APA-Luanda (Angola) The 27th edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) opening match will be played on 10 January 2010 in Luanda, between the host country Angola and Mali, according to the drawing lots for the competition which took place Friday in the Angolan capital.

Group A to be lodged in Luanda includes Mali, Angola, Malawi, which records its second participation in the CAN, 25 years after the first one, and Algeria, a former winner of the competition crowned with its new status as it qualified for the World Cup.

Group B, composed of West African teams (Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina, Togo, and Ghana), is two-fold. On the one hand, there will be a clash between Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana ; both countries are qualified for the World Cup.

On the other hand, this marks a renewal of a fixture in the 2010 CAN qualifiers that is Cote d’Ivoire against Burkina. The two games had been won by Ivoirians.

Group D, to be lodged in Lubango, offers another fixture between Cameroon and Gabon, played as part of the 2010 CAN qualifiers. After being absent from the last edition in 2006, the “indomitable Lions,” which are qualified for the World Cup, had won the two legs.

Zambia completes group B.

At last, Group C, hosted in Benguela, also promises to be tight with the clash between Egypt, six times winner of the competition, but eliminated from the World Cup, and Nigeria, reinvigorated by its new status as it qualified for the World Cup.

Benin and Mozambique make up the group.

At the end of the first round, the two leading teams of each group will qualify for the quarter finals. The competition will come to an end on 31 January 2010.

The 27th CAN drawing lots ceremony, organized on Friday at the Talatona Convention Centre, in Luanda, was held under the auspices of the president of the African Football Confederation (CAF), Issa Hayatou.

The representatives of the 16 qualified countries also honored their invitation to the ceremony, in the presence of a distinguished guest, the Angolan President, José Eduardo dos Santos.

One hundred and fifty journalists were accredited to the drawing lots.

The 2010 CAN groups are as follows :

 Group A (Luanda) : Angola, Malawi, Algeria, Mali
 Group B (Cabinda) : Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina, Togo, Ghana
 Group C (Benguela) : Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, Benin
 Group D (Lubango) : Cameroon, Gabon, Tunisia, Zambia