Wetin we call dis foto, Ivory Coast dey prepare to host 24 teams for Africa biggest sporting event
9 January 2024
Ivory Coast dey prepare to host 24 teams for Africa biggest sporting event.
Di 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) dey draw closer, wit Ivory Coast staging di finals for di second time.
Di tournament go kick off on Saturday, 13 January, wen di host go face Guinea-Bissau for Alassane Ouattara Stadium for Abidjan.
Record seven-time champions Egypt go also dey action on di opening weekend, dem go face Mozambique for Group B, while Senegal wey dey hold di cup go begin di defence of dia title against Di Gambia for Group C on Monday, 15 January.
But wen di oda group fixtures go occur? Wetin be di format of di tournament? Wia dem go play di matches and wen dem go kick off?
BBC Sport Africa provide you wit all di information before di 34th edition of Africa biggest sporting event.
Afcon 2023 group table and fixtures
Di 24 teams dey divided into six groups of four teams, and di hosts dey Group A wit three-time champions Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
Group B also get some heavyweight match-up, wit Egypt Mohamed Salah, di most successful team for di competition history, draw against Ghana, wey former Newcastle and Brighton boss Chris Hughton dey currently coach.
Holders Senegal don draw Cameroon for Group C one of di most tantalising early fixtures.
Morocco, wey become di first from di continent to reach World Cup semi-final for Qatar for 2022, na di highest Africa kontri for di world rankings (13th) – but dem never win any Nations Cup since 1976.
Walid Regragui side face former winners DR Congo and Zambia and East Africa sole representatives Tanzania for Group F.
Afcon 2023 schedule and kick-off times
Afta di opening match, dem go play at least two games each day during group stage wey go run until 24 January.
Di games go occur by 14:00, 17:00 and 20:00 (all times GMT) during di group stages, and di two last kick-off times dem go use am for di final round of group games and di knockout stages, wey go begin on Saturday, 27 January.
Di two top teams for each group and di four best-ranked third-place teams go enta di last 16, wit quarter-finals, semi-finals, one match for third place and di final to follow.
Afcon 2023 venues: Wia dem go play?
Wetin we call dis foto, Six stadiums na im dem go use for di 2023 Africa Cup of Nations for five host cities across Ivory Coast
Dem go use six stadiums wey dey for five host cities across Ivory Coast, for di 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Twelve years afta di civil war wey split di kontri into two, Ivory Coast go welcome Africa best footballers for di first time since 1984.
Wetin we call dis foto, Di 60,000-capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium go host di opening match and di final of 2023 Nations Cup
Six stadiums for five host cities, wit two for Abidjan na im dem go use
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (capacity 60,000)
Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (capacity 33,000)
Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (capacity 20,000)
Stade de la Paix, Bouake (capacity 40,000)
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (capacity 20,000)
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (capacity 20,000)
All di stadiums either dey new or dem don renovate am sake of di Afcon, and di goment spend one billion US dollars on infrastructure projects around di kontri.
Originally, dem bin plan to do di tournament for June-July 2023, but dem change di date so e no go clash wit di West African rainy season.
Wetin we call dis foto, Di Laurent Pokou Stadium for San Pedro wey dem inaugurate for September, dem name am afta di former Ivory Coast striker and e get capacity of 20,000
Who be di in-form teams?
Many bookmakers dey see Senegal as favourites wey go keep di title wey dem win for di first time for Cameroon.
Since den, star names Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy dem all don move to play wit di Saudi Pro League, but new talents like Tottenham midfielder Pape Matar Sarr and Marseille forward Iliman Ndiaye, wey help Sheffield United win promotion to Premier League, don become first-team regulars, while 19-year-old prodigy Lamine Camara bin recently grab di title of African young player of di year.
Algeria, champions for 2019, follow for teams wey dem dey fancy even though dem no perform well for di last Nations Cup.
Wetin we call dis foto, Two-time African Footballer of di Year Sadio Mane Senegal team dey one tricky group wey include Cameroon
Dem beat Senegal for one friendly for September and recently dem start World Cup qualifiers wit two solid victories.
Dem dey see Morocco as challengers afta dem become World Cup heroes for Qatar while Ivory Coast also ride high, even if dia team no longer boast star names of di same level like Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure.
Seven-time winners Egypt lost di last final on penalties and fit still rely on Mohamed Salah brilliance, but some of di oda big names, including Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon, don struggle to impress in recent fixtures – and all three get speculation wey surround dia coaches as dem dey go into di tournament.
Source link : https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/articles/c2xy88222xpo.amp
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Publish date : 2024-01-09 08:00:00
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