Africa’s greatest sporting showpiece is set to grip the footballing world this January and February as teams from across the continent compete in the 30th Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, live on ITV Sport and British Eurosport.
Despite a troubled and turbulent build up, the 2015 tournament will no doubt attract the attention of the entire globe as millions get set to tune in to see which of the 16 nations emerges victorious.
There is sure to be a certain cobbled-together feel to the tournament, with oil-rich Equatorial Guinea stepping in as late as mid-November, after Morocco withdrew from hosting the tournament due to fears over the Ebola virus.
Morocco’s late change of heart – they claim to have asked for the tournament to be merely postponed, which would have been equally impractical – has caused immense difficulties for governing body CAF, who wasted no time in throwing the north African nation out of the tournament.
Ironically, Equatorial Guinea had themselves previously been disqualified from the competition for fielding an ineligible player in a qualifying match against Mauritania.
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations is wide open with Egypt and Nigeria, winners of four of the last five tournaments between them, failing to qualify while Algeria, who are widely recognized as currently being the best side on the continent, have historically struggled in sub-Saharan Africa.
Cameroon had a disastrous World Cup affected by infighting off, and on one memorable occasion on, the pitch. Ivory Coast and Ghana flickered but ultimately disappointed.
Whoever wins at the end of the three-week tournament, it is unlikely to be the hosts, given a reprieve thanks to CAF’s desperation to find a host nation at short notice.
The Equatoguineans have been plagued since co-hosting the 2012 tournament by accusations, some of which upheld, that they routinely field players with questionable provenance.
Setting aside the numerous organizational worries – Mark Gleeson, the foremost Anglophone football writer in Africa wrote that they “…proved barely capable of hosting eight teams just three years ago when they co-hosted [with Gabon]” – the Africa Cup of Nations always promises to be a fascinating tournament.
What of the sides who missed out on a trip to Brazil last summer? Burkina Faso, runners-up in 2013, look promising in a weak group containing the hosts, Congo and Gabon. Zambia, winners in 2012, will be disappointed if they don’t at least reach the last four from the weaker (by a distance) upper half of the draw.
Senegal are so strong in attack they are unlikely to miss the injured West Ham prodigy Diafra Sakho or the plain-old dropped Demba Ba.
Mali are perennially strong in the modern era and have finished third in the last two editions. Bafana Bafana, of South Africa, will surely be spurred on by a wish to honour the memory of Senzo Meyiwa, the goalkeeper and captain murdered in October.
The first stage will be intense and competitive, with none of the four groups easy to predict. Heavyweight clashes not to be missed include Ghana’s matches against Senegal and Algeria, as well as Cameroon’s fixture against Ivory Coast.
Perhaps the most memorable game in the first round, though, will come on Sunday, January 25, when hosts Equatorial Guinea play their potentially crucial final group match against neighbours Gabon in Bata. It will surely draw a good crowd which, alas, may make the contest stick out like a sore thumb.
The era of superstars Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba may be over but the next generation of high class African players will be on display.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Yannick Bolasie (DR Congo) and Youssef Msakni (Tunisia) can sometimes prove worthy of the admission money alone while Wilfried Bony and Yaya Touré (Ivory Coast) and Yacine Brahimi (Algeria) now surely rank as the best players on the continent and among the finest in the world.
Notable Premier League players set to be inaction include tricky wingers Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace and DR Congo) and Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria), midfielders Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham Hotspur and Algeria) and Cheick Tiote (Newcastle United and Ivory Coast) and strikers Papiss Cisse (Newcastle United and Senegal) and Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City and Senegal), as well as many more from the top English and Scottish divisions.
Find out who will succeed Nigeria as winners of African football’s greatest showpiece as both British Eurosport and ITV Sport present comprehensive coverage of the course of the three-week tournament.
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ITV Sport will screen extensive free-to-air coverage for UK fans of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations from Equatorial Guinea.
Following on from the channel’s coverage of the previous two tournaments in 2012 and 2013, seven live matches and nightly highlights of every game from the 2015 tournament will be broadcast on ITV4 and ITV4 HD during the three-week competition.
Coverage starts on Saturday, January 17 at 10.00pm with highlights of hosts Equatorial Guinea taking on Congo along with a match between 2013 finalists Burkina Faso and Gabon.
The seven live games on ITV4 include a deciding match from each of the four groups from January 25-28, as well as both semi-finals on February 4-5, followed by the final itself in Bata on February 8.
Matt Smith and Jacqui Oatley will share presenting duties throughout ITV4’s coverage from the studio in London.
They will be joined by pundits including Stoke striker Peter Odemwingie, former Nigerian international Efan Ekoku, Fabrice Muamba, Hull striker Sone Aluko, Watford defender Sebastien Bassong, former Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune, and former Sierra Leone coach Johnny McKinstry.
Match commentary comes from Clive Tyldesley, Sam Matterface, Joe Speight and Jon Champion, Nigel Adderley and David Stowell, alongside Andy Townsend and Efan Ekoku.
All of ITV4’s live coverage and highlights programming will be available to watch online for free via ITV Player, both on-demand and live streaming.
Additional video clips, interviews, daily reports and analysis, as well as the latest social media updates, will also be available via the ITV football website – itv.com/football.
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British Eurosport will be the only channel in the UK that will be covering every match live from the 30th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea this January and February.
From the opening group games to the final in Bata on February 8, the pan-European channel will screen full live high-definition coverage of all 32 matches from the tournament on British Eurosport and British Eurosport 2, as well as extensive highlights and match replays.
