The Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed on Friday that Cameroon would stage the 2021 Nations Cup after it was stripped of the hosting rights of next year's edition.

Ivory Coast was originally chosen to host the 2021 Nations Cup but CAF decided to select Cameroon as the host instead.

In a statement, the African governing body said Cameroon had accepted its offer to stage the biennial tournament in 2021 rather than next year.

"CAF recalls that Cameroon has officially accepted to host the AFCON 2021 through an official letter addressed to CAF and signed by the Cameroonian Head of State, His Excellency Paul Biya," the statement read.

"The CAF President thus expresses his gratitude to President Biya for his profound understanding."

Citing delays in its preparations for the expanded 24-team tournament, CAF said late last month Cameroon would not host the 2019 Nations Cup as originally planned.

Egypt and South Africa have submitted bids to stage next year's edition. The winner will be announced on 9 January in Senegalese capital Dakar.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)