Africa Cup of Nations: A dummy's guide to the action

10Jan 2013

With the African Cup of Nations looming, Christian Crowther offers a quick summary of the format, entrants and favourites...

Why is it taking place this year?

The more observant types will have noticed that this biennial tournament is occurring just one year after the last edition co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Premier League managers need not fear though, the competition is not about to go annual, it's merely an exercise in altering the years in which it will occur, so that it will now take place in odd-numbered years (2015, 2017 etc) so as not to clash with the World Cup in future.

How does the format work?

Unlike the Copa America, which needs to invite guests to make up the numbers, all the teams besides the hosts have had to earn their place. Those who didn't qualify for the 2012 edition were whittled down to 14 and then joined by the 16 who were involved in a series of two-legged play-offs to determine the 15 other participants. That process produced some notable absentees, Egypt missing out for the second year running having won an unprecedented three tournaments in a row before Zambia's triumph. Cameroon and Senegal - who were disqualified when crowd trouble caused their second leg with Ivory Coast to be halted with elimination lingering - both came up short as well. The 16-team tournament itself is almost identical to the Euros, with two teams qualifying from the four groups of four, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final, though the African Cup of Nations has a third-place play-off too.

Who are the hosts and what are their chances?

World Cup 2010 stagers South Africa are inviting the rest of the continent to play in their backyard. With all the infrastructure in place from two-and-a-half years ago, Bafana Bafana were a natural choice. The hosts' chances of glory are currently rated at 9.2, with the obvious advantage of home crowds and familiar surroundings putting them third in line. Without a qualifying campaign to go by, it's difficult to accurately assess their prospects, though recent positive results against Kenya and Malawi show they are competititve. It's worth noting that the last time they hosted in 1996, they came away with the trophy.

What Premier League players will be involved?

The most notable Premier League attendees will be the likes of Yaya and Kolo Toure from Manchester City, Chelsea's Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel, Cheick Tiote from Newcastle and Arsenal's Gervinho. It now also looks like Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor has finally decided to play for his native Togo after months of wrangling over payments and security arrangements, taking the total number of Premier League representatives to 18.

Who are the favourites?

The overwhelming pre-tournament favourites are last year's beaten finalists Ivory Coast, available at 2.94. It was one of the great shocks in the tournament's historyin 2012 when Didier Drogba and co were beaten on penalties by massive outsiders Zambia. Ivory Coast have by far the largest array of household names and for some time have been threatening to win this trophy, falling at the final hurdle twice since 2006. Ghana are another team to watch, with a host of big players from Europe's top leagues and are currently priced at 7.4. The 2012 champions Zambia are rated at 11.5 to reign again and a recent win over South Africa shows they mean business.