Hosts South Africa will face Cape Verde in the opening match of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in Johannesburg.

Bafana Bafana, one of four seeded teams, were included in Group A with 2010 hosts Angola, 1976 champions Morocco, and Cape Verde, a small island nation off the west coast of Africa, in the final draw made in Durban on Wednesday night.

West African giants Ghana were drawn alongside Mali, Niger and Democratic Republic of Congo in Group B.

Title holders Zambia will face Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia in Group C.

Ivory Coast, seeded in Group D, are up against Tunisia, Algeria and Togo.

The three-week tournament, starting on January 19, will be played at five stadiums — FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit and Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

Libya originally won the hosting rights, but the tournament was moved to South Africa due to political unrest in the north African country.

South Africa have hosted the tournament once before, in 1996, when Bafana Bafana defeated Tunisia 2-0 in the final to lift their only African Cup of Nations title.

By Sapa