THE WORLD'S attention will turn to Egypt on Friday 12 April when the draw is held for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, one of the world's biggest football tournaments. Egypt is aiming to showcase what it calls the best-ever championship when it kicks-off in three month's time. The one-month-long tournament will be held in six venues in four cities from 21 June to 19 July. The tournament is officially known as AFCON, or Total Africa Cup of Nations. Delegates from the 24 countries that will be participating, world football officials and fans have already arrived in Cairo for the result of the draw. Egyptians are excited to be hosting the tournament, with the primary goal of winning the title on home turf. The hosts, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), have been gearing up to present to the world a spectacular tournament and before that, the draw that will place the countries in their respective groups. The draw's venue has been transformed into a fabulous stage with the ancient Sphinx and the Pyramids in the background. International football dignitaries and legendary footballers have been invited to attend the draw which will be conducted by the African Federation's (CAF) Competitions Department. The qualifiers for the championship recently concluded with unprecedented excitement across the continent. According to CAF's official website, since the start of the qualifiers the matches had been met with “exceptional enthusiasm” of the fans and the public who used the competition to express their passion for their national teams and idols, culminating in 24 countries in six groups of four each, securing their places in the newly-expanded tournament. Before the draw and on behalf of the Executive Committee CAF President Ahmad Ahmad expressed his satisfaction over the quality of the qualifiers and confidence in the new format of the AFCON -- and over the widespread enthusiasm surrounding the qualifiers. This will be the first Africa Cup expanded from 16 to 24 teams, and the first to be held in summer instead of winter. The CAF president thanked all the countries that participated in the qualifiers and congratulated the 24 countries that qualified for the final tournament. He also extended his “sincere congratulations” to all the officials who ensured the smooth running of the competition over a long period of time, preserving the status of the event. Earlier this year, Egypt was announced the new host of the 2019 AFCON after the edition was initially scheduled to be hosted in Cameroon, the title holders of 2017. But on 30 November 2018 CAF stripped Cameroon of hosting the championship after failing to meet organisational requirements. The decision to award Egypt the right to host this year's edition was taken at the Executive Committee meeting in Dakar, Senegal, in January this year. Egypt received 16 votes while South Africa, Egypt's only contender for the bid, took only one vote. One country abstained. Egypt thus replaced Cameroon as the host of the ACN. CAF said Cameroon would host the 2021 edition instead, leaving them enough time to work on their infrastructure. But this meant that the original hosts for 2021 and 2023 would have to delay their tournaments. Guinea has already accepted the move from 2023 to 2025, while Ivory Coast was named as the 2021 edition. This would be the fifth time Egypt hosts the AFCON, having staged it in 1957, 1974, 1986 and 2006. Egypt has also won the tournament, the most prestigious sports event in Africa, a record seven times. The AFCON is a biennial international men's competition and the world's third biggest football tournament after the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Cup. Earlier in the week, news reports surfaced in Egyptian news websites announcing the seedings of the teams, however, CAF released a statement saying the news was categorically false.
