TheCable

Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi, laid the first stone at a future Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) venue in Gabon on Saturday.

The four-time world player of the year officially started the building process at the Port-Gentil stadium, which will host AFCON matches in 2017.

The ceremony which took place on a wide sandy ground where the stadium will be built saw the Argentine, who was visiting the country for the first time, sign autographs on team jerseys worn by his fans, before proceeding with the laying of the first stone. He was accompanied by the president of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba.

“When I was in Barcelona a few years ago, I met Messi who had told me that he would come to visit me in Libreville,” the president said.

“It’s a promise he made me. He is a man of honour who just kept his word.”

The new stadium will have a capacity of 20,000 and is expected to host matches from November 2016 in the build-up to the tournament.

Gabon, the 2012 co-hosts with Equatorial Guinea, won a vote by the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee in Cairo on April 8 to host the 2017 AFCON ahead of Algeria and Ghana.