The first Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire in four decades gets underway on Saturday evening as the hosts take on Guinea-Bissau at the newly-built Ebimpe Olympic Stadium in northern Abidjan.
The match takes place after an opening ceremony. Côte d'Ivoire have been African champions twice before, most recently in 2015 with a team captained by Yaya Toure. They are hoping to thrive at home with massive fans' support.
The West African nation last hosted the AFCON in 1984, when just eight teams took part. Roger Milla's Cameroon emerged won the trophy.
The Ivorian government has invested around $1.5 billion in improving infrastructure to prepare for the tournament, and there will be some 17,000 police and soldiers deployed to ensure security.
Matches are being played in five different cities, with the capital Yamoussoukro, Bouake, coastal resort San Pedro, and northern town Korhogo hosting games as well as Abidjan.
There are two venues in the economic capital Abidjan, with the centrally-located Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium being used as well as Ebimpe, the new stadium which is officially named after Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
The head of Africa's football governing body, CAF, Patrice Motsepe told a press conference that he wanted this year's competition to be ''the best AFCON ever.''
