The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals’ draw is scheduled for Thursday, October 12 at the Parc des Expositions d’Abidjan in Abidjan, as the 24 already qualified teams will be drawn into six groups of four.
The excitement ahead of competition gradually gains momentum as dominant contigents like West African powerhouse Nigeria, reigning African champions Senegal, historic 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco and hosts Ivory Coast are among the top qualified teams that would go head-to-head for honour in the next couple of months.
This 34th edition of the tournament will mark the second time Ivory Coast is hosting the African Cup of Nations after hosting the 1984 edition which Cameroon won.
GOAL reports updates on the teams that have qualified, and the tournaments dates ahead the biennial competition.
Notably, Ivory Coast automatically qualified after winning the bid to host the tournament. Other 23 nations had to book their places in the finals through the qualifiers.
The following teams made it to the finals; Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo DR, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia.
Teams were pooled according to their September FIFA ranking:
Pot 1: Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt
Pot 2: Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, DR Congo
Pot 3: South Africa, Cape Verde, Guinea, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania
Pot 4: Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Gambia, Tanzania
The draw will start at 19.00 West African Time, 22.00 East Africa Time, and 21:00 South Africa Time.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on CAF’s YouTube Channel and on CAF’s global TV partners.
The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals will officially kick off on January 13, 2024, with the final game set to be played on February 11.
