Soccer-Inspection team in Zambia to assess Nations Cup prospects

LUSAKA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Inspectors began a seven-day trip to Zambia on Saturday to assess the country's potentials as a future African Nations Cup finals host, the Confederation of African Football said. A five-man team, including two executive committee members, will visit stadiums in the capital Lusaka, Chingola, Chililabombwe, Livingstone and Ndola. Zambia has constructed new stadiums in both Lusaka and Ndola with a capacity of some 60,000 each. They will also inspect training pitches, hotels, hospitals, transport and communication networks, CAF said. Zambia is the last of five countries bidding to host the Nations Cup in 2019 and 2012 to be visited by the CAF team. There have been previous inspections to Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Algeria and Cameroon. The Democratic Republic of Congo last week withdrew their bid. The decision on the future hosts will be made by CAF next month. The next Nations Cup finals will in Morocco in early 2015, followed by Libya in 2017. (Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Johannesburg; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)