Coach Eric Gerets announced on Thursday his 23-man list for the African Cup of Nations 2012 that will run from 21 January to 12 February. The star-studded squad is lead by an impressive frontline with the likes of Premier League duo Marouane Chamakh and Adel Taarabt, in-form Oussama Assaidi and Youssef Hadji in addition to midfielders M'Bark Boussoufa, Houcine Kharja and the highly-rated defender Mehdi Benatia. The squad only includes four local-based players: experienced goalkeeper Nadir Lamyaghri (Wydad Casablanca), who has recovered from a lengthy injury; uncapped FUS Rabat keeper Issam Badda; teammate and defender Abdelfettah Boukhriss; and Mustapha Mrani from Moghreb Fez. The Atlas Lions will hold a training camp in Marbella, Spain from 9 January before heading to Gabon. Morocco play in Group C alongside Gabon, Niger and Tunisia. The 23-man list Goalkeepers: Nadir Lamyaghri (Wydad Casablanca, Morocco), Issam Badda (FUS Rabat, Morocco), Mohamed Amsif (Augsburg, Germany). Defenders: Jamal Alioui (El-Kharytiah, Qatar), Michael Basser (Bursaspor, Turkey), Mehdi Benatia (Udinese, Italy), Abdelfettah Boukhriss (FUS Rabat, Morocco), Badr El-Kaddouri (Celtic, Scotland), Abdelhamid El-Kaoutari (Montpellier, France), Ahmed Kantari (Brest, France), Mustapha Mrani (Moghreb Fez, Morocco). Midfielders: Nordin Amrabat (Kayserispor, Turkey), Younes Belhanda (Montpellier, France), M'Bark Boussoufa (Anzhi, Russia), Karim El-Ahmadi (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Adil Hermach (Hilal, Saudi Arabia), Houcine Kharja (Fiorentina, Italy). Forwards: Oussama Assaidi (Heerenveen, Netherlands), Mehdi Carcela (Anzhi, Russia), Marouane Chamakh (Arsenal, England), Youssef El-Arabi (Hilal, Saudi Arabia), Youssef Hadji (Rennes, France), Adel Taarabt (QPR, England). (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter: @AO_Sports).