( CNN ) -- After a dramatic end to a year-long qualifying campaign , the 16 teams competing in the 2012 African Cup of Nations have learned their group stage opponents after the draw for January 's tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea was made . The two-yearly tournament will be without some of African football 's most successful teams , with seven-time winners Egypt and 1980 and 1994 champions Nigeria both failing to qualify for the showpiece competition . Cup of woe : Why have African football giants fallen short ? In their place will be a trio of tournament debutantes , with Equatorial Guinea , Niger and Botswana all making their first appearance in the competition . The first match will see Henri Michel 's Equatorial Guinea host Libya in Bata on January 21 , with the final set to take place at the Stade d'Angonde in Libreville on February 12 .
The draw has been made for the 2012 African Cup of Nations . The tournament will get underway with Equatorial Guinea v Libya on January 21 in Bata . In a statement released by Fifa, it said that the decision to host the competition was taken after "careful consideration" and "in light of recent developments in Libya".