THE Confederation of African Football has released new dates for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations billed for Cote d’Ivoire.
The tournament was initially scheduled for this June and July but had to be moved because heavy rains and flooding usually occur in the West African country in that period.
CAF has now confirmed the dates for the opening match to be January 13, 2024 and the final for February 11.
The opening match and the final will be played at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan, CAF officially confirmed today in a press release made available to Naija Times.
The tournament will have 24 teams in attendance and will be the 34th edition of the African showpiece.
Cote d’Ivoire will be hosting for the second time after 1984, when Cameroon emerged as champions after beating Nigeria in the final.
CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba also confirmed that the final draw of the tournament will be held in September, with date and venue to be determined in due course.
“With the rapidly growing global interest of CAF competitions recorded in the last few months, CAF is projecting record global TV audiences and stadium attendances for next year’s edition of its flagship competition, which also currently holds the record of being Africa’s biggest event,” CAF says.
Apart from hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, Burkina Faso and African champions Senegal have all qualified for the tournament.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles are also in a good position to earn a spot in the tournament despite the embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau last Friday.
The three-time African champions bounced back to beat Guinea-Bissau by the same score in the qualifying Group A reverse fixture and now top the pool with nine points.
