Despite being placed in a tough group, Egypt's hopes of lifting the African Cup of Nations trophy are high. Inas Mazhar gets the forecast More than 400 guests representing sports officials, team delegates and media personnel were first-hand witnesses to the draw for the 25th African Cup of Nations which Egypt hosts in January. On a chilly night in the desert overlooking the Pyramids, some of Egypt's legendary players assisted in the drawing of lots. The former greats all helped the national squad tremendously as players but when it came to selecting who will play with Egypt in their group, it would have been better had they stayed home. Hassan El-Shazli, the local league's all-time goal scorer, drew relatively weak Libya. However, Ibrahim Youssef, selected to the all- African team of the century, drew World Cup-bound Ivory Coast, while Mahmoud El-Khatib, the only Egyptian player to win the best African player award, in 1983, gave Egypt another nightmare, North African rival Morocco. Seedings at the drawing of the lots were set as follows: According to the rules established by the African Football Confederation (CAF), Egypt, the host country, was placed as the top seeded team of Group A. Tunisia, the trophy holder, was the top seeded team of Group C. According to their ranking in the last three editions, Cameroon and Nigeria were the top seeded teams of Groups B and D. The remaining 12 countries were categorised into three levels depending on their results in the three editions of the ACN in 2000, 2002 and 2004. GROUP A: The Ivory Coast, Egypt and Libya were all in the same group as the 2006 World Cup finals so will be well acquainted with each other, with Morocco joining the group. The Atlas Lions went through qualifying campaign unbeaten yet did not qualify for Germany, costing coach Badou Ezaki his job. The group's fixtures will take place at the 75,000 seat Cairo Stadium. "I expected a tough group but never imagined us being placed again in the same group with Libya and Ivory Coast," Egypt's national team coach Hassan Shehata said. "I refuse the cliché which names a particular group the 'group of death'. I see all groups as hard, and I believe ours is the hardest. "Our main goal is winning the title and we'll play for it. We'll start our preparations right away." Egypt is to meet Tunisia in a friendly in Cairo on 16 November and against Nigeria at the beginning of January. Two more teams are sought. Shehata called on the public to support the national team to make the players more confident. EFA President Samir Zaher admitted that Egypt's Group was the most difficult. "It makes our task harder. Playing against tough teams like Morocco and Ivory Coast in the first round is very difficult, like an early final. They are some of the best teams on the continent, however, I'm optimistic. I believe we can do it. Beating these two nations will make it easier for us to win the cup." EFA board member Ihab Talaat, national squad supervisor, said Egypt stood a good chance of going to the finals despite the tough draw. "It is an advantage for us. We know all these teams and have played them before in World Cup qualifiers. Shehata knows the weak and strong points in his team and those of the others and that should help him plan his strategy. We are the hosts and we plan to have a spectacular and successful event by winning the cup for a fifth time." Samir Adli, the team's administrative manager, said he was not upset by having Libya and the Ivory Coast in Egypt's group. "Why should we be? We have all the information we need about them. It's true we lost to these two teams before but we'll make sure not to repeat that again. "For the time being we are doing our best to collect more information about the Moroccans, our main concern now. They have been at the their best lately despite failing to qualify for the World Cup." EFA board member and former Zamalek player Ayman Younis said that having three Arab teams in one group -- Egypt, Libya and Morocco -- seriously damaged any chance Arab teams had of lifting the African Cup. The last edition of the African Nations Cup in Tunisia 2004 saw two Arab teams playing in the final, Morocco and Tunisia. GROUP B: Cameroon have made it clear that their failure to qualify for Germany in a dramatic last-gasp twist of fate is massive motivation for the tournament in Egypt and can begin by seeking to extract some revenge against two of the first-time finalists. Angola and Togo were both drawn together in the Cairo-based group, whose matches will be played at the city's 25,000-seat Military Academy Stadium. But it is the ever improving Democratic Republic of Congo who might spring a surprise in the group. GROUP C: The defending champions Tunisia were drawn along with Guinea, South Africa and Zambia. Tunisia have rarely played the other three sides and results in the past have been mixed, but on current form Africa's number one side in the FIFA rankings must be confident of progressing to the quarter-finals. South Africa, too, as 2010 World Cup hosts, will feel they can begin building their side for the event after failing to qualify to the 2006 edition in Germany. Guinea and Zambia have the potential, however, to play the role of spoilers. The group fixtures takes place in Alexandria. GROUP D: The 'group of death' tag is already firmly in place with Nigeria pairing with Ghana and Senegal. Both teams had played out a goalless draw earlier this year in an entertaining friendly in London but Nigeria's last competitive game against the Lions of Teranga was a bruising extra time loss in the semi-finals of the 2002 African Nations Cup finals in Mali. Outsiders Zimbabwe make up the numbers in this group. The group fixtures takes place in Port Said. The tournament's opening ceremony is scheduled for 20 January in the refurbished Cairo Stadium which will also host the final on 10 February. Guests at the draw were received by folklore dancers and horsemen. Traditional food and drinks were served at the reception. Following the draw, laser shows and fireworks glittered in the sky at the background of the pyramids. Guests were then entertained by the singing of pop star Sherine who performed three songs, one of which was composed especially for the African championship. The guests then sat down to an extravagant banquet for Sohour. Before the draw, the ACN's organising committee met in Cairo to discuss preparations for the championship. After receiving a progress report from the Egyptian Local Organising Committee (LOC), the ACN expressed satisfaction. "We are extremely delighted to see that the preparations for ACN 2006 are on the right track," CAF President Issa Hayatou said. "For the first time in Africa tickets can be purchased on-line according to the LOC." CAF officials conducted a two-day tour of Cairo, Ismailia, Port Said and Alexandria, the host venues. In Cairo, they inspected the ongoing renovation of Cairo Stadium and the Military Academy Stadium. They were impressed by the progress of work and the speed by which it was done. They checked the dressing rooms, media centres, VIP and media tribunes and lounges. In Port Said, the officials visited Port Said Stadium and two practice fields. They also checked the hotels. In Ismailia they visited Ismailia Stadium which will host just one game, the decisive game of the group. They wondered aloud why Ismailia Stadium was awarded only one match, believing it to be of higher standard than Port Said. In Alexandria, the officials visited Max Stadium, which belongs to the Border Guards football team, and Alexandria Stadium which, like in Ismailia, will host the group's decisive match only. The Alexandria University Stadium will be the team's training pitch. The officials also visited the hotels that will accommodate the officials and teams. Hani Abou Reida, the president of LOC 2006, promised the team delegates, officials, media and spectators a spectacular event in terms of organisation. "We are looking forward to receiving all of you in all four venues of the competition," Abou Reida told the delegates. "Hard work is continuing so that we can finish everything on time and even before. Stadiums will be ready and our guests and visitors will be impressed by Egypt's capabilities."
