The still of early afternoon in Malabo was abruptly shattered. A pick-up screeched to a halt at a crossroads, a couple of dozen Malian fans clinging to the back, waving shirts and flags and blowing whistles. It was followed by another and then another and another until finally there were six in the convoy, all swaying dangerously from side to side, horns tooting. Workers on a nearby building site, grinning in bemusement, wandered to the kerb and waved. Spontaneous excitement of this nature, one suspects, is not a common sight in Equatorial Guinea.

The Malians, it turns out, all worked in the capital and were on their way to the Sofitel to await the arrival of their national side, who begin their campaign against Cameroon on Tuesday. Other than that, though, there have been few signs the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts on Saturday with the hosts against Congo, is coming to town. On the bridges over the Hassan II highway there are a couple of banners featuring Chuku Chuku, the tournament mascot that is supposed to be a squirrel but looks rather more like a porcupine, and there is a modest Cup of Nations poster at the gate to the main stadium – it is not entirely clear it is not left over from 2012 when Equatorial Guinea co-hosted the tournament with Gabon. The biggest indication the tournament is here, though, has been spiralling hotel prices.

Hotels have been the major talking point, with Congo and Burkina Faso arriving at their accommodation in Bata and finding they did not have sufficient rooms. Tunisia, meanwhile, arrived at their hotel in Ebebiyín, in the middle of a power cut that went on for three and a half hours. When the lights came back on, they discovered no water, bed sheets, soap towels or television in the rooms. “There are not enough places for my staff and it’s even difficult to find rooms for the players,” said Claude Le Roy, the Congo coach who is working at his eighth Cup of Nations. “The electricity is terrible, everything is exposed. I wanted to wash my hands. There was no water. Some of my assistants went around to see if there were rooms available somewhere but it seems very, very difficult.”

Yet, given how late Equatorial Guinea stepped in as hosts after the withdrawal of Morocco in November over fears of what the threat of Ebola might do to their tourist industry, it remains something of a triumph that the tournament is going ahead at all and it may be that the football ends up transcending all the logistical difficulties. It is, after all, intriguingly open, particularly after the failure of the champions, Nigeria, to qualify.

Algeria would have been the favourites had the tournament been held in Morocco. Egypt, in 1998 and 2010, are the only north African side ever to have won the tournament outside north Africa.

Algeria were by some distance the best African side at the World Cup – and with better finishing might have beaten Germany in the last 16 before going down 2-1 after extra-time – and maintained that momentum in Nations Cup qualifying, winning their first five games. That was despite a change of coach, Vahid Halilhodzic standing down to be replaced by Christian Gourcuff – father of Yoann – who has instituted a more patient, possession-based approach. That reached its peak in the 3-1 victory over Ethiopia, when they racked up 613 passes. The only doubt is the way Mali’s high pressing unsettled them in the sixth game, which they lost 2-0, although they had already secured qualification by that point.

Algeria are also in much the hardest group, with a resurgent South Africa unbeaten in 10 games under Shakes Mashaba; Senegal, who conceded only once in qualifying and have a fine array of central striking talent; and Ghana, who have been semi-finalists at the last two Cup of Nations while projecting a strange air of complacency. Asamoah Gyan remains probably the best leader of a line in African football and, even without the injured Kwadwo Asamoah, André Ayew and Christian Atsu should offer sufficient creativity for Ghana. Avram Grant, parachuted into the job last month, has switched to a back three and the early indications are positive.

A lop-sided draw means the winner and runner-up in that group will face the runner-up and winner of the second-hardest group. Didier Drogba’s retirement means the golden generation of Ivory Coast players has lost its leader but, with the Touré brothers – Yaya and Kolo – Gervinho, Wilfried Bony and Seydou Doumbia, this remains a formidable attacking side. The concern is at the back, where Hervé Renard has yet to shore up traditional failings, something seen in the two games in qualifying in which they conceded four goals.

One of those games was a slightly freakish 4-3 defeat by DR Congo but the other was a 4-1 mauling at the hands of Cameroon, much improved since the World Cup and playing organised, hard-pressing football under Volker Finke. Guinea, bonded by the desire to give something back to their Ebola-stricken country, and Mali make up the group.

The other side of the draw is far more straightforward. Tunisia went unbeaten in qualifying but have Saber Khalifa and Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, their two strikers, out, which may open a route for Burkina Faso, Cape Verde or Gabon to reach the last four. Although Gabon finished above Burkina Faso in qualifying, the Burkinabés are extremely solid under Paul Put and have in Charles Kaboré, Jonathan Pitroipa and Aristide Bancé a blend of guile, finishing and physicality in forward areas.

The other key issue is crowds, after games in Equatorial Guinea three years ago were sparsely attended. Tickets in Ebebiyín and Mongomo are going for as little as 500 Central African Francs (58p), double that in Malabo and Bata, where the opening game takes place. Obiang Nguema, the country’s president, has personally paid for 10,000 tickets to be distributed at each venue. “We have to give solemnity to Nations Cup, it is necessary to buy tickets to fill the stadiums,” he said. “Let those who have the means, help the poor.” That has not previously represented his social policy but it does suggest the extent to which, for him, this Cup of Nations is about spectacle.

Equatorial Guinea, it seems fairly clear, is looking to become more of a player on a global stage. It hosted an African Union summit in 2011 and by stepping in to stage the Cup of Nations when no other nation seemed capable, it has shown its wherewithal while giving the impression of being prepared to do its bit for Africa as a whole.

Obiang, though, is banking on the show: if there is good competitive football in front of appreciative crowds, all the teething problems may be lost to memory.