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The Black Stars of Ghana have been drawn alongside fellow World Cup qualifiers Ivory Coast in Group B, a group of death, comprising Togo and Burkina Faso for the 2010 African Cup of Nations finals, next January. Angola versus Mali in Group A will be the opening game of the tournament. The 32-fixture tournament will be played at four new Chinese-built stadiums in Luanda, Benguela, Cabinda and Lubango. Group A will be based in Luanda, Group B will be in Cabinda in the north of the country, Group C will play in Benguela, and Group D will be based in Lubango. It will be a tough battle in Group B where Ghana, four-time champions have a date with Ivory Coast, a side they beat to bronze at the last CAN. The group will also throw up a clash between Ghana�s Michael Essien and Chelsea teammates Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou of the Ivory Coast in the three-week tournament. In Group A, hosts Angola will line up against Algeria, Mali and Malawi, back for a second appearance 25 years after last competing. Angola and Mali will be play in the opening game of the tournament at the 50,000-seater Cidadela Stadium in the capital, Luanda on 10 January 2010. Holders, Egypt will start from Benguela in Group C with Mozambique, Benin, Nigeria, who have also qualified for the World Cup. In Lubango, Cameroon qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, former African champions and potential winners of the CAN will be there Gabon, Zambia, Tunisia. Two top teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals. The tournament begins on 10 January 2010 in Luanda and reaches it climax at the same venue on January 31. The 16 teams were seeded according to their performances at the last three Nations Cup tournaments. Hosts Angola, defending champions Egypt, Cameroon and the Ivory Coast were the top seeds for the four groups. The other 12 teams in the draw were Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Togo, Tunisia and Zambia. The draw itself was a colourful event featuring Congolese artist Papa Wemba and other Angolan singers. Confederation of African Football president, Issa Hayatou, and members of his executive committee who were present had a rare public appearance from Angola President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, ruler of this oil-rich country for 30 years.