Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in South Africa

Deutsche Welle, 19 January 2013

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament has kicked off in Johannesburg, South Africa. The hosts are facing off against the archipelago nation of Cape Verde in the opening match of the competition.

The 29th Africa Cup of Nations opened in South Africa's First National Bank Stadium on Saturday, with traditional dancers taking to the pitch in a rainbow-colored ceremony amid rainy weather.

Hundreds of children grabbed colorful balls and threw them on the pitch to form a giant South African flag, with fans blaring vuvuzelas in excitement.

A sell-out crowd of 90,000 is set to watch South Africa go head-to-head with tournament new comers Cape Verde in the first match of the competition. South Africa last won the African Cup in 1996.

Later on Saturday, Morocco was scheduled to face off with Angola in the second-leg of Saturday's lineup.

Contest between 16 teams

Over the coming month, 16 teams - 10 of them former champions - will compete for Africa's continental crown.

South Africa stepped in to host the tournament just a year ago, after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided to move the competition from Libya, which is still gripped by instability in the aftermath of the 2011 overthrow of deceased dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

"I think South Africa as hosts have done an amazing job considering the time they had to prepare for this tournament after it was moved from Libya," said Hicham El Amrani, secretary general of African soccer's ruling body.

But South African soccer has also been marred by allegations of corruption. Just months before the 2013 Africa Cup, a FIFA investigation uncovered a match-fixing scandal dating back to the run-up to the 2010 World Cup. South African Football Association officials allegedly colluded to fix four matches, among them two friendlies in which South Africa played against Guatemala and Colombia.

The investigation into the allegations has been postponed until the Africa Cup finishes on February 10.

slk/ipj (AFP, dpa)