The strongest collection of qualifiers for an African Nations Cup will be split into four groups at the draw for the 2006 tournament here on Thursday.
Hosts Egypt and holders Tunisia are automatic first seeds with Cameroon and Nigeria completing the top tier ahead of the evening event at the Giza Pyramids on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital.
Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Senegal and South Africa are the second seeds, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Togo the third, and Angola, Libya, Zambia and Zimbabwe the fourth.
Only form at the previous three Nations Cup tournaments in Tunisia (2004), Mali (2002) and Ghana-Nigeria (200) was considered, hence the lowly status of four qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup.
The African representatives in Germany are Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Tunisia with the first four making their debut in the quadrennial showcase of international football.
With the 10-round World Cup qualifying competition doubling as a elimination process for the Nations Cup, the cream inevitably rose to the top, offering Africa the prospect of a three-week feast from mid-January.
Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo failed to qualify for the 2004 finals with the biggest shock being the absence of four-time winners Ghana, who last conquered Africa 23 years ago in Libya.
The Black Stars were topped in a three-team pool by minnows Rwanda, whose Serb coach Ratomir Dujkovic has since switched to Ghana and lifted the West Africans from the doldrums.
Zambia and Libya are the other two 2004 failures to make it this time while Algeria, Burkina Faso Benin, Kenya, fourth-placed Mali and Rwanda miss on the biennial event first staged 48 years ago with just three competitors in Sudan.
Egypt will use five venues, the 80 000-capacity Cairo Stadium and the 40 000-seat Military Stadium in the capital, plus grounds in Alexandria, Ismailia and Port Said for the tournament.
With strong government backing and assistance from the army, preparations are on track according to officials from the Cairo-based Confederation of African Football, organisers of the Nations Cup.
Concerns about some of the playing surfaces led to permission for the use of artificial turf being granted, the first time Nations Cup matches will not be staged on natural grass since Libya hosted the 1982 championship.
This could help tilt the balance in favour of North African challengers Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia as no sub-Saharan country uses artificial turf.
Choosing likely champions from such a powerful field is frought with danger, but Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia look capable of lifting the trophy.
Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe can cause upsets, leaving Guinea, Libya and South Africa as the outsiders in a tournament that never fails to defy the form book.
The 24 group matches will be staged between January 20 and 31, the quarterfinals on February 3 and 4, the semifinals on February 7, the third place playoff on February 9, and the final one day later. – AFP
