Gabon has been named as the host of the next Africa Cup of Nations in 2017. The country beat rival bids from Algeria and Ghana in a vote by the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) executive committee at a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday. Gabon replaces war-torn Libya, who withdrew last year as 2017 hosts because of the civil conflict raging in the country. It will be the second time that the country will stage the tournament after co-hosting the 2012 edition with neighbours Equatorial Guinea. Gabon will use four venues for the 16-team tournament, set for January 2017. They will be Libreville and Franceville, which were used in 2012, plus Port Gentil and Oyem where the stadiums will be ready in 14 months, Gabon Football Federation officials said. All three candidate countries made presentations to the CAF executive committee on Wednesday before the ballot was taken. Gabon's selection means five straight African Cups will be in Central or West Africa, with the three after 2017 already decided. Cameroon will host in 2019, Ivory Coast in 2021 and Guinea in 2023.

• published: 08 Apr 2015
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