qualification series, having being set aside for the four founding nations of the confedertion of African football (CAF). These four nations are: Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa. However, South Africa did not participate primarily because of the apartheid regime which had a policy quite inconsistent with the aims and objectives of the competition. Egypt emerged as the first continental champions, defeating the hosts Sudan in the semi-final and Ethiopia in the final. The Africa cup of nations 2013 will be hosted by South Africa. There are 16 teams vying for the Trophy. This blog hopes to bring to you an in-depth analysis of the tournament and the teams that will be participating. Who will win AFCON 2013? Your guess is as good as mine!