The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to be the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa (CAF

Confederation of African Football

The Confederation of African Football is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those...

). The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

, for the second time. The first was in 1982

1982 African Cup of Nations

The 1982 African Cup of Nations was the 13th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa . It was hosted by Libya. Just like in 1980, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four...

, when the home team

Libya national football team

The Libya national football team is the national association football team of Libya and is controlled by the Libyan Football Federation. The team has never qualified for the senior FIFA World Cup. They have qualified for three Africa Cup of Nations, one in 1982 where they finished runners-up and...

 were runners-up. The competition is likely to be held in January 2017. The 2017 African champion will qualify for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup is expected to be held in June 2017, as a prelude to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The host will be Russia as announced on 2 December 2010.- Qualified Teams :...

 in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

Intended Bids

Nation	Last hosted
Botswana	-
Cameroon	1972 1972 African Cup of Nations The 1972 African Cup of Nations was the eighth edition of the African Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa . It was hosted by Cameroon, in the cities of Yaoundé and Douala. Just like in 1970, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four...
Democratic Republic of the Congo	-
Guinea	-
Morocco	1988 1988 African Cup of Nations The 1988 African Cup of Nations was the 16th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa . It was hosted by Morocco, who replaced original host Zambia. Just like in 1986, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. The tournament final was held in...
South Africa	1996 1996 African Cup of Nations -Group B:---------------------Group C:------------ withdrew, so their three matches were canceled.*vs. , January 16, 1996*vs. , January 19, 1996*vs...
Zambia	-
Zimbabwe	-

Bids shortlist

CAF

Confederation of African Football

The Confederation of African Football is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those...

 received 3 bids before the 30 September 2010 deadline, to host either the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations

2015 Africa Cup of Nations

The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to be the 30th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa . For the second time, the tournament is scheduled to be hosted by Morocco - the previous tournament held in Morocco was in 1988.-Intended Bids:-Bids shortlist:CAF...

 or 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. The three bids were from DR Congo, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 and South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. All three bids were originally put on a short list.

CAF then began an inspection procedure, intending to visit each bidding country to view stadiums, infrastructure, and football interest. They inspected the DR Congo first. The inspection was intended to run from 12 to 15 November, but was cut short. Shortly after the inspection, DR Congo informed CAF that they would be withdrawing their bids for both the 2015 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Morocco was the next country to be inspected, with CAF visiting the country in early November 2010. South Africa was inspected in December 2010.

On 29 January, during the 2011 CAF Super Cup

2011 CAF Super Cup

The 2011 CAF Super Cup was the 19th CAF Super Cup, an annual football match organized by the Confederation of African Football , between the winners of the previous season's CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup competitions...

, the CAF executive committee decided that Morocco will host 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, while 2017 edition will be held in South Africa. But due to the 2011 Libyan Civil War, Libya and South Africa traded years with South Africa hosting in 2013 and Libya hosting in 2017.

Qualified teams

Country	|Qualified as	|Date qualification was secured	|Previous appearances in tournament1
	00Hosts	0328 September 2011	3+ (1982, 2006, 2012)

Format

If the current format is used, 16 teams will be drawn in four groups. Only the hosts will gets an automatic qualification spot, the rother 15 teams will qualify through qualification tournament. At the finals, the 16 teams will be drawn into four groups of four teams each. The teams in each group play a single round robin. After group stage, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals. The semifinal losers will play in third place match, while winners will play in final.