Caf has announced that four countries have submitted bids to host the 2006 Nations Cup.

Algeria, Egypt, Gabon and South Africa all met the 30 November deadline imposed by African football's ruling body.

Surprisingly, Morocco, which seemed certain to bid for the tournament, have not applied.

They have designs on hosting the World Cup in 2010, and winning the bid for the Nations Cup could boost their chances.

That is certainly on the minds of Egypt and South Africa.

Fifa's plans to rotate the hosting of the World Cup, most likely from 2010, means the competition to hold the Nations Cup in the coming years will be intense.

With Morocco apparently out of the equation, the competition between Egypt and South Africa will be fierce.

Germany 2006

Both have their hearts set on hosting Africa's first World Cup.

There is another equally important reason for winning the right to hold the 2006 Nations Cup.

Caf has taken the decision to use it as the qualifying tournament for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The five best performing teams will automatically go to Germany, and the Nations Cup hosts will have the bonus of home advantage.

With so much at stake, it seems unlikely that Gabon will be able to match the resources that Egypt and South Africa will be able to put into their bids.

Similarly, Algeria's hopes are destined to be dashed because of the threat of the fighting which exploded in 1990, the year the country last hosted the tournament.

Evenly matched

Egypt have hosted the finals three times in the past, and South Africa once.

While the South Africans have the better stadia and infrastructure, the crowds at the '96 finals were extremely disappointing, something that could work against them.

Attendances in Egypt for the Nations Cup in 1986 were, in contrast, at record levels.

There is no doubt that Caf will have a tough job choosing the winner from what will undoubtedly be two superb bids.

But it means the 2006 Nations Cup should be the best to date.