Egypt Named as Hosts of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have revealed that Egypt host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in June.
Egypt were voted ahead of South Africa - the only other country to submit an application for the process - in a vote held at an executive meeting. The original hosts and current reigning champions Cameroon were stripped of their rights to stage the tournament back in November after their preparations were deemed to be too slow.
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According to BBC Sport, the tournament is set to run between 15 June and 13 July and will feature 24 teams for the first time in its history.
It is also the first to be held after the regular domestic season comes to an end, meaning European clubs will not have to contend with players leaving for international duty.
This is the fifth time Egypt have had the honour of hosting the competition and they remain the most successful country in the tournament's history having won seven previous titles, their last coming back in 2010 when they defeated Ghana 1-0 in the final.
The CAF have announced that Cameroon will be offered the chance to stage the finals in two years' time, which has meant that the original hosts for both the 2021 and 2023 finals have been asked to delay their tournaments.
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Ivory Coast, who were set to host in 2021, has protested the decision at the court of Arbitration for Sport. Elsewhere, Guinea have already agreed to move the staging of their nations cup from 2023 to 2025.