Fronting British Eurosport’s coverage will be former Crystal Palace striker Mark Bright and ex-West Ham striker and Sierra Leone manager Leroy Rosenior, while former South Africa and Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune will be making his commentary debut for the channel.
Leading the channel’s live match commentary will be experienced football broadcasters Jon Roder, Dan O’Hagan, Wayne Boyce and Tim Caple.
Live online streaming of British Eurosport’s coverage can be accessed via Eurosport Player (subscription required), plus there will also be additional reports and features from the tournament via the British Eurosport website.
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OFFICIAL WEBSITE TEAMS STANDINGS VENUES
Saturday 17th January EQUATORIAL GUINEA v CONGO Group A | Kick-off: 16:00 | Bata LIVE: 3.45pm-6.00pm British Eurosport 2 BURKINA FASO v GABON Group A | Kick-off: 19:00 | Bata LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport 2 Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4Sunday 18th January ZAMBIA v DR CONGO Group B | Kick-off: 16:00 | Ebebiyin LIVE: 4.00pm-6.00pm British Eurosport 2 TUNISIA v CAPE VERDE Group B | Kick-off: 19:00 | Ebebiyin LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport 2 Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4
Monday 19th January GHANA v SENEGAL Group C | Kick-off: 16:00 | Mongomo LIVE: 3.45pm-6.00pm British Eurosport ALGERIA v SOUTH AFRICA Group C | Kick-off: 19:00 | Mongomo LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4
Tuesday 20th January IVORY COAST v GUINEA Group D | Kick-off: 16:00 | Malabo LIVE: 3.45pm-6.00pm British Eurosport MALI v CAMEROON Group D | Kick-off: 19:00 | Malabo LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4
Wednesday 21st January EQUATORIAL GUINEA v BURKINA FASO Group A | Kick-off: 16:00 | Bata LIVE: 3.45pm-6.00pm British Eurosport GABON v CONGO Group A | Kick-off: 19:00 | Bata LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4
Thursday 22nd January ZAMBIA v TUNISIA Group B | Kick-off: 16:00 | Ebebiyin LIVE: 3.45pm-6.00pm British Eurosport CAPE VERDE v DR CONGO Group B | Kick-off: 19:00 | Ebebiyin LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4
Friday 23rd January GHANA v ALGERIA Group C | Kick-off: 16:00 | Mongomo LIVE: 3.45pm-6.00pm British Eurosport SOUTH AFRICA v SENEGAL Group C | Kick-off: 19:00 | Mongomo LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4
Saturday 24th January IVORY COAST v MALI Group D | Kick-off: 16:00 | Malabo LIVE: 3.45pm-6.00pm British Eurosport CAMEROON v GUINEA Group D | Kick-off: 19:00 | Malabo LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4
Sunday 25th January GABON v EQUATORIAL GUINEA Group A | Kick-off: 18:00 | Bata LIVE: 5.30pm-8.30pm ITV4 (tbc) / 5.45pm-8.00pm British Eurosport CONGO v BURKINA FASO Group A | Kick-off: 18:00 | Ebebiyin LIVE: 5.45pm-8.00pm British Eurosport 2
Monday 26th January CAPE VERDE v ZAMBIA Group B | Kick-off: 18:00 | Ebebiyin LIVE: 5.30pm-8.30pm ITV4 (tbc) / 5.45pm-8.00pm British Eurosport DR CONGO v TUNISIA Group B | Kick-off: 18:00 | Bata LIVE: 5.45pm-8.00pm British Eurosport 2
Tuesday 27th January SOUTH AFRICA v GHANA Group C | Kick-off: 18:00 | Mongomo LIVE: 5.30pm-8.30pm ITV4 (tbc) / 5.45pm-8.00pm British Eurosport SENEGAL v ALGERIA Group C | Kick-off: 18:00 | Malabo LIVE: 5.45pm-8.00pm British Eurosport 2 Wednesday 28th January CAMEROON v IVORY COAST Group D | Kick-off: 18:00 | Malabo LIVE: 5.30pm-8.30pm ITV4 (tbc) / 5.45pm-8.00pm British Eurosport GUINEA v MALI Group D | Kick-off: 18:00 | Mongomo LIVE: 5.45pm-8.00pm British Eurosport 2
Saturday 31st January Winner Grp A v Runner-up Grp B Quarter Final 1 | Kick-off: 16:00 | Bata LIVE: 3.45pm-6.00pm British Eurosport Winner Grp B v Runner-up Grp A Quarter Final 2 | Kick-off: 19:00 | Ebebiyin LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4
Sunday 1st February Winner Grp C v Runner-up Grp D Quarter Final 3 | Kick-off: 16:00 | Mongomo LIVE: 3.45pm-6.00pm British Eurosport Winner Grp D v Runner-up Grp C Quarter Final 4 | Kick-off: 19:00 | Malabo LIVE: 6.45pm-9.00pm British Eurosport Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4
Wednesday 4th February TBC v TBC Semi Final 1 | Kick-off: 19:00 | Bata LIVE: 6.30pm-9.00pm ITV4 / British Eurosport
Thursday 5th February TBC v TBC Semi Final 2 | Kick-off: 19:00 | Malabo LIVE: 6.30pm-9.00pm ITV4 / British Eurosport
Saturday 7th February TBC v TBC Third Place Play-off | Kick-off: 16:00 | Malabo LIVE: 4.00pm-6.15pm British Eurosport 2
Sunday 8th February AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS FINAL 2015 Kick-off: 19:00 | Bata LIVE: 6.30pm-9.30pm ITV4 / British Eurosport
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