All systems go for the Africa Cup of Nations

All systems go for the Africa Cup of Nations

LaLiga will once again be well represented at the 31st edition of the tournament, which gets underway on Saturday with Gabon v Guinea-Bissau.

16 African national teams have descended on Gabon with a single goal in mind: capturing the coveted Africa Cup of Nations trophy. Running from 14 January to 5 February, the 31st edition of this prestigious tournament will feature no fewer than 17 LaLiga-based players. Just like every two years, the continent's finest footballers have come together to battle for glory, with reigning champions Ivory Coast bidding to defend their crown against a host of pretenders to the throne headed by Algeria, Ghana and Senegal. Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa, on the other hand, are among the major countries that will be absent after failing to qualify.

As the hosts, Gabon will do the honours of getting the ball rolling against Guinea-Bissau at Libreville's Stade de l'Amitie this Saturday at 17:00 (local and Spanish time). From then on, LaLiga stars will come into play and look to light up the tournament, the first round of which is a group stage consisting of four 4-team groups. 

The likes of Atletico Madrid's Thomas Partey, Real Betis's Aissa Mandi, RC Deportivo's Fayçal Fajr and Villarreal CF's Cedric Bakambu are among the LaLiga representatives tipped to shine during a competition that is sure to serve up an abundance of thrills and spills once again.

2017 Africa Cup of Nations groups

Group A: Gabon, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Guinea-Bissau 

Group B: Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal and Zimbabwe 

Group C: Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco and Togo 

Group D: Ghana, Mali, Egypt and Uganda