The Africa Cup of Nations will kick-off on Friday evening with the much-anticipated match between the Egyptian Pharaohs and the Zimbabwe Warriors.

The tournament is historic for several reasons including the fact that 24 teams are participating for the first time, and it is being held in the June/July window rather than January/February.

The opening ceremony of the tournament will be graced by several high profile personalities including FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Nigeria’s legendary musician Femi Kuti.

Femi Kuti will perform the official song of this year’s AFCON, along with Egypt’s Hakim and Ivory Coast’s Dobet Gnahore.

The official song is titled ‘Metgameen’ which translates as ‘We Are Together’.

What time does the AFCON 2019 opening ceremony begin?

At 20:00 local time in Cairo, Egypt, (20:00 CEST, 14:00 ET, 21:00 GMT) the world can tune in to the opening ceremony that will lift the curtain on the tournament.

This is then followed at 22:00 by the opening match, which sees Egypt face Zimbabwe. Find out what time the ceremony is kicking off where you are in the world.

Keep an eye out for what is coming up on our dedicated AFCON 2019 portal which gives you easy access to fixtures, results, tables, and stats. Our website and Twitter account will both be handy guides too.

OPENING MATCH – EGYPT VS ZIMBABWE

#TotalAFCON2019
Who do you rate to be the Total Man of the Match ahead of Egypt v Zimbabwe?
Squads: https://t.co/9wy3wvWFmY#EGYZIM #FootballTogether pic.twitter.com/MxOWEytC5d

— CAF (@CAF_Online) June 21, 2019