CAF name final four as potential 2010 Nations Cup hosts

CAIRO, May 14 (Reuters) Angola, Libya, Nigeria and joint bidders Equatorial Guinea and Gabon have been short-listed as potential hosts for the 2010 African Nations Cup, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) today said.

The four bidders made the cut after presentations from eight candidates for the biannual African championship and will be visited by a CAF inspection team over the next months before a final decision is made in September.

The bids from Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal and Zimbabwe were eliminated by CAF's executive committee at a meeting in Cairo.

Libya and Nigeria have both previously hosted the Nations Cup, unlike Angola and the bidding duo.

Libya hosted the tournament in 1982 while Nigeria did it in 1980 and then co-hosted it with Ghana in 2000 when the two countries stepped in to replace Zimbabwe.

Mozambique had been considered a strong favourite after an impressive lobbying campaign at the last Nations Cup finals in Egypt early this year, which included a visit from Portuguese great Eusebio, who was born in Mozambique.

The 2008 Nations Cup finals will be held in Ghana. In 2010, the World Cup finals are staged in Africa for the first time, in South Africa.

REUTERS SY PM0006