Sudan first to arrive in Malabo

The Desert Hawks of Sudan are the first team to arrive in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea for the 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations. The 1970 African champions touched down at the Malabo International Airport from Gabon on Tuesday morning. They engaged co-hosts Gabon in a friendly 48-hours earlier to inaugurate the Franceville Stadium, one of the venues for the tournament. The next to arrive was Burkina Faso at midnight with optimism on the faces of their contingent. On Wednesday, the Palancas Negras of Angola are expected at 10h00 local time with Libya following two-hours later. The star-studded Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire will complete the arrivals for the day as they jet in at 16h00 from the United Arab Emirates, where they held their training camp. The confirmed arrival of Zambia is fixed for midday on Thursday, January 19 with the Teranga Lions of Senegal due in at 20h00 on the same day. The tournament kicks off on January 21 with the opener between co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and Libya at the Estadio Bata.