October 17 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is undertaking a week-long inspection visit to host cities for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations as part of final preparations for the Ivory Coast tournament.
CAF said that it “in collaboration with the Local Organising Committee (COCAN) will conduct a five-day inspection mission in a number of cities that will host the competition next year.”
The inspection team will visit San Pedro, Korhogo, Bouake and Yamoussoukro, assessing stadiums, training sites, hotels and other local infrastructure that will be pivotal to the operations of Africa’s flagship competition.
The inspection follows the tournament draw which was staged in Abidjan last week. The hosts will play Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau in Group A.
The tournament had been due to be played last summer but because of concerns over the climate in Ivory Coast, CAF shifted the tournament to January and February next year.
The tournament will be played in six stadia across five cities with Abidjan using two venues.
It is the second time that the West African country will host the finals after staging the tournament in 1984. It’s also the third time that the Africa Cup of Nations will be played in a 24-team format after tournament expansion in 2019. Senegal are the defending champions.
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