2013 Africa Cup of Nations Finals – Preview

In twenty four hours the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations begins in South Africa. The twenty ninth tournament begins with two games in Group A, with the first match between hosts South Africa against Cape Verde followed by Angola taking on Morocco at the National Stadium in Johannesburg.

Here in the United Kingdom games will be available on ITV4 and British Eurosport, with coverage including a mixture of live games and highlights packages. For those looking for players currently with British clubs taking part in the competition the list is as follows:

Algeria:

Adlène Guedioura (Nottingham Forest)

Congo DR:

Gabriel Zakuani (Peterborough United) and Youssouf Mulumbu (WBA)

Ghana:

Albert Adomah (Bristol City)

Ivory Coast:

Abdul Razak (Manchester City), Arouna Koné (Wigan Athletic), Cheick Tioté (Newcastle United), Gervinho (Arsenal), Kolo Touré (Manchester City) and Yaya Touré (Manchester City)

Mali:

Modibo Maïga (West Ham United) and Samba Diakité (QPR)

Morocco:

Karim El Ahmadi (Aston Villa) and Oussama Assaidi (Liverpool)

Nigeria:

Efe Ambrose (Celtic), Mikel John Obi (Chelsea) and Victor Moses (Chelsea)

South Africa:

Dean Furman (Oldham Athletic) and Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace)

Togo:

Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham Hotspur)

Zambia:

Emmanuel Mayuka (Southampton)

In terms of ranking, FIFA released the latest positions on 17 January 2013 just prior to the start of the Africa Cup of Nations and the standing in terms of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Rankings for the teams taking part is as follows:

Group A

South Africa (22), Angola (19), Morocco (17), Cape Verde (15)

Group B

Ghana (4), Mali (3), Niger (25), Congo DR (27)

Group C

Zambia (5), Nigeria (9), Burkino Faso (23), Ethiopia (31)

Group D

Ivory Coast (1), Tunisia (10), Algeria (2), Togo (18)

When looking at betting odds for the tournament, William Hill have the following in terms of the prices for the teams to win the competition:

Ivory Coast (7/4), Ghana (6/1), South Africa (7/1), Nigeria (8/1), Zambia (10/1), Morocco (12/1), Algeria (14/1), Mali (14/1), Tunisia (14/1), Angola (40/1), Burkino Faso (50/1), Cape Verde (50/1), Congo DR (66/1), Togo (66/1), Ethiopia (150/1), Niger (150/1).

Unfortunately, as in previous years the tournament will be played against a volatile political situation in some countries. With the opening kick-off not until tomorrow, the hostage situation in Algeria and civil unrest in Mali are the events making the headlines. Football like any sport should be an occasion of participation, celebration and joy; let us hope that the 2013 tournament doesn’t become remembered for events off the pitch.