The South African Football Association (Organising Association) has signed the Organising Association Agreement (OAA) with the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The symbolic signing took place on Wednesday, 04 April 2012 in Johannesburg following bilateral talks between the two organisations in Sandton. The discussions during the two-day meetings centered on the specifics of the OAA – covering all aspects of the tournament including accommodation, transport, security, media, marketing, broadcast matters and ticketing amongst many other related logistics involved in staging the event. One of the objectives of the visit was to meet the AFCON 2013 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) CEO, Board members, and staff members, to set the framework for an effective and smooth organization of the upcoming competition. “This visit by the CAF delegation signifies that there is no turning back for us. We have covered so much ground over the last two days, and will continue to discuss various issues to ensure a successful event. We believe we are now at a point where it’s now all systems go for the Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2013, and we are looking forward to welcome again all African football fans to our beautiful stadiums” said SAFA President, Kirsten Nematandani. Among others, the meetings were attended by CAF 1st Vice President Suketu Patel, Secretary General of CAF Hicham El Amrani; SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani; SAFA Vice President Dr Danny Jordaan, SAFA CEO Dr Robin Petersen and some AFCON 2013 LOC Board Members. “On behalf of the Confederation of African Football and its President Issa Hayatou, I would like once again to convey my sincere gratitude to the South African Government, the South African Football Association and the people of South Africa for taking up the challenge of hosting this tournament at such a short notice, following the decision to switch the event with Libya – who were the initial AFCON hosts for 2013. As CAF, we have full confidence in South Africa to do a wonderful job – just as they did with the staging of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It will be a wonderful celebration of African football” said Mr. Patel. The Final Draw will take place in the 3rd week of October 2012. The Opening Match will take place on 19 January 2013 and the Final on 10 February 2013. The announcement of the host cities is set to be made by latest 20 April 2012. Five Venues will be selected to host the flagship African competition.