2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP B - DAY 06 - Cape Verde vs Congo DR 0:0

Cape Verde and DR Congo play out draw.

22 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP B - DAY 06 - Zambia vs Tunisia 1:2

Tunisia come back to beat wasteful Zambia.

22 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP B - DAY 06 - PREVIEW

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21 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP A - DAY 05 - Equatorial Guinea vs Burkina Faso 0:0

Burkina Faso held by hosts in stalemate

21 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP A - DAY 05 - Gabon vs Congo 0:1

Congo win first Nations Cup match since 1974.

21 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP A - DAY 05 - PREVIEW

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20 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP D - DAY 04 - Ivory Coast vs Guinea 1:1

Ivory Coast fought back to draw their Africa Cup of Nations opener with Guinea, despite having Gervinho sent off early in the second half.

20 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP D - DAY 04 - Mali vs Cameroon 1:1

Ambroise Oyongo scored his first goal for Cameroon to rescue a point against Mali in their opening match.

20 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP BY GROUP

facts & stats

19 Jan 2015
2015 AFRICA CUP - GROUP C - DAY 03 - Ghana vs Senegal 1:2 

Moussa Sow struck late in injury time to earn Senegal victory over Ghana.

19 Jan 2015

2015 AFRICA CUP - EQUATORIAL GUINEA - PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY

AFRICA CUP 2015

Mongomo, the hometown of Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang, along with Ebebeyin, Bata and Malabo are set to host the finals.

Equatorial Guinea agreed to organise the tournament last month at the request of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

CAF took the finals away from Morocco, who had demanded a delay due to their fears over Ebola.

The stadiums in Malabo and Bata were both used as venues when Equatorial Guinea co-hosted the 2012 Nations Cup with Gabon.

However work needs to be done on the grounds in both Ebebeyin and Mongomo.

"The turf for Mongomo and Ebebeyin stadiums is going to be brought by plane from Europe," one of the supervisors told the BBC.

Work also needs to be done on the stadium structure and other facilities, but all those involved in the preparations are confident the work will be completed in time.

"Time is a big challenge but the good thing is that it's not new for us to work against time," said Francisca Obiang Jimenez, the president of the Office of National Projects, who was there supervising the works.

"We have built almost an entire city, Sipopo, in about two years and we've also built a highway.

"Everybody was expecting that that would finish four years from now but we finished it on time, so I don't think there will be much problem with the stadiums."

The new highway means you can travel from Bata, on the coast, to Mongomo, located near the eastern border with Gabon, in around two hours.

While the stadiums look set to be ready in time, having enough accommodation could be a challenge for the organisers in both Mongomo and Ebebeyin.

Ebebeyin has only one large hotel of international standards.

"We have hotels and we have also some social houses that we've finished building and have not given to anybody yet," Ms Obiang Jimenez told us.

"So we are furnishing them in case we find ourselves with not enough rooms but, according to what the CAF said, we have more than enough."

The government and organisers are also taking measures against the possibility of the deadly Ebola virus getting into the country.

All passengers arriving at Malabo airport from abroad are having their temperature checked.

There was also an Ebola screening exercise at Bata stadium, before a match of the CEMAC (Economic Community of Central African States) Cup, which is currently being staged in Equatorial Guinea.

"During the Cup of Nations, there will be other controls and this kind of protection will be happening further away from the stadium," a local fan, Juan Esono, told us.

A Cameroonian working at the Mongomo stadium told BBC Sport: "I've been checked many times for Ebola when crossing the border near Ebebeyin. 

So I don't think there will be a problem with the virus here."

 

11 Dec 2014
(BBC Africa by Manuel Toledo)

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