(From: William Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent in Cabinda, Angola, courtesy Ministry of Youth and Sports)

Cabinda, Angola, Jan 16, GNA - Uncharacteristic of some nations cup matches especially those played outside Luanda, the capital, Ghana's game against Cote d' Ivoire witnessed an impressive attendance by soccer fans in the Cabinda Province of Angola.

The 25, 000 capacity stadium was well covered by fans hours before the two sides commenced hostilities at 1730hrs GMT, at the Estado Nacionale Do Chiazi, Cabinda.

Soccer fans started trooping to the stadium with their horns (vuvuzela), plastic clappers, occupied their seats as early as midday and set the stadium ablaze with continuous blowing of the vuvuzela amidst cheering, drumming and dancing whilst they awaited the arrival of the two teams.

Though the whole stadium had been electrified hours before the much awaited match, it went berserk when the Ivorian national team led by Didier Drogba strolled unto to the pitch for inspection and slight warm up.

But they were not satisfied with what they had seen as they kept chanting the name of Michael Essien till the Black Stars marched unto the pitch for their warm up.

Contrary to speculation that the Togo incident and the Province's perceived apathy towards the competition at the preparatory stages, might affect attendance, masses of supporters were mobilized from all angles to watch the match between the two sides.

Information gathered by the GNA Sports indicated that most fans were in love with the high profile players expected to play in the game between the two West African countries.

Fans had paid gates fees ranging from 200 to 1,500 kwanza( 20 to 100 USD), to watch their idols though other organized supporters from various parts of the province made a free entry into the stadium.

For most fans, the opportunity to catch a glimpse of stars like Michael Essien, Richard Kingston and other members of the famous national under-20 side the Black Satellites like Dede Aryew, Dominic Adiyiah was enough motivation for them to book seats.

Having watched the Black Satellites conquer the rest of the world at the FIFA Under-20 tournament in Egypt last year on television, the match was a perfect platform for them to set their naked eyes on the young players.

Similarly, the presence of Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Haruna Dindane, Bakary Kone, Didier Zokora, the Toure brothers and other established Ivorian players was too tempting to ignore in an unpopular enclave. 16 Jan. 2010