Capturing the nature of the African Cup of Nations

The African Cup of Nations has kicked off and even though Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, etc. are being touted as the usual favourites. But the nature of the competition is such that any of the participants can pull off a shock win.

Zambia shocked the world when they won their first ACN title last year as they hurdled past the two of the favourites mentioned above.

In an attempt to capture the nature of African Cup of Nations, Puma organised interviews with some of the star players from Africa. Moreover, they revealed the footages of the pre-tournament activities of the Ghana and Ivory Coast internationals.

The Nature of African Cup of Nations

Football stars from Ivory Coast and Ghana talk about the ACN, what makes it so unique and what football means to the people of Africa.

Ivory Coast

From Cote d’Ivoire: Yaya Toure (MF, Manchester City), Kolo Toure (DF, Manchester City), Didier Drogba (FW, Shanghai Shenhua), Gervinho (FW, Arsenal) and Salomon Kalou (FW, Lille):

Ghana

From Ghana: Asamoah Gyan (FW, Al-Ain), Derek Boateng (MF, Dnipro), Jonathan Mensah (DF, Evian FC), Kwadwo Asamoah (MF, Juventus) and John Paintsil (DF, Hapoel Tel Aviv):

Playing for Ghana

The Ghana national team prepares for their friendly match againt Egypt in Abu Dhabi. The players show great motivation and unity among themselves in the bus and in the dressing room as well.

Training with Ghana

The Ghanaian players warm up to a training and skills session in an open training session in Abu Dhabi.

Interview with Yaya Toure

In an exclusive interview, Yaya Toure expresses his feelings about the African Cup of Nations, his memories and his thoughts on what makes this cup so special.

African Cup of Nations 2013

Teams

1. Group A: South Africa, Angola, Morocco, Cape Verde
2. Group B: Ghana, Mali, Niger, Congo DR
3. Group C: Zambia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia
4. Group D: Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Algeria, Togo

Venues

All matches of the 2013 African Cup of Nations are to be held in South Africa.

There are five stadiums selected for this tournament. They are:

• the FNB Stadium (Johannesburg),
• the Moses Mabhida Stadium (Durban),
• the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (Port Elizabeth),
• the Mbombela Stadium (Nelspuit) and
• the Royal Bafokeng Stadium (Rustenburg).

The 2013 ACN final will be played on 10th February, 2013 at the FNB Stadium.