With the clock ticking down to the 13 January kick-off date for the 34^th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the 24 teams have set up seven camps in the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa and West Africa as well as some remaining at home.

The camps are in Saudi Arabia, UAE, West Africa, South Africa, Tunisia, Algeria as well as some remaining in their home countries.

In the United Arab Emirates are six teams from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Cape Verde Angola and Guinea.

Fourth in the last edition, Burkina Faso chose to set up camp in Dubai on December 28, where the Stallions will play a mini-tournament with Nigeria and the DR Congo.

The Congolese and Burkinabes will face off on January 10.

It’s worth noting that Sébastien Desabre’s men are expected in Abu Dhabi at the end of December.

These two teams will be joined by Cape Verde, fine-tunning its preparation in Abu Dhabi before flying to Rades in Tunisia where they will face the Carthage Eagles on January 10.

Abu Dhabi is a carefully considered choice for Kaba Diawara: “Initially, we will meet in Conakry on December 28 and do everything related to flag presentation, celebration, receiving the head of state, and saying goodbye to families on our soil.

“We will be in Abu Dhabi on the 31st to start training. We will leave there for Cote d’Ivoire on January 11 or 12, 2024,” explained the Guinean coach.

Nigeria chose to set up in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates during their preparation. The Super Eagles will face the DR Congo and Burkina Faso during this period.

Nigerians will likely encounter Angola, who also chose Dubai for their training camp.

At the Saudi Arabia training camp are the quartet of Cameroon, Gambia, Zambia, and Cape Verde which also will partly be in UAE and later Tunisia.

Cameroon and Gambia, the two teams set to face each other on January 23 in Group B of the CAF  Africa Cup of Nations, will prepare in the same country of Saudi Arabia.

According to the Cameroonian press, a contingent of 23 Indomitable Lions will travel to Jeddah on December 27.

Gambia will stay in Saudi Arabia from December 27 to January 5 before heading to Morocco, where a match against the Atlas Lions is planned on January 7.

After a brief gathering with local players, Zambia will fly to Riyadh, with a friendly match scheduled around January 7.

South Africa is another training centre where Ghana and Mozambique will be. Ghanaians will spend New Year’s Eve together in South Africa. The Black Stars will undergo a 10-day training camp where the press and the public will not be able to attend their sessions.

A test match against Botswana is scheduled for Chris Hughton’s men on January 8 before flying to Abidjan.

Mozambicans will also travel to South Africa before the  Africa Cup of Nations.

The trio of Algeria, Guinea Bossau and Namibia opted to set up camp in West Africa

Algeria heads to Togo. From January 1 to 10, the Fennecs will conduct their preparation stage in Lomé. The 2021 African champions will play against Togo on January 5 and Burundi on January 9.

Guinea Bissau will go to Mali. The Djurtus will face the Eagles on January 3 before heading to Ivory Coast on January 7. Namibia will be in Ghana.

Both Mauritania and Zambia opted to set up training camp in Tunisia.  After Abu Dhabi, Cape Verde will go to Tunisia, where a match against the Carthage Eagles is scheduled.

Mauritania will start its preparation in Tabarka, a coastal city in northwest Tunisia. Amir Abdou and his team will be there until January 11 and will face Tunisia on January 6.

Tanzania will prepare on the side of Annaba in Algeria. Two friendly matches against nations participating in the AFCON are under discussion.

Eight nations have decided to carry out their preparation at home, including Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Tunisia, Mali, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, the host country of the competition.