 Angola have never hosted Africa's top tournament |
Angola are regarded as slight favourites to win hosting rights for the 2010 Nations Cup finals when the Confederation of African Football (Caf) makes their decision in Cairo on Monday.
Surprise qualifiers for this year's World Cup finals in Germany, Angola seek to become the first Portuguese-speaking country to host Africa's biennial championship.
Angola face stiff competition, however, from Libya, Nigeria and a joint bid from Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Both Libya and Nigeria have previously hosted the tournament.
Caf's 13-man executive committee will hear final presentations from the candidates on Monday and are scheduled to take an immediate vote before announcing the winning bid at 1645 GMT.
Angola have promised to build four stadiums if they win the right to host the tournament.
The Angolan ploy follows the philosophy of Caf president Issa Hayatou, who believes that awarding the tournament to a country without established infrastructure forces the government to build facilities that remain at the disposal of the football community.
The 2010 Nations Cup holds special significance because it takes place six months before the continent's first hosting of the World Cup finals in South Africa.
Nigeria are also expected to make a strong push for a third hosting of a tournament after the nation held the event in 1980 and co-hosted the 2000 edition with Ghana.
Libya are bidding for a fourth successive time, having lost out to Tunisia, Egypt and Ghana, who host the next nations Cup finals in 2008.
The bid by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, two countries also flush from oil revenues, has proposed two venues in each country - Bata and Malabo in the former Spanish colony and Libreville and Port Gentil in Gabon.
Caf sent an inspection team, including Fifa officials, on a 20-day fact-finding tour of the five countries and their evaluation report will also be considered, although it is not binding on the voting of the members.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
