Mali have named three locally-based players in their final 23-man squad for the Nations Cup finals.

Mali have named three locally-based players in their final 23-man squad for the Nations Cup finals.

Goalkeeper Soumbeyla Diakite from Stade Malien and Djoliba's Souleymane Dembele and Amadou Sidibe were called up by coach Jean Francois Jodar.

All three have previously been capped by Mali but were missing from a provisional squad of 28.

The squad is dominated by the Spain-based trio of Frederic Kanoute, Seydou Keita and Mahamadou Diarra.

Sevilla striker Kanoute is one of the five candidates for the BBC African Footballer of the Year award

Jodar has also recalled AJ Auxerre defender Sammy Traore, whose last game for Mali was in October 2006.

Mali, who have been drawn in Group B with Benin, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria, start a training camp in the United Arab Emirates today.

They play Egypt in a friendly there on 10 on Friday and Iran three days later, according to the Mali Football Federation

Squad:

Goalkeepers:

Soumbeyla Diakite (Stade Malien), Mahamadou Sidibe (PAS Giannina, Greece), Oumar Sissoko (Metz)

Defenders:

Adama Coulibaly (Lens), Moussa Coulibaly (Mouloudia Alger), Souleymane Diamoutene (Lecce), Cedric Kante (Nice), Boubacar Sidiki Kone (Maghreb Fes), Amadou Sidibe (Djoliba), Adama Tamboura (Helsingborg), Sammy Traore (AJ Auxerre)

Midfielders:

Souleymane Dembele (Djoliba), Drissa Diakite (Nice), Diarra (Real Madrid), Keita (Sevilla), Djibril Sidibe (Chateauroux), Momo Sissoko (Liverpool), Bassala Toure (Levadiakos, Greece)

Strikers:

Mamadou Diallo (Qatar SC), Mahamadou Dissa (Roeselare, Belgium), Kanoute (Sevilla), Mamady Sidibe (Stoke City), Dramane Traore (Lokomotiv Moscow). - BBC