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Angola's Ricardo Job reacts during a friendly football match against Senegal at Algarve Stadium in Faro - GETTY IMAGES

For football fans in Africa and beyond, little else would matter in January 2010 other than the 27th Africa Cup of Nations holding in Angola.

Across Africa, the major European football leagues are followed with great passion by fans and analysts. But that focus may shift in January 2010, as many of the stars who make the European leagues tick would be showcasing their talents on the African continent. Angola 2010, as the 27th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations is otherwise known, takes the center stage from January 10 to 31.

Africa's leading soccer exports to Europe expected to enliven the championship include Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba, his Chelsea teammate Michael Essien of Ghana, and yet another teammate John Obi Mikel of Nigeria. Still from the English Premiership there is Togo's Emmanuel Adebayor of Manchester City, as well as Everton's Yobo Joseph (Nigeria) and compatriot Nwankwo Kanu of Portsmouth, Africa's most decorated player for whom this would certainly be the last Nations Cup as a player. The list is by no mean exhaustive.

Elsewhere in Europe, Italy's Serie A will have to do without the services of the likes of Inter Milan's Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon) and Sulley Muntari (Ghana). And in Spain, the La Liga will be without Mali's Frederic Kanoute (of Sevilla), his compatriot Mamadou Diarra of Real Madrid, among others, for the period of 'the African World Cup'.

Of course, there would also be the stars that make the African leagues tick, especially Egypt's Essam El Hadary, Wael Gomaa, Hosny Abd Rabou, Mohamed Aboutreika, Amr Zaky and Mohamed Aboutraika, all of whom immensely contributed towards their victory at the last Nations Cup in Ghana.

The countdown to the championship started November 20 with the holding of the draws at the Talatona Convention Centre in Luanda, the Angolan capital. The draws saw the 16 teams that emerged from the joint 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers being divided into four groups, with the two top teams in each group guaranteed tickets to the second round.

The Africa Cup of Nations soccer trophy - AP

Group A features Algeria, Angola, Malawi and Mali, while Group B comprises west African neighbours Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo. Both groups have Luanda and Cabinda as match venues. Group C, made up of Benin, Egypt, Nigeria and Mozambique, plays in Benguela and Lobango; ditto Group D, featuring Cameroon, Gabon, Tunisia and Zambia.

The fireworks will begin with a Group A showdown between hosts Palancas Negras of Angola and the Eagles of Mali in Luanda. The hosts are favoured to qualify from the group alongside South Africa 2010 World Cup finalists Algeria but have set their sights on going much further. "I believe we can reach the final," said Angolan football legend Fabrice Akwa when asked how far Angola can go in the championship.

Defending champions Egypt, the only side to have won the cup a record six times, are scheduled to begin their title defence against Nigeria in a Group C opener on January 12 in the Western Angolan province of Benguela. The Pharaohs, who narrowly lost the South Africa 2010 ticket to Algeria, are expected to throw everything into this campaign with a view to completing a hat-trick of titles after successes in 2006 and 2008.

The Pharaohs are tipped to make it to the next round with the World Cup-bound Super Eagles of Nigeria, thus compounding the misery of Mozambique and Benin, both of which failed to advance past the group stage at Ghana 2008.

But that has not stopped Benin Football Federation President, Anjorin Mousharafou from talking up the chances of his team. "I'm happy with the draw," said Mousharafou. "Our fear was being drawn against hosts Angola and it came to pass. We played against them during the qualifiers and they are a strong side. To reach this level is no mean feat. Nigeria is not very strong, and Egypt are psychologically down after failing to reach the World Cup. We can qualify for the next round with good preparation."

In Group B, which is a hundred percent west African in composition, Burkina, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo will lock horns in Cabinda, the northern Angolan province bounded by the Republic of Congo. The group has been dubbed the toughest in view of the presence of two of the continent's five representatives to the 2010 World Cup: Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Ivorian marksman and captain Didier Drogba (R), speaks with President Gbagbo at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan during one of the qualifying matches - GETTY IMAGES

The two heavyweights who failed to realise their ambitions at Ghana 2008 (Ghana came third and Ivory Coast fourth) open their campaign on January 11, the Black Stars of Ghana against the Hawks of Togo and the Elephants of Ivory Coast against the Stallions of Burkina Faso.

