Eight nations submit 2010 bids

Bids were presented at Caf headquarters in Cairo

Eight countries beat Monday's deadline for submitting bids to host the 2010 African Cup of Nations finals.

Angola, Nigeria, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Zimbabwe and Libya presented individual bids at the Caf headquarters in Cairo.

Oil-producing Central African neighbours Gabon and Equatorial Guinea made a joint application.

An evaluation committee from Caf will visit all the bidding countries in 2006 to assess the facilities presented in their bids and then report back to the Caf executive committee.

The 13-member executive committee will choose the host country or countries next May.

Caf president Issa Hayatou said he was pleased with the high level of interest shown in the 2010 tournament.

"It shows that all our national associations are eager to participate in the development of African football and in putting its infrastructures up to international standard," he said.

The unprecedented interest in staging African football's flagship competition is no doubt connected to the World Cup finals that South Africa will host in the same year.