Egypt will host the 2019 African Nations Cup, the Confederation of African Football confirmed after a meeting of their executive committee in Dakar on Tuesday.
They will stage the expanded 24-team event, which runs from June to July, after initial hosts Cameroon were stripped of the tournament last month over concerns at the slow pace of preparations.
Egypt and South Africa were the only two countries to put forward their candidacies to replace Cameroon.
It will be the first time there will be 24 teams at the tournament and CAF, after several inspection visits over the last two years, said Cameroon would not be ready in time.
So the vote was overwhelming for Egypt in the end.
— Piers Edwards (@piers_e) January 8, 2019
Egypt - 16 votes
S Africa - 1
Abstention - 1 #afcon2019 #AFCON https://t.co/uXaICjcZNb
Egypt have extensive football facilities, although in recent years attendances at local matches have been restricted because of security concerns following the Arab Spring revolution and Tahrir Square demonstrations in 2011.
Cameroon are the AFCON holders, having beaten Egypt -- the tournament's most successful country -- in the 2017 final.
This will be the first time the competition has been played in June and July, having previously been held in January and February -- midway through the season in many of Europe's biggest leagues.
