Tuesday is Africa Cup of Nations draw day, as the continent’s top sides will learn their group-stage opponents for next year’s Afcon tournament in Cameroon.
The Afcon draw will be held in Yaounde at 18h GMT (19h Lagos time, 20h South Africa time, 21h Nairobi time), where representatives from the Confederation of African Football will draw the groups for the biennial showpiece.
The Afcon was originally due to be held this year—two years after the 2019 event in Egypt—but was pushed back until early 2022 in light of the corinavirus pandemic.
It will now take place in Cameroon in January and February next year, and you can follow the live event here—or join the Goal team in our Live: Africa Cup of Nations draw watchalong.
In Tuesday’s draw, the 24 qualifiers for the tournament will be drawn into six groups of four teams; the groups will be named A to F.
The first two teams in each group, and two of the best third-placed teams, will advance to the Round of 16.
Africa Cup of Nations Draw: What is the format?
Ahead of the draw, the 24 qualifiers have been placed in four pots of six teams each, with the pots numbered one to four. The pots have been decided based on the August 2021 Fifa world rankings.
Pot One contains the tournament seeds, with holders Algeria, 2019 finalists Senegal and heavyweights Nigeria among the teams who will fancy their chances of going the distance at the continental high table.
Also completing Pot One are Tunisia, hosts Cameroon and Morocco, and they’ll be watching warily when Pot Two is drawn.
Among the teams in Pot Two that the would-be giants are hoping to avoid will be Egypt, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, all of whom are previous winners who have fallen short of their typical high standards in recent years.
Caf’s official website states that the draw will be held at the Yaounde Conference Centre. It’s set to be a glitzy and memorable occasion, with some of African football’s greatest legends set to be in attendance.
Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, Rabah Madjer, Asamaoh Gyan and Gaelle Enganamouit are some of the stars set to be present in Cameroon, although expect one or two surprises to show up as well!
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