Africa Cup of Nations
The Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations says Equatorial Guinea is ready to co-host the tournament and only minor details need ironing out.
The tournament kicks off in the country on Saturday night when Equatorial Guinea take on Libya in a Group A clash at Bata.
“Preparations have gone well but there are always last-minute problems during an event like this,” Fernando Hermes Vega, the secretary general of the LOC, told BBC Sport.
“But Equatorial Guinea is ready to host Africa’s biggest football fiesta.”
Vega said that the issue of volunteers was one that needed to be addressed.
“The Confederation of African Football has told us that it’s not just a matter of getting lots of volunteers but ones who can speak English, French and Spanish so that they can help the different nationalities.
“We are talking of very small issues here but we will be alright.”
Equatorial Guinea are co-hosting the tournament alongside Gabon, who will stage the final on February 12 in Libreville. According to Vega, the two countries have worked together closely.
“Up until now we have not had many problems because right from the start, we only had one organising committee – which we called the 2012 Local Organising Committee,” he explained.
“We came up with things like a common visa for both countries and established an even better relationship between both countries which already share a common border.
“This allowed us to meet every month, either in Gabon or Equatorial Guinea, just to discuss and iron out all the little problems there were.”