The African Cup of Nations is here upon us again.

It is the premier football (or soccer) event in Africa held biennially. This years edition will be hosted in Gabon and runs from 14th January to 5th of February with the winning team representing Africa at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup to be played in Russia.

With 16 teams participating and games played in 4 venues; this years edition promises to be explosive. The 16 teams are placed in 4 groups with 4 teams making up a group. The host nation- Gabon are in group A alongside Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Guinea-Bissau.

The other groups are as follows:

Group B: Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Zimbabwe

Group C: Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Morocco and Togo

Group D: Ghana, Mali, Egypt and Uganda

Image Source: si.com/planetfootball

Ivory Coast won the last edition edging out Ghana through a penalty shootout.

The teams will play in a group stage round robin format and the top 2 teams make it of the group to progress knockout rounds which goes on until a winner emerges.

African teams and fans globally look forward to the start of this explosive event. It promises to kick start 2017 in with a sporting spectacle.