"It's a difficult group but we are the favourites," said Ivory Coast Coach's Vahid Halilhodzic. "We know very well about Burkina Faso having played against them during the qualifiers. Ghana too is a strong team, but we are coming to Africa Cup of Nations with lots of ambitions."

Describing the group as the "group of death," Kwesi Nyantakyi, President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), tipped Ghana and Ivory Coast to go through, although he restated his country's ambition to win the cup for the fifth time.

"Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire are the strongest but in a competition like this, you can't underrate any team. You do so at your own peril. We hope to prepare feverishly to achieve our target-ultimate," Nyantakyi said.

Continuing, he said: "The group is interesting because Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo are all our neighbours. Togo has Adebayor, one of the best players in the world, and Burkina Faso's Moumouni Dagano is the top scorer of the World Cup qualifying campaign."

He predicted that the group would produce the eventual winner of the championship, saying: "We are going to see the best African football from this group. And I tip the winner of the African Cup to emerge from this group. These teams have some of the finest players in Africa who are playing top flight football in Europe. It is made up of teams that are very strong and combative."

Completing the picture is Group D, which features Cameroon, Gabon Tunisia and Zambia. Hostilities in the group are scheduled to begin on January 13 in Lubango, with Cameroon battling Gabon and Tunisia squaring off with Zambia.

Cameroon and Tunisia are favoured to qualify from the group and former Cameroon top striker Patrick Mboma has already tipped the World Cup-bound Indomitable Lions to reach the semi-finals, after which anything can happen.

"We have a new Indomitable Lions, a new captain, a new coach and hopefully a new reality. Mboma said. "I hope we can start the New Year in the best way."

Highly favoured to win the Ghana 2008 Nations Cup, four times winners Cameroon had surrendered to the superior force of Egypt in the final match decided at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra on February 10, 2008. Egypt's victory which came via a 77th minute lone goal by Mohamed Aboutraika shamed pundits and analysts, who had the tipped star-studded teams, among them Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Ghana, to win the championship.

Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon - GETTY IMAGES

The feat, which was achieved with mainly home-based players handled by local coaches, demystified foreign coaches and underlined the value of African coaches, proving beyond doubt the quality of African footballers playing in Africa. Whether there will be a repeat this time around remains to be seen.

This is the first time Angola is hosting a competition of this magnitude and the government is going the extra mile to ensure success. Late December, the country inaugurated four new stadia built for the championship. The biggest of them, the Stadium 11 de Novembro in Luanda, has a capacity for 50,000 spectators. Next in capacity is Ombaka Benguela Stadium, which can take 35,000 spectators. Tundavala (Lubango) and Chiazi (Cabinda) stadia have the same capacity and can seat 20,000 fans.

John Obi Mikel of Nigeria (C ) dribbles past Kenya's Emmanuel Ake (L) during a recent FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifying match - GETTY  IMAGES

When the Confederation of African Football decided to award the hosting right to Angola, many observers had expressed surprise, doubting if the oil-rich former Portuguese colony could get itself ready in time, having only ended a 27-year civil war in 2002.

Rising to the challenge, however, the government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has poured billions of rands into the construction of four new world-class stadia and the renovation of 13 others, in addition to the renovation of airports and the building of some 30 hotels, 16 of them in Luanda.

"It is," said Antonio Mangueira, Executive Director of the Local Organising Committee of the championship, "an opportunity to showcase Angola to rest of the world and also enhance development in the country. As a prelude to the World Cup in South Africa, we will also portray that Africa can organise big events by staging a successful tournament. Through the tournament, we are also sending across a message to all that Angola is a nice country, the war is over and we are united. It is also an opportunity to recover our pride."

The stage is set. Let the games begin!