Hosts Cote d’Ivoire, will open the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament today in the capital Abidjan against Guinea-Bissau.
This will be after what is expected to be a glamorous opening ceremony that will showcase the best of Ivorian traditions and culture.
The Group A encounter, will be played at the Alassane Quattara Stadium, Ebimpe with the Elephants huge favourites to get their hosting off to a winning start.
The Ivorians, are seeking to win the tournament for the third time after their successes in 1992 and 2015.
They will be backed by a massive home crowd this evening as they go for the win against Guinea-Bissau who are clear underdogs in this fixture.
Also in Group A are Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, and they will look with keen interest the outcome of this encounter before they go head-to-head on Sunday at the same venue.
Pressure will be on Cote d’Ivoire to perform, and how they handle it in today’s game, could determine how far they will reach in their own competition.
Kickoff is at 20:00 GMT as the 34th edition of the continents biggest football competition gets underway with 24 nations participating.
