ACCRA - The African continent is bracing itself for three weeks of non-stop football action when the Africa Cup of Nations kicks-off in Ghana this weekend.
After months of preparation, Accra will be the focus of attention on Sunday when the hosts begin their quest for glory by taking on Guinea at the Ohene Djan Stadium.
The game will mark the first of 32 across four of Ghana's major cities including Kamasi, Tamale, Sekondi-Takoradi and the capital itself.
With the growing reputation of the players coming out of Africa, the 26th edition of the tournament has already been tipped to be the toughest yet with almost all the 16 competing teams boasting a high profile in the game.
In Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba, Cameroon and Ivory Coast have two of the best strikers in world football and both will be gunning for success in the coming weeks.
Defending champions Egypt, Africa's number one ranked team Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa and Morocco will all be equally determined to make an impact.
At 11/4, the home team have been installed as pre-tournament favourites mainly because of the excellent history of host nations - since the inaugural event, 14 editions have seen the hosts either winning or making it all the way to the final.
The Ivorians at 7/2 are second favourites, while Cameroon's Indomitable Lions at 5/1 are third behind Ghana, with the rest of the teams not too far behind.
The tournament is important politically as well as in sporting terms with Africa's first World Cup just two years away.
Ghana's president John Kufuor said: "We felt challenged to prove that we could do it; the acknowledgement by FIFA and the others should make every Ghanaian feel proud.
"We should all cherish the tournament."
A big issue over the past few weeks has also been around the timing of the competition.
The number of big name players coming out of the continent means that there is also an adverse effect on European football, with several club sides losing their stars at a crucial time in their respective seasons.
And several players and managers have criticised the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Among those players to make a noise included Eto'o, Ghana's Michael Essien and El Hadji Diouf from Senegal, while Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has also been vocal in his quest to see the tournament moved.
Earlier this week, CAF announced that competition will start 10 days earlier at the 2010 tournament in Angola.
But the debate looks set to continue after world governing FIFA announced that it was looking to change the timing altogether.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said: "This is a tradition, but one should now have the courage to go into the international calendar and see if it's not possible to deal with it.
"We put a target for 2016 that by that time the international calendar must be definitely in accordance with the interests of everybody."
Arguments aside, one thing clear is that for now the tournament will continue as normal and 2008 promises to be one of the most exciting yet.
Apart from the competition drawing the finest African talent on display, there are also bound to be hundreds of envious scouts from Europe's finest clubs seeking to unearth the next Drogba or Eto'o.
With Sudan, South Africa and Zambia just three of the countries that have decided to take young squads, the tournament's end on February 10 should see the emergence of several new stars on the international stage.
