Remote towns, unknown stadiums: Welcome to the African Cup
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - After Morocco was stripped of hosting rights, the African Cup of Nations is back in the tiny Central African nation of Equatorial Guinea for the second time in three years.
Equatorial Guinea co-hosted with Gabon in 2012 and was chosen as a last-minute stand-in for this year's edition when Morocco declined to stage it because of fears over the spread of Ebola.
Here are some things to know about the 16-team African Cup, which kicks off on Saturday and will be partially played in two remote border towns in Equatorial Guinea's far east, where the standard of the stadiums and facilities are - at best - uncertain:
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NEW HOST
Equatorial Guinea was probably the Confederation of African Football's only hope of holding the African Cup on its planned dates of Jan. 17-Feb 8. The organizers were left without a host when Morocco asked for a postponement late last year because of Ebola. No one else volunteered to take over. Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, on the west coast of Africa, came to the rescue, but had to put its plans in place in just two months.
Games will be held in four venues: the capital city Malabo on an island off the mainland; the biggest city Bata; and Mongomo and Ebebiyin on the eastern border with Gabon. Equatorial Guinea has stadiums in Malabo and Bata from its 2012 co-hosting, but the grounds in Mongomo and Ebebiyin are unknown in top-level football and need to undergo rapid upgrades in time for kickoff.
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NO DEFENDING CHAMPION
There will be a new African champion after Nigeria failed to qualify to defend the title it won in 2013.
As Africa's No. 1 team, Algeria is favored to win, and Ivory Coast leads a group of strong contenders from West Africa. But Equatorial Guinea's hurried preparations make for an unpredictable tournament if the top stars in the top teams struggle to adapt to the conditions.
When Equatorial Guinea co-hosted in 2012, big underdog Zambia surprised to claim the title.
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HOME TEAM REINSTATED
Equatorial Guinea's soccer bonus for taking the tournament at short-notice was the reinstatement of its team, which had been disqualified from the African Cup last year for cheating and fielding an ineligible player who was from Cameroon. The country got back in after Morocco was thrown out.
Equatorial Guinea's team has been in trouble before over eligibility and has a habit of picking players who were not born in the country. In 2012, barely any of the members of its squad were born in Equatorial Guinea and the then co-host was accused of bringing in better foreign players to boost its chances.
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UNKNOWN STADIUMS
The venues in Mongomo - where the president comes from - and Ebebiyin won't be much more than very basic. There hasn't been enough time to build better venues in those towns.
So, tournament favorites Algeria and the top Europe-based players of Ghana and Senegal will play group games at the 10,000-seat Estadio de Mongomo. The stadium in Ebebiyin has a reported capacity of only 5,000.
Still, smaller stadiums might give the host a better chance at filling them after some disappointing crowds - one famously as low as 200 people - attended games in Equatorial Guinea in 2012.
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AND EBOLA?
Equatorial Guinea has no reported cases of Ebola. It's the country of Guinea, far away in West Africa, which is one of the three nations badly affected by the deadly virus and the only one of the three at the tournament.
There will still likely be some concerns over the possible spread of the disease with soccer fans traveling from West Africa. Organizers have promised to be vigilant.
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Gerald Imray is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